National High School Basketball Invitational 2015: Tournament Results, Reaction

For the third consecutive year, Montverde Academy won the Dick's High School Basketball National Championship as it defeated Oak Hill Academy 70-61 Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The Eagles received contributions throughout the lineup, including a strong showing from superstar forward Ben Simmons, to put them over the top, according to ESPN.com's Jeff Borzello:

The 2015 title game was a rematch of last year, which saw Oak Hill fall to the Eagles 71-62. Winning the nationals continues to elude the Warriors, but Montverde has dominated this tournament with three championships and two runner-up finishes since its inception in 2009.

Things started off a bit slow for the Eagles, though, as Oak Hill came out firing. Much of that was due to the play of shooting guard Dwayne Bacon, who is a 5-star Florida State signee, per 247Sports.

According to Borzello, Bacon filled up the stat sheet in the opening quarter and bounced back from a fairly subpar performance Friday:

Another reason for the Warriors' early success was the fact that Simmons was compromised by injury.

Per Borzello, Simmons was forced to leave the game at one point after taking a shot to the face:

Simmons is the No. 1 recruit in the country and a future LSU Tiger, according to 247Sports. With Simmons struggling, it put even more pressure on the rest of head coach Kevin Boyle's team.

The Eagles didn't respond particularly well to that pressure in the first half, especially in terms of guard play, per Cody Worsham of TigerRag.com:

Montverde was able to stay within striking distance at halftime, and Boyle must have pulled the right strings in the locker room, as the Eagles looked like a different team in the third quarter.

Most probably figured that Simmons would have to dominate in order for the Eagles to mount a comeback, and while Simmons' play did improve in the second half, the catalyst was actually an unlikely source.

Unheralded senior guard Fard Muhammad put on a shooting display from long range that helped push Montverde in front during the third quarter, according to Hoopniks on Twitter:

In addition to picking up the pace statistically in the second half, Simmons also showed a great deal of leadership by refusing to engage in scuffles or put his team in a disadvantageous situation, per Matt Kamalsky of DraftExpress:

Another big-time Montverde prospect came through in the clutch as well when Noah Dickerson completed an old-fashioned three-point play late in the fourth quarter to secure the Eagles lead, according to Jim Halley of USA Today:

Dickerson, who is a 4-star power forward set to play for the Florida Gators, per 247Sports, put the finishing touches on Montverde's gritty, inspired performance.

While there is no question that Oak Hill has a rich history, Montverde has established itself as the pre-eminent program in high school basketball with three straight national titles.

Continuing that dominance in 2015-16 and beyond will be difficult without a player of Simmons' caliber, but the Eagles have created a winning culture that figures to stand the test of time.

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