Cooper Flagg faced off with the 23 other best high school basketball seniors in the United States and Canada on Tuesday night, in a hard-fought McDonald’s All-American game played at Houston’s Toyota Center on ESPN.
Featuring Montverde Academy’s trio of five-star recruits — Cooper Flagg, Derik Queen and Liam McNeeley, the East grinded out an entertaining 88-86 win over the West, with Flagg contributing eight points, six rebounds, three assists and one block on 3-for-9 shooting.
Flagg’s two highlight reel plays came midway through the second quarter: a smooth pull-up 3-pointer, followed by an emphatic block of No. 3 prospect Dylan Harper one minute later.
Pouncing from the weak side, Flagg met a Harper floater at its apex a foot above the rim, sending the ball all the way to the East’s bench.
By the final buzzer, Flagg led all players in minutes (28) and Queen led all players in points (23 on 10-for-15 shooting). Queen also tacked on eight rebounds, five assists and three steals, taking home co-MVP honors with the West’s Harper (22 points, six rebounds, five assists).
The game featured 12 lead changes, and was tied on seven separate occasions, as the East outscored the West by six in the fourth quarter to lock down the win.
Flagg, Queen and McNeeley will see many of these faces again later this week, during the Chipotle Nationals in Indianapolis. A bracket style competition for the national title, No. 1 Montverde Academy (30-0) will take on the seven other best boys basketball teams in the nation beginning Thursday afternoon at 2 p.m. on ESPNU.
