- Virginia fans will have an opportunity to watch 2012 signee Evan Nolte in action on April 1, when he takes the court in the All-American Championship in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Nolte, a 6’8″ forward out of Milton High School (Alpharetta, GA), will play for the South team in the all-star doubleheader.

Tomorrow’s event can be seen live on ESPN3 beginning at 3 p.m. EST.  It will be replayed on ESPNU tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. EST.  The East will take on the West in the opening game, which will be immediately followed by the South/North match-up.  Rosters for the event can be found here.

Nolte is coming off a strong senior season in which he averaged 17 points and seven rebounds per game while helping Milton to a Class 5A state championship.

- Nolte’s future Virginia classmate, Justin Anderson, had 21 points in the ESPN NHSI opening round win over Ravenscroft (Raleigh, N.C.) on Friday.  The 6’7″, 220-pound wing was bottled up in yesterday’s semifinal loss to Montverde (FL), though, finishing with only three points on 1-of-14 shooting.  Anderson, the 2012 Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year, helped the Mustangs to a 21-3 overall record this season.

Check out senior highlights of the high-flying star here.

- Anderson, Nolte and center Mike Tobey have been selected to play in the 2012 Capital Classic, which is scheduled for April 21 at T.C. Williams High School (Alexandria, VA).  The fourth member of the class, point guard Teven Jones, enrolled at UVa in January.  All four players signed with the ‘Hoos in the November Signing Period.

Montrose Christian (Rockville, MD) defeated Ravenscroft (Raleigh, N.C.) 64-48 in the opening round of the 2012 ESPNHS National High School Invitational.  Virginia-bound guard/forward Justin Anderson led the way for the Mustangs, scoring 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting.  He added four rebounds and three assists.

The 6’7″, 220-pound senior opened up the scoring for the Mustangs with the first of four 3s he would drain on the day.  Anderson’s signature athleticism was on display in the second half, when he threw down a monster dunk on a fastbreak alley-oop.  The dunk put the Mustangs up 43-32, and the team cruised to victory.  Anderson was on the passing end of an alley-oop to touted junior Ishmail Wainwright to close out the game.  Game highlights (including Anderson’s dunk and pass to Wainwright) and the entire game story can be found here.

The Mustangs, the champions of the 2011 NHSI, will now meet Montverde Academy (Montverde, FL) on Friday at 11:30 a.m. The game will be televised by ESPN2.

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Obviously, Virginia fans were tuning in to see how Anderson would perform.  He didn’t disappoint.  Wainwright, the no. 27 recruit in the ESPNU Super 60 for the class of 2013, was impressive as well.  But I also noticed 6’2″, 180-pound sophomore point guard Kevin Zabo, who is getting a look from Virginia and a host of others.   Zabo was quiet in the second half but was impressive in the first, when he scored 7 points.  He has a good physical build, showed quickness in the open court and on the defensive end, and knocked down a 3.  Zabo has visited UVa.   He has not been offered but could be a prospect to remember down the road.

Today is the opening round of the 2012 ESPN National High School Invitational.  At approximately 4:00 p.m., Montrose Christian (Rockville, MD), which features UVa-bound guard/forward Justin Anderson, will take on Ravenscroft (Raleigh, N.C.).  The game will be televised on ESPNU and can also be seen on ESPN3.

Montrose, which is 20-2 this season, won the 2011 NHSI.

University of Virginia-bound Justin Anderson has been named the 2012 Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Maryland.  He is averaging 18 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.4 steals per contest for a 20-3 Montrose Christian (Rockville, MD) squad this season.  In the classroom, he is carrying a 3.11 GPA.

The 6’7″, 220-pound senior guard/forward will be in action one week from today, when the Mustangs takes the court against Ravenscroft (Raleigh, N.C.) in the first round of the 2012 ESPN National High School Invitational.  All four first round games will be televised by ESPNU, and the action starts at 2 p.m.

- Milton Eagles basketball released highlights of its 2012 playoff run, which ended with a Georgia Class 5A state championship.  Fans can check out the highlights, which includes clips of Virginia-bound forward Evan Nolte, here.

- Justin Anderson and the Montrose Christian Mustangs (Rockville, MD) have been selected to play in the 2012 ESPNHS National High School Invitational.  The event, which Montrose won last year, takes place March 29-31 and will be televised on ESPN’s family of networks.

Montrose is 20-2 and ranked no. 11 in the ESPNHS Fab 50, ESPN’s national ranking of the top 50 high school programs in the nation.  The Invitational includes eight teams, six of which are in the Top 25 in the Fab 50.  For more information, go here.

By now, most people are well aware of Hermitage (Richmond, VA) tailback Derrick Green, who has become a nationally recruited prospect in the class of 2013. But Green isn’t the only Hermitage junior with a major FBS offer.

“Brian Brown has an offer from ECU already,” Panthers head coach Patrick Kane wrote via e-mail.

The 6’2″, 185-pound Brown played free safety and wide receiver for the Panthers last season. He had 20 tackles and four interceptions, earning 2011 Richmond Times-Dispatch first-team all-metro honors for his play on defense. He had 22 receptions for 517 yards and five touchdowns at wide receiver.

Brown has “excellent hands and ability to go get the ball at wide receiver,” Kane wrote. “[Brown is a] big hitter with great burst to the ball, and he has the ability to determine run or pass in the play-action game.”

ECU is the first offer for Brown, who is drawing serious interest from a handful of ACC programs as well as Penn State. Boston College, N.C. State, Virginia and Virginia Tech are the ACC programs expressing the most interest, Kane said. On the visit front, Kane notes that Brown has taken an unofficial to Penn State.

Junior place-kicker/punter John Stiebel is drawing serious college interest as well, Kane reports. Stiebel was a first-team all-Colonial District place-kicker and punter in 2011. He will be a 4-year starter at place-kicker and a 3-year starter at punter, but Kane says that schools are looking at him as a place-kicker.

It was a bright, sunny day in Baltimore: one of those early March afternoons that are sunny and crisp and perfect for a lacrosse game. Virginia men’s lacrosse didn’t disappoint the large crowd, coming out on top of a close-fought contest against #3 Cornell. The Big Red gave Dom Starsia’s boys all they could handle for 4 quarters and then some; Mr. Clutch himself, Colin Briggs, scored the gamewinner in the first overtime period. Even without star attackman Rob Pannell (out 6-8 weeks with a broken foot), Cornell found ways to score and refused to quit down the stretch. Former Cavalier Connor English, who transfered to Cornell for his senior season, netted 2 goals in the fourth quarter to cut a 3-goal Virginia lead to 1. It was up to Briggs, the hero of last year’s National Championship game against Maryland, to find the back of the net in the Hoos’ second possession of overtime.

This was supposed to be a clash of the titans: Pannell vs. Stanwick.  Baltimore native Steele Stanwick, the reigning Tewaaraton Award winner, nursed a bruised hip for the latter portion of the game while Pannell scooted around on a rolling stool on the Cornell sideline. Despite getting banged up by Cornell’s physical defense, Stanwick put on quite the show for his home crowd. The senior assisted Briggs on the gamewinner, and made the SportsCenter Top 10 with a circus assist on a Mark Cockerton goal in the first quarter.

I caught the Syracuse game on TV last weekend, and happily made the drive up to Baltimore on Saturday to see the team take on their second 3rd-ranked opponent of the year. On the whole, I liked what I saw.

THE GOOD

Once again, we’re seeing the benefits of Team Lacrosse at Virginia. The attack makes good use of a variety of combinations, and it seems like everyone can score. One of the hidden assets to having players like Stanwick and fellow senior Chris Bocklet on attack, is that opposing defenses are quick to focus on them, leaving room for guys like Mark Cockerton to step up. Don’t forget about Rob Emery and Briggs in the midfield; they’ll make you pay too. Briggs is asserting himself as a viable Tewaaraton candidate this season.

Bravo, close defense, bravo.

Senior goalie Rob Fortunato is making the most of his fourth year. It was another day of inspired play in the cage. Any fears after losing Adam Ghitelman to graduation have been put to rest.

This team doesn’t know the meaning of the word quit. I feel like in previous years, opponents would go on a run, and the Hoos wouldn’t be able to respond. The Big Red came back to tie the game and headed into the overtime with all the momentum. Virginia came out and won the opening faceoff, taking the wind right out of Cornell’s sails. Although they failed to score on their first possession, the Virginia defense clamped down, winning the ball back for the Cavaliers and executing a great clear. I have a feeling that the discussion in the huddle on the ensuing time out went something like this: “Guys, let’s just END THIS!”

THE BAD

I hesitate to label anything “THE BAD” in this game. My major gripes include a lot of ball-watching by both the attack and the defense and missed opportunities on groundballs. I know the team was coming off a tough week with 3 games in 7 days, including 2 contests against #3 teams. At times, the team looked a bit dull, and just a step off. I’m reserving judgement on these issues, however, since the team looked much sharper against Syracuse. I’m hoping the sluggishness was a symptom of the intense scheduling. You get a pass this time, guys.

THE IFFY

I made the mistake of remarking to a fellow spectator before the game about how pleased I was to see the Hoos asserting themselves at the faceoff X this season. Ryan Benincasa was inspired against Syracuse, winning 20 of 28 faceoffs. However, Cornell matched up with us pretty well at the X. Freshman Mick Parks handled the majority of the faceoffs for Virginia, winning 9 of 16, while Benincasa took 5, winning 1. The more I think about it, the more I think Virginia’s success against the Orange was a result of a ton of violations on ‘Cuse’s part. I’m anxious to see how the remainder of the season unfolds at the X.

The Hoos only had one man-up opportunity against Cornell, but failed to capitalize. Can’t leave goals like that on the field come May.

OTHER OBSERVATIONS

It’s strange to see jerseys with the names “Glading” and “Ghitelman” on the sideline and know that it isn’t Danny and Adam.

Great to see a ton of young players out at these games. This is top tier lacrosse at a great atmosphere, and it’s wonderful how accessible it was for so many.

The Jumbotron periodically displayed a “Flow Bro Cam” picking out young players in the stands with the best flow. So silly.

Thanks for the free “GO ‘HOOS” sign, Konica Minolta!

Cornell definitely looked like they were shooting for the ball boys in the 4th quarter. Stay alert, kids!

I definitely shouted “TRAITOR!” when Connor English scored those 2 goals. No hard feelings, Connor.

The Bryant Stith-led Brunswick Bulldogs (Lawrenceville, VA) defeated Cave Spring 48-33 yesterday afternoon, capturing their second straight AA Division III state championship title.  This was the sixth straight state championship appearance for the Bulldogs.

Junior Brandan Stith, who finished with 12 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks and two steals, earned Player of the Game honors.

Brandan scored six of Brunswick’s eight 3rd-quarter points, and the Bulldogs led 31-21 heading into the final period.  The game tightened with 4:11 remaining, when Cave Spring cut the margin to six after a pair of made free throws.  At the 3:24 mark, sophomore B.J. Stith corraled an offensive rebound and made a nice pass to set up an easy lay-up.  After a stop, Stith, who has committed to UVa, beat Cave Spring down the court for a 2-hand slam that energized the crowd and put his team up by 10 points.  Brunswick never looked back, rolling on to the 15-point final result.

Senior Shaquille Jones led all scorers with 17 points, and Alfred Mason III chipped in 11 for the victors.  B.J. Stith finished with four points but was a big part of a defensive effort that limited Cave Spring to 20.9-percent shooting.

Stay tuned to TheSabre for video highlights of the Stith brothers performance.  We also plan to have more from them in an EDGE article next week.

Milton (Alpharetta) defeated Savannah 79-67 to capture the 2011/2012 Georgia Class AAAAA state championship crown.  6’8″ senior forward Evan Nolte, who signed with the University of Virginia last November, scored 16 points in Friday night’s win.

Read the game story here.

This championship crown is the second in three years for Milton, which has made it to the AAAAA title game four straight years.  Nolte has been a starter on each of those teams.

Another UVa recruit, class of 2014 guard B.J. Stith, will look to help Brunswick (Lawrenceville, VA) to a second straight AA Division III championship this afternoon.  The Bulldogs meet Cave Spring in the final.  The game takes place at the Siegel Center in Richmond, Virginia, at 1:00 p.m.

Milton (Alpharetta, GA) rolled to a 73-52 win over Harrison in the Georgia Class AAAAA state semifinals on Thursday night.  The Eagles will face Savannah for the championship tonight at 8:45 p.m., and this will be the fourth straight championship game appearance for the team.

UVa-bound forward Evan Nolte turned in an impressive all-around outing against Harrison, finishing with 17 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks.  When he takes the court tonight, he will have started in every one of Milton’s state title game appearances over the past four years.