BOYS’ PREP BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Mater Dei Goes Deep to Win, 82-37

If Mater Dei High School’s 82-37 romp over Huntington Beach in the semifinals of the Costa Mesa-Newport Harbor tournament Monday was any indication, the Monarchs not only have one of the best teams around but one of the deepest, too.

Gary McKnight, Mater Dei coach, played all 15 players who suited up and 11 scored. The Monarchs (3-0) ran Huntington Beach (2-1) ragged with their fast break. They worked the ball inside to their frontline players and shot well from the outside, hitting open 15- to 20-foot jumpers.

Charlie Andres led Mater Dei, Orange County’s top-ranked team, with 15 points. Derek Stone added 14, Dan O’Neil 12 and David Boyle 10.

Mater Dei also slowed Mustapha Abdi, a 6-foot-3 junior forward who had been averaging 31.5 points a game for Huntington Beach. Abdi had just nine points and could do little to stop the onslaught.

“It was a good effort,” McKnight said. “We were running people in and out. I think we wore them out.”

Mater Dei will face Long Beach Jordan, which beat Saddleback, 59-54, in Monday’s other semifinal, in the championship game at 8:30 tonight at Costa Mesa High.

Monday’s game was close for about six minutes, but Mater Dei put it out of reach with a 15-0 run that gave the Monarchs a 31-12 lead. And they never slowed down after that.

Stone, a 6-8 senior center, scored eight of his 14 points in the second quarter and when point guard Jason Quinn made a layup just before halftime, the Mater Dei lead was up to 47-24.

It grew to 65-32 by the end of the third quarter.

McKnight then put the third-stringers in the game and they didn’t let up, holding Huntington Beach’s reserves to just one field goal in the fourth quarter.

Guard Scott Jahr had 11 points to lead Huntington Beach.

In other Costa Mesa-Newport Harbor tournament games:

Long Beach Jordan 59, Saddleback 54--Jim Galbert scored 14 points in a losing cause for the Roadrunners in a championship semifinal at Newport Harbor.

Irvine 54, Trabuco Hills 49--John Molle scored 22 points and Greg Bains added 18 for the Vaqueros (1-1). Bains sank two free throws with 31 seconds left to give Irvine a 51-49 lead, and Brian Boothroyd added two more free throws with two seconds left to clinch the victory. Randy Kriech scored 18 points for Trabuco Hills (0-2).

El Toro 92, San Dieguito 54--Kirk Riddle scored 29 points and Kevin Martin added 20 to lead the Chargers (1-1) in the fifth-place semifinals at Newport Harbor.

In the Orange Lutheran tournament:

Laguna Beach 82, Orange Lutheran 65--Josh Borella scored 29 points, Dain Blanton 21 and John Trevino 20 to lead the Artists (3-0) in the championship game. Dary Cole scored 30 for Orange Lutheran (2-1).

Anaheim 61, Villa Park 45--Danny Castro scored 11 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter for Anaheim in the third-place game. Villa Park outscored the Colonists, 15-8, in the third quarter, as Castro sat on the bench with a sore knee, and trailed, 35-33. Robert Jones also scored 17 points for Anaheim (2-1).

Orange 65, Miraleste 54--Carlos Duran scored 20 points to lead the Panthers in a consolation game at Orange Lutheran. Orange (1-2) led at halftime, 32-30, but outscored Miraleste, 21-10, in the third quarter.

Santiago 62, Southern California Christian 54--Eddie Solis scored 20 points and Jamal Nuristrani added 19 to lead the Cavaliers in a consolation game. Santiago (2-1) led at halftime, 31-28, then outscored the Flames, 17-10, in the third quarter. Mike Nickerson scored 20 points and Shawn Wiltshire 17 for Southern California Christian (1-2).

In the first round of the Laguna Beach tournament:

Lynwood 84, Pacifica 75--Ernest Killum scored 41 points, including four three-point shots and an assortment of dunks, for Lynwood at Laguna Beach High. Kevin Gaughen, who scored 18 points, also had four three-pointers for Pacifica and Randy Schulze added 16 points.

In the first round of the Santa Ana tournament:

Tustin 75, Cypress 58--David Beilstein scored 19 of his 28 points in the first half to lead the Tillers (2-0) at Santa Ana.

In the first round of the Garden Grove tournament:

Western 78, Bolsa Grande 52--Sam Sabbara had 20 points and Robbie Shelton 14 to lead Western (2-0) at Garden Grove High.

Magnolia 65, Laguna Hills 55--Wayne Thomas scored 23 points and Robbie Hargis 16 for Magnolia.

In the first round of the Valencia tournament:

Rancho Alamitos 85, Troy 71--Tony Cortez and Paul Preuss scored 23 points each to lead the Vaqueros at Esperanza.

Valencia 68, La Habra 55--Jason Bae made seven three-pointers and totaled 23 points and Richard Tibby had 20 points for Valencia.