The No. 1 team in the GIECO Nationals was knocked out by No. 8. Sunrise Christian mounted a six-point comeback in the final minute of the game to upset top-ranked Montverde Super 25 as the No. 2 team in the country and advance to the second round.
Matas Bouzelis, a five-star, 6-foot-9 small forward, led Sunrise Christian with 17 points in the 46-45 victory. His biggest basket came when the team was about to see their chance slip away. With 53 seconds to play, Bouzelis got a four-point play after being fouled on a 3-pointer to cut the deficit from 45-39 to just a two-point game.
Four-star forward Scotty Middleton hit a 3-pointer with about 23 seconds left to give Sunrise Christian the lead.
Montverde five-star center Derrick Quinn made one last attempt, driving the ball to the rim, but his contested layup fell short. Montverde missed a last-second comeback and Sunrise Christian escaped.
Watch the ending here:
Sunrise Christian had a solid but unimpressive regular season, with a 20-7 record entering the GEICO Nationals. The Buffaloes had lost to Montverde twice already on the season and were in danger of losing all three when they faced the Eagles in the tournament.
But Bouzelis, a five-star, 6-foot-9 small forward, led the way for Buffalo, helping them stay in the game long enough to secure a berth in the semifinals.
The Buffaloes will face Link Academy on Friday. Link Academy, ranked No. 4 in the tournament and No. 7 in the Super 25, beat Sunrise Christian in the regular season — but as evidenced Thursday, that meant nothing to the Buffaloes.