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The Montverde Academy Eagles have rolled to a 60-45 win over Little Rock Hall from Arkansas to wrap up first round play Thursday at the 29th Annual Bass Pro Tournament of Champions at JQH Arena in Springfield.

The Eagles, ranked in the preseason as the number one high school team in the nation by ESPN, struggled to find points early in the game. The game was tied 9-9 after one quarter before Montverde went ahead 24-20 at the half.

Montverde began to pull away in the third quarter as Dakari Johnson began to heat up. The 6-10 senior ranked #13 in the nation by Rivals and a member of the USA World Team, finished with 15 points to lead the Eagles, followed by Devin Williams with 13. Williams, a 6-8 senior forward, is headed to West Virginia next season. 

For the Warriors, Bobby Portis led the way with 15 points on 7-13 shooting. He'll be playing college ball with the Arkansas Razorbacks. Javon Perry put in 12 points for Little Rock Hall.

It will be the Eagles vs. the Eagles tonight at JQH Arena as Montverde will take on Nixa in the late game at 9:00. 

Nixa held off a late charge to beat Bullitt East from Kentucky 62-53 Thursday night.

Chan Hocklander had 17 points to lead four Eagles in double figures. Jalen Norman had 15 points for the Eagles before limping off the court with a knee injury just a minute into the third period. Norman's injury will sideline him for the rest of the tournament and word from the locker room is he could be out for several weeks.

MSU recruit Austin Ruder had 13 points for Nixa, while Bryce Dulin put in ten.

For Bullitt East, 6-9 senior forward Derek Willis finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. Willis is ranked 126th in the nation by Rivals and has committed to play college basketball at Kentucky.

Rusty Troutman had 15 points for the Chargers, while Trey Rakes added 11.

The Chargers jumped out to a 14-9 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Nixa came back to carry a 23-22 advantage into the locker room at the half before extending its lead to nine points after the third quarter.

But Bulllitt East put up a fight in the fourth, pulling within five at 56-51 with 1:29 left in regulation when Rakes drained a three pointer. But Dulin hit two big free throws for the Eagles with 1:04 left, putting his team up 58-51 and the Chargers could get no closer.

Here are the scores from day one of the Tournament of Champions:

Final: St. John Bosco (Bellflower, California) 74, Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas) 53

Final: Paul VI (Fairfax, Virginia) 69, Springifeld Hillcrest 49

Final: Nixa 62, Bullitt East (Mount Washington, Kentucky) 53

Final: Montverde Academy (Montverde, Florida) 60, Little Rock Hall (Arkansas) 45

Schedule for tonight's second round games at the Bass Pro Tournament Of Champions:

Prestonwood Christian vs. Springfield Hillcrest  4:30 p.m. (consolation semifinal)

Bullitt East vs. Little Rock Hall  6:00 p.m. (consolation semifinal)

St. John Bosco vs. Paul VI  7:30 p.m. (winner's bracket semifinal)

Nixa vs. Montverde  9:00 p.m. (winner's bracket semifinal)

Key Players To Watch In The Tournament Of Champions

Kasey Hill (Montverde): 6-0 senior guard, ranked ninth in the nation by Rivals, preseason All-USA Team, and committed to Florida.

Dakari Johnson (Montverde): 6-10 senior center, ranked 13th in the nation by Rivals, member of USA World Team, and recruited by Georgetown, Kentucky, Kansas, Louisville, Ohio State and Syracuse.

D'Angelo Russell: (Montverde): 6-4 junior guard, ranked 15th in the nation by Rivals, and recruited by Kentucky, Indiana, Louisville, Ohio State and Tennessee.

Isaac Hamilton (St. John Bosco): 6-4 senior guard, ranked 16th in the nation by Rivals, and committed to UTEP.

Daniel Hamilton (St. John Bosco): 6-7 junior forward, ranked 26th in the nation by Rivals, and recruited by Kansas, Louisville, UConn, USC, Baylor, UNLV, UCLA, and San Diego.

Tyler Dorsey (St. John Bosco): 6-4 sophomore guard, ranked 16th in the nation by ESPN, and recruited by Arizona, Georgetown, Stanford, UCLA, and UNLV.

Marcus Derrickson (Paul VI): 6-8 sophomore forward, ranked tenth in the nation by ESPN, and recruited by North Carolina, Georgetown, Syracuse, and Maryland.

Derek Willis (Bullitt East): 6-9 senior forward, ranked 126th in the nation by Rivals, and committed to Kentucky.

Bobby Portis (Little Rock Hall): 6-9 senior center, ranked 14th in the nation by Rivals, and committed to Arkansas.

Austin Ruder (Nixa): 6-2 senior guard, committed to Missouri State.

Jaylen Norman (Nixa): 6-4 senior forward

Austin Petry (Hillcrest): 6-1 senior guard

Roy Hardy (Hillcrest): 6-1 senior guard

Darnell Green-Beckham (Hillcrest): 6-5 junior forward

KTTS News will have complete coverage of the Tournament of Champions, with game recaps and photos on KTTS.com.