Game Recap: Montverde Academy (Game three of NIBC)

By: Steven Pham

Photos by: Kobi Russom

Jerome Beya helps Gradey Dick up after some contact with a Montverde player.

Wichita, KS. - No. 3 Sunrise Christian Academy will fall to No. 1 Montverde Academy 53-44. This will be Sunrise’s first loss of the season and first loss in NIBC play. Sunrise’s starting five was Dillon Hunter, Scotty Middleton, Gradey Dick, Mark Mitchell, and Cam Corhen.

1st Quarter

Both teams started the game off slow on offense with sloppy turnovers, bad shot attempts, and intense defense. Montverde would settle in first as they went on an 8-0 run after a scoreless three minutes at the beginning of the quarter. Dick would answer their run with a quick five points. A defensive first quarter ends with Montverde leading 10-9.

2nd Quarter

Dick was playing phenomenal defense with great close-outs and blocks. He had five blocks in the first half and made life difficult for Montverde players. Montverde’s Dariq Whitehead started catching fire and made difficult shots all over the court. Malik Reneau and Dillon Mitchell were dominating the paint with rebounds, hook shots, and dunks. Mitchell had 10 of his 15 total rebounds in the first half. Montverde would out-rebound Sunrise 30-18 in the half. The halftime score was 29-18 in favor of Montverde.

3rd Quarter

Montverde started to pull away at the start of the third quarter. Whitehead continued to score at will and Montverde made it extremely difficult for Sunrise to attack the rim the whole game. Montverde would extend their lead to 19, which was the biggest lead of the game for either team. Sunrise would be down 43-26 after the third quarter.

Layden Blocker setting up the offense and looking to make a play to get the offense going.

4th Quarter

Sunrise’s Mitchell started to get in a rhythm and had eight of his 16 points in the fourth. With Mitchell getting hot and Layden Blocker’s playmaking down the stretch, it was still not enough to rally against Montverde. Montverde made winning plays on both ends of the floor and was not going to lose two games in a row. Sunrise would cut into the lead but Montverde prevailed and had an answer to each Sunrise score.

Game Stats

Sunrise shot a season-low 34% from the field, 26.3% from three, and only shot four free throws. Sunrise had 28 total rebounds, 19 defensive and 9 offensive. Montverde dominated on the glass and had 21 offensive rebounds out of 47 total rebounds. Sunrise had 10 assists, 6 blocks, and 4 steals.

Sunrise’s Mitchell had 16 points on 6-20 shooting (3-4 from FT), 11 rebounds, and 2 assists. Dick went 4-10 (3-8 from three) with 11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 blocks, and 1 steal. Corhen shot 2-5 from the field (1-2 from three) and 3 rebounds. Blocker had 4 points on 2-7 shooting, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Sunrise will fly back home 2-1 from the NIBC road trip and 7-1 overall. They will turn their attention to No. 4 La Lumiere back home. La Lumiere went 3-0 in NIBC opening week and is climbing the rankings each week. To buy tickets for this top-five matchup on Saturday, December 11th at noon, click here.