TORONTO, Ont. (April 3, 2021) -- Canadians Ryan Nembhard and Caleb Houstan captured the GEICO National boys basketball championship on Saturday afternoon as Montverde Academy picked up a 62-52 win over Sunrise Christian (Kan.) to capture their fifth title since 2013.

Houstan closed his highschool career leading the Eagles to victory with 16 points, including 12 of which came from beyond the arc. The five-star 6’8” forward has committed to the University of Michigan for next season and was recently named to the McDonald’s All American team, becoming the first Canadian since R.J. Barrett and Simisola Shittu to accomplish that feat.

The Mississauga, Ont. native previously represented Canada at both the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2018 and FIBA U16 Americas Championship 2019, where he holds the Canadian record for most points in a game at that age-group.

Nembhard, a Creighton Bluejays commit, finished the game with 12 points and seven assists to give Monteverde the edge.

“It’s been a journey,” Nembhard said following the game. “There was a bunch of younger guys that came in, a bunch of younger guys. We lost a lot of great players, but we were all focused from the beginning. We trusted Coach Boyle, and we knew if we trusted him we could be here. And we’re glad we’re here, and we glad we got it done.”

At the FIBA U16 Americas Championship 2019, playing again alongside Houstan, Nembhard led the tournament in AST/g (9.0) by a wide margin.

Nembhard, along with Houstan and fellow Canadian Charles Bediako, were also named to the World Select Team roster for the 2021 Nike Hoop Summit.  However, the event was cancelled for the second consecutive year due to COVID-19.