Montverde crushes Lahainaluna, 95-27

RJ Barrett, the top-ranked player in the class of 2018, dropped 40 points and this two handed slam in the Eagles' win. Pete Caldwell | SL

Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) dominated from start to finish to overwhelm Lahainaluna, 95-27, on the second day of the Iolani Classic at Iolani's Lower Gymnasium.

The Eagles, the No. 2 team in the USA Today Super 25 Expert Rankings advance to play host Iolani in the quarterfinals on Monday at approximately 6:30 p.m.

"We needed to play. We've been on a long trip in China first and haven't played in eight days. We were a little sluggish. We started good in the first minute and looked a little tired. We picked up again in the second half," said Montverde coach Kevin Boyle.

RJ Barrett, the top-ranked player in the class of 2018 and Duke commit, dazzled the crowd with transition dunks to score 22 first half points and finished with 40 points, five rebounds, and five assists.

"He struggled most of the game. He was able to pick up in spots, but I don't think he shot it real well. I think he can play a lot better than he did today," said Boyle, on Barrett.

Michael Devoe added 17 points and seven steals, Filip Petrusev chipped in 16 points, nine rebounds, and Andrew Nembhard finished with nine points and six assists.

The Lunas got on the scoreboard at the 5:32 mark of off Koa Evalu Robinson's putback and got a jumper and 3-pointer from Cley Josef Palma, but it was all Montverde who finished the quarter with a 25-9 lead.

The Eagles opened up the second quarter on a 8-0 run to outscore Lahainaluna, 23-4 to take a 48-13 lead at halftime. Montverde outscored Lahainaluna, 47 to 14 in the second half.

Reece Pascua scored all four of the second quarter points for the Lunas and finished with a team-high six points.

Lahainaluna is making their second-overall appearance since 1988 and drop to the consolation bracket to face Pearl City at 9 am.

Reach Brandon Ching at [email protected].