EYBL Scholastic Playoffs: CIA Bella Vista Prep advances to title game

CIA Bella Vista Preparatory (Ariz.) is a game away from claiming the ultimate prize at the Nike EYBL Scholastic Playoffs.

After taking down Long Island Lutheran on Thursday and Montverde Academy on Friday, the Bears made relatively easy work on SPIRE Academy on Saturday in a 70-53 blowout win. Bella Vista, which finished sixth in the regular-season standings, has now beaten a pair of teams in Montverde and SPIRE who both finished above them.

West Virginia-bound guard Miles Sadler carried the scoring load in Friday’s win, but on Saturday it was top-100 2027 prospect Lyris Robinson who spearheaded four scorers in double-figures. He finished with a game-high 18 points, while hitting 7 of 10 field goals and knocking down a pair of 3-pointers.

Vaughn Karvala (Indiana commit) added 13 points, and Sadler — who shot just 4 for 12 from the field, finished with 12 points, six assists and three steals. Jalen White, meanwhile, was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field, pitching in 10 points and 4 rebounds.

Bella Vista again got off to a slow start similar to Thursday’s win over Long Island Lutheran, and was outscored 19-10 in the first quarter. SPIRE was hot early on, hitting 8 of its first 15 attempts and actually led by 11 late in the second quarter after a pretty even frame.

The tide turned in a major way after halftime, though. SPIRE was ice-cold in the second half, shooting just 8-for-27 from the field and 2-for-10 from behind the arc. While Robinson had carried much of the scoring load in the first half for Bella Vista, Sadler scored all 12 of his points in the final two quarters. The Bears scored 27 points in the final eight minutes to pull away and take the convincing victory.

They’ll now face the winner of Wasatch Academy (Utah) and Compass Prep (Ariz.) in tomorrow’s championship game. The Dragons, considered the favorites to win it all, have won 11 in a row dating back to the regular season and finished 13-1.