Published on: Thursday, February 02, 2012

By Brandy L. Simms

ROCKVILLE – Montrose Christian seniors Michael Carrera and Justin Anderson combined for 35 points Tuesday to lead the Mustangs to a 73-36 home victory over Cesar Chavez.

Montrose Christian raced out to a 17-5 first quarter lead and never looked back. The Mustangs built a 28-14 halftime advantage and outscored Cesar Chavez 21-5 in the third quarter.

“Chavez is a very talented team,” said Montrose Christian head coach Stu Vetter. “They shoot the ball very well and I thought we executed well and did what we had to do to get control of the game early and control of the game throughout.”

Anderson’s 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter extended the Montrose lead to 52-19 before Carrera’s dunk with 5:33 left gave the Mustangs a comfortable 32-point lead.

Carrera scored a team-high 20 points and Anderson, a University of Virginia signee, finished with 15 points while Cedric Blossom added 10 points for the nationally ranked Mustangs who saw nine different players break into the scoring column.

“I think Justin’s the best player in the area [and] one of the best players in the country,” said Vetter. “I expect him to come out and play every game. I think Michael Carrera is probably the most underrated player in the country – he’s a fantastic rebounder [and a] fantastic inside player.”

Meanwhile, Cesar Chavez was led by senior guard Charles Allen who finished with 22 points including six 3-pointers.

Montrose Christian (15-2) captured top honors in the prestigious Iolani Classic this past December when the Mustangs defeated Orlando Christian in Hawaii, 47-36. The win marked the first time in school history the Mustangs had ever won the tournament.

“I won it several times when I was at Flint Hill,” said Vetter, who has been coaching high school basketball in the metropolitan area since 1975. “We won it several times when I was at Prospect Hall and even won it when we were at Harker [Prep] but it’s the first time at Montrose.”

Carrera was named Most Valuable Player of the Iolani Classic and Anderson took home the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award while junior Ishmail Wainwright earned a selection to the All-Tournament Team.

The Mustangs are looking forward to an opportunity to participate in the ESPN RISE National High School Invitational this year. Montrose Christian defeated Oak Hill Academy in last year’s tournament championship game, 71-64.

“It’s going to be at Georgetown Prep again and we’ll know pretty soon whether we get an invitation or not,” said Vetter.