AZ Compass Prep headed back to GEICO HS Nationals basketball tournament

Chandler AZ Compass Prep's boys basketball team is heading back to the GEICO high school nationals and will open against the team that it fell to in the event's semifinals a year ago.

The Dragons will take on Montverde of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on March 31 in the tournament at Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers, Florida. The game will be televised at 1 p.m., on ESPNU.

This AZ Compass team is seeded sixth. Montverde, the defending national champion, is seeded third.

Last year, TyTy Washington's 3-point try at the buzzer missed and Montverde survived AZ Compass 51-49 in the national semifinal.

"Monteverde is always going to be a good team no matter who they've got," AZ Compass director Pete Kaffey said. "They always have Power 5-type players. This year was not a typical Montverde team due to the fact they had those two great back-to-back teams.

"But we're excited about the opportunity. It left a sour taste in our mouths last year. Our guys will be prepared for this game."

This year, Compass is led by guards Kylan Boswell (an Arizona commit), Dylan Andrews (UCLA), forward Adrame Diongue, wing Chance Westry (Auburn) and guard Marquis Cook. The Dragons are 24-4. They've won 54 games in the last two seasons.

Sunrise Christian (Kansas) is the top seed, followed by IMG Academy (Florida).

ESPN will televise the championship game April 2 starting at noon Eastern time.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: AZ Compass Prep headed back to GEICO HS Nationals tournament