---

Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.) jumped out to a stunning 16-2 lead and then held off Orlando (Fla.) Christian, 47-36, last night for its first 'Iolani Prep Classic championship after 10 tries.

The Mustangs, ranked No. 4 in the nation in the ESPN Rise/Powerade Fab 50, head back home to the Washington, D.C. area at 9-1. They have been fixtures at the Prep Classic since 1999 -- finishing as runner-up four times -- and brought highly ranked teams including the 2005 squad featuring Kevin Durant, but never took home the top prize until last night.

"It's nice to win for Montrose Christian," said Mustangs coach Stu Vetter, who won Classic titles with FLint Hill (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) and St. John's (Frederick, Md.) in the 1980s and '90s. "I've talked to many former players and told them we wanted to win this for them -- for guys like Levi Watkins (2000), Greivis Vasquez (2005) ..."

Montrose Christian left no doubt this time, winning its four tournament games by an average of 21 points, with no opponent cracking the 40-point barrier.

"Everything started with defense," Vetter said. "We played tough man-to-man defense in every game, we pride ourselves in that."

The Mustangs sprinted out of the gates last night with leads of 14-0 and 16-2 in the first seven minutes, with Justin Anderson scoring eight points including two 3-pointers.

Warriors center Dre Clayton got Orlando Christian untracked with a 3-pointer 48 seconds before the first period ended and capped a 13-6 run with a layup to close it to 22-15 with 2:20 remaining in the half.

But reserve guard Yuki Togashi answered with a 3-pointer and Kevin Larsen converted an alley-oop layup 55 seconds before the buzzer to put Montrose Christian up, 27-15 at intermission.

The Mustangs maintained a 33-22 lead heading into the fourth quarter and the Warriors could only get as close as 43-36 on Jordan Montgomery's 3-pointer with 46 seconds left.

Vetter said the fact it took Montrose Christian 10 tries before winning the 'Iolani Prep Classic shows how tough the feat is.

"It's the premier high school tournament in the country," Vetter said. "We feel blessed to come here almost every year, and it's a great feeling to win this."

Anderson and Michael Carrera each scored 14 points to lead the Mustangs. Clayton led Orlando Christian with 13 points, Isaac Cohen added 11 points and Jordan Montgomery contributed 10 points.


ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Dre Clayton, Orlando Christian
Isaac Cohen, Orlando Christian
Delvin Dickerson, Westbury Christian
Dyrbe Enos, Kamehameha
Ziyu Hou, Tsinghua

Kendall Jackson, Bishop O'Dowd
Justice Montgomery, Orlando Christian
Elliott Pitts, De La Salle
Tyree Robinson, Lincoln
Tyrell Robinson, Lincoln

LJ Rose, Westbury Christian
Reggie Theus, Jr., Fairfax
Amadi Uydeni, De La Salle
Gabriel Vega, 'Iolani
Ishmail Wainwright, Montrose Christian

Most Valuable Player: Michael Carrera, Montrose Christian
Most Outstanding Player: Justin Anderson, Montrose Christian