City of Basketball Love

Jeff Griffith (@Jeff_Griffith21)
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Imhotep Charter is putting together a season for the books, and is doing so in large part outside the state of Pennyslvania.

The Panthers' continued that success with unprecedented weekend in Florida, taking down three competitive teams including national power Montverde Academy, the event’s host, to win the Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament.

It was the win over the Montverde Eagles that was the most impressive of the three, as the Panthers won 57-48 behind a team-high 17 points and six rebounds from championship game MVP Donte Scott.

A victory over a team like Montverde – which was seeded No. 1 in the Dick’s High School Nationals tournament last season and currently ranks among the top ten in the country – speaks volumes to the caliber team at Imhotep and the intensity with which they played this past weekend.

“I think it’s big just in the sense of the national level that tournament has and the national level that their program has maintained,” head coach Andre Noble said. “For us to go there and win on their home court, that’s a special moment.”

Although the Panthers will not be able to compete in the Dick's Nationals due to PIAA rules that prohibit member schools from doing so, their resume certainly continues to look like one of a national power as they pick wins over the likes of Montverde. 

As for Sunday's championship game, Scott’s MVP performance continued a recent stretch of confident, aggressive play that has impressed Noble and the Imhotep coaching staff.

Also putting up solid numbers in the event’s finale were seniors David Beatty (South Carolina) with 12 points and Daron Russell (Rhode Island) with 10, while each also had seven rebounds.

“For the last six or seven games, Donte Scott has really taken his game to another level,” Noble said. “He has been more aggressive...he was really, really good out their on both ends of the court. I felt that Donte has really turned up his confidence and his aggressiveness as a player and obviously that’s important for this team and for our program moving forward.”

Senior guard and Robert Morris commit Koby Thomas had an outstanding weekend, putting up nine points against Montverde, while scoring 18 points in a 79-50 quarterfinal win over Rainier Academy (Wash.)) and 26 in an 80-54 semifinal victory over Windermere (Fla.).

“The one we universally felt bad for because he wasn’t named all-tournament at Montverde but was outstanding was Koby Thomas,” Noble said. “He had some incredible games, we thought he was incredible all weekend.”

According to Noble, it was his team’s defensive intensity that made the biggest difference. The Panthers were also able to rebound the ball well, out-rebounding a Montverde team that boasts four starters of 6-foot-6 or taller by a tally of 36-33.

The Eagles struggled to score the ball against Imhotep, scoring less than 50 after putting up numbers like 85 and 77 in their two previous wins and shooting just 31 percent shooting overall.

“We held a team that good to 31 percent the field, out-rebound them, and hold them to 48 points, that’s pretty good,” Noble said.

It certainly made it even more satisfying for Noble and his team that the win came on the Eagle’s home floor, in a raucous road environment that featured a passionate fan base. The Panthers’ win snapped a 55-game home win streak for Montverde.

“I think it was more difficult,” he said. “It’s always tough to get a road win. It was packed in there, it was a great crowd, their fans, their fan base is extremely passionate, so it’s cool to just be in that environment. They were passionate but appreciative of the quality of the basketball game.”

This wasn’t the first major tournament win for the Panthers; Imhotep topped the field at the Beach Ball Classic in Charleston, South Carolina, at the end of December to add to their rapidly improving resume.

Noble noticed a similar level of competition between the two tournaments, and doesn’t take for granted how impressive it was for his team to finish at the top of both star-studded events.

“I think it says a lot about our team,” Noble said. “I can’t recall the last time a city school has won two national tournaments in the same season of that caliber in the past ten years. I can’t remember one that has done that.”

Now, as Imhotep looks to move back into Public League play, they will look to use the confidence boost and worthwhile experience gained in Florida, but certainly not get complacent.

There are several talented teams left on the Panthers’ slate, and in a program that prides itself on Public League and state titles, there’s no room for let down.

“I think this group is already confident, only thing is we want us to compete as hard as we did down there and at Beach Ball, we played super hard,” Nole said. “We play MCS and Constitution this week and neither one of them are going to care that we won Montverde or Beach Ball. They’re not going to care.”