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March 29, 2024

Findlay Prep defends its national title, tops Montverde for ESPN crown

Findlay Prep-Bishop Gorman Basketball

Justin M. Bowen

Findlay prep forward Tristan Thompson, shown dunking against Bishop Gorman at the Orleans Arena in late December, had 15 points and 10 rebounds in the Pilots victory against Montverde Academy of Florida in the ESPN national title game. The Pilots won to defend their title.

Updated Saturday, April 3, 2010 | 9:48 p.m.

Yes, Tristan Thompson is that important to the Findlay Prep basketball team.

The senior forward had 15 points and 10 rebounds Saturday, leading the Henderson-based Pilots to a 59-46 victory against Montverde Academy of Florida in the finals of the ESPN National High School Invitational at Coppin State in Baltimore. The win gives Findlay its second-straight ESPN RISE national championship.

"This season, we had some ups and downs," Thompson told ESPN, which televised the game. "To come back and win a national championship is a kid's dream."

Findlay (32-2) has lost only three games in the last three years (for an overall mark of 97-3), and the program has risen to one of the nation's elite.

One of those defeats came in late January against Montverde, a three-point setback where the 6-foot-10 Thompson injured his ankle in the first quarter and didn't return.

Thompson, a Texas commit and McDonald's All-American, was an immediate factor in the title game. He had eight points — on 4-of-4 shooting — and four rebounds in the first quarter as Findlay built its lead to 16-5.

“(Having Tristan) was a huge advantage for us in terms of a physical presence on the inside, and having that size and rebounding ability,” Findlay coach Mike Peck said.

But Montverde was far from finished. It used a 9-0 run in the second quarter to grab a two-point lead and the game went back and forth until late in the third quarter.

That's when Thompson helped spark a 7-0 run in the quarter's final 93 seconds that gave Findlay the lead for good.

Thompson started the rally with a monstrous dunk and on Findlay's ensuing possession drove to the basket looking for another easy two points. But he dished to a wide-open Nick Johnson, who drained a 3-pointer to extend the Pilots lead to four points, 41-37.

Findlay scored 13 straight points in the decisive outburst, securing a 12-point advantage with five minutes to play.

Findlay only made 10 of 21 free throws, but they still were able to win by double digits for the third time in three tournament games.

Cory Joseph, Findlay's senior point guard who had 32 points Friday in a semifinal victory against Mountain State of West Virginia, had a team-high 17 points. Also a McDonald's All-American, Joseph hit consecutive 3-pointers in the second quarter when Montverde held a slim lead.

Joseph, an uncommitted senior who is considering UNLV, Connecticut, Minnesota, Texas and Villanova, finished as Findlay's all-time leader in points, minutes, 3-pointers, assists and steals. He averaged 18.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game this year while shooting 54 percent from the field and 48 percent on 3-pointers.

Saying goodbye to the likes of Joseph and Thompson is going to be tough, Peck said. Peck will coach the duo in the two weeks at the Jordan Brand Classic at Madison Square Garden — a moment, like Saturday, the coach will cherish.

“It’s going to be very hard,” Peck said of losing Joseph, Thompson and the program’s other seniors to graduation. “Those guys are special players, and they are good people. The nature of our program, where we aren’t on the court 24/7, gives us the chance to enjoy them as people.”

Peck will have roughly five open roster spots to fill by next year — a process he should have finalized by the early summer. He is contacted by hundreds of interested players each year and expects his e-mail inbox to be full with inquires after winning the title in an ESPN televised tournament.

Filling out the roster is a secondary concern.

Officials from the Henderson International School, the private school Findlay is housed at, announced last month plans to close the institution’s high school at the end of the academic year.

Peck has repeatedly said the basketball program will continue next year in Nevada. One possibility is an investor buying the campus and keeping the school open under a different name, it was reported during the ESPN telecast.

Cliff Findlay, the Las Vegas car dealer who created the program, spoke of the program’s future when he was interviewed by ESPN Thursday during the quarterfinals. He essentially guaranteed they will be back next year, either at the same campus or attached to another Las Vegas area private school.

“The first option is we are hoping to stay where we are at,” Findlay told ESPN. “We have two or three options we are pursuing, but we will be in Las Vegas.”

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