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No. 2 Montverde (Fla.) downs No. 4 Huntington Prep in Top 5 showdown

Freshman R.J. Barrett made four free throws in the final 16 seconds to lift No. 2 Montverde (Fla.) Academy to a 63-59 victory against Huntington (W.Va.) Prep in a nationally televised Top 5 showdown.

Huntington Prep went on a 9-0 run and cut the led to 59-57 with a minute remaining when Ivan Gandia hit a three-pointer from the left corner.

After Montverde (7-0) missed the front end of a one-and-one with 32.8 seconds remaining, Huntington Prep had a chance to tie but a drive by Luka Petrovic did not fall amid contact.

Huntington Prep fouled and Barrett calmly sunk two free throws to push it to a four-point edge at 61-57. Huntington missed a three but star Miles Bridges was fouled after Huntington corralled the rebound.

His two free throws with 7.8 seconds left cut the lead to two. Barrett again was fouled the next time down the court and again made both free throws.

A Canadian who came to Montverde this fall, Barrett finished with 18 points, including 6-for-6 from the free throw line, and had four rebounds.

Bridges, the Michigan State signee, was held to four points in the first half but Huntington had a 29-26 lead at halftime. By the end of the third, Montverde had a two-point advantage at 48-46.

Bridges finished with 15. Guard Curtis Jones led Huntington (9-2) with 21 points and four assists.

Among those in the crowd was Louisville coach Rick Pitino.

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