Kevin Boyle knows a thing or two about winning national tournaments and he’s got SPIRE Academy (Ohio) rolling. The rising Midwest program further cemented its arrival on Wednesday night.
In the opening round of the Chipotle Nationals, SPIRE defeated Archbishop Stepinac (N.Y.) 87-76 at Hamilton Southeastern High School in Fishers, Ind. One glance at the boxscore tells the story.
SPIRE, the No. 15 team nationally per the Rivals Composite Rankings, scored 54 points in the paint and led for over 30 minutes of game time. Four of its five starters finished in double figures. It outscored Stepinac 27-10 in the third quarter to begin to pull away and assisted on 24 of its 35 made field goals.
Alabama four-star small forward commit Tarris Bouie lit it up and led his team with 22 points on 11-12 shooting. He also had nine rebounds, six assists and a block in 26 minutes. He finished with a game-high plus-minus of plus-21.
SPIRE shot a whopping 69 percent from the field, knocking down 35 of its 51 attempts. It made just four 3-pointers and comfortably won despite shooting 13-25 from the free throw line.
Iowa State power forward signee Dorian Rinaldo-Komlan had 19 points on 9-11 shooting, as well as five boards, two steals and a block. Junior four-star point guard Darrell Davis had a game-high eight assists to go with 16 points, while Dayton four-star shooting guard commit Aiden Derkack had 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block.
Stepinac, the No. 4 team in the nation, fought back late with a 33-point fourth quarter, but it was too little too late. The Crusaders had its three top players — USC four-star center signees Adonis and Darius Ratliff, as well as Michigan State four-star SG signee Jasiah Jervis — in Arizona on Tuesday night for the McDonald’s All American Game, then in Indianapolis on Wednesday.
The Ratliff brothers did not make a field goal, finishing 0-12 from the floor. They combined for seven points and 10 rebounds in semi-limited action. Adonis Ratliff missed the McDonald’s All American Game due to injury.
It was senior combo guard Hassan Koureissi that led the way for the Crusaders. The Fordham commit led all scorers with 30 points on 12-22 shooting. He played a game-high 32 minutes and also had six boards, two assists, two steals and a block.
Jervis added 20 points on eight makes, four of which came from 3-point range, to go with seven rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals. Stepinac shot 38 percent from the floor as a team but assisted on just seven of its 26 makes.
With the win, SPIRE advances to Thursday’s quarterfinals and will take on Compass Prep (Ariz.), the No. 14 team in the nation. It’ll be the third game to tip on Thursday, beginning at 6 p.m. ET. The action will air on ESPNU.
About the Chipotle Nationals
“The National High School Invitational (NHSI) was created in 2009 by Paragon Marketing Group to provide a platform for the top, nationally ranked high school basketball teams in the country to compete against one another in a season-ending tournament. Over the course of fifteen-years, this event (previously titled DICK’S Nationals and GEICO Nationals, taking place in DC, NYC, FL) has crowned the best high school basketball teams in the country. In 2024, the event moved to IN and became the Chipotle High School Basketball Nationals.”
