SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : Mater Dei Takes It Game at a Time

The Mater Dei High School boys’ basketball team enters Southern California Division I regional play at 7:30 tonight with one eye on first-round opponent North Hollywood and another on longtime rival Long Beach Poly.

Second-seeded Mater Dei (30-1) plays host to North Hollywood (23-3) at Ocean View High. North Hollywood upset Fremont, 76-71, in the Los Angeles City section’s 3-A championship game with forward Dana Jones scoring 29 points and pulling down 29 rebounds.

Guard Harry Marks played a key role in North Hollywood’s title run, improving his scoring average from 14 points in the regular season to 26 points in the playoffs. Robert Hill averages 12 points for North Hollywood, which allows an average of only 52 points per game.

Mater Dei has won 22 consecutive games since losing to Long Beach Poly, 54-47, in the title game of the Tournament of Champions at Ocean View in December.

“We didn’t shoot very well against them in the Tournament of Champions, and yeah, we’d like another shot at Poly,” Andy Karich said. “Our goal this year was to win every game and the state title.

“Since we lost that game to Poly, our goal has continued to be to win the state title. We know we have to beat two good teams if we hope to get another shot at Poly.”

Long Beach Poly (26-2) is the top-seeded team in the division and opens against Loyola at Long Beach College. Mater Dei defeated Loyola, 83-57, Saturday night to win the Southern Section 5-A title.

Mater Dei and Long Beach Poly were the most dominant programs in the Southern Section in the 1980s. Poly won the state title in 1984 after defeating Mater Dei, 45-44, in the Southern Section 5-A championship. Mater Dei won the state title in 1987.

Poly Coach Rod Palmer is one of two Southern California coaches with a winning record (3-1) against Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight, who is 223-19 in eight seasons.

The Division I championship has been moved to 8:30 p.m. Friday at the Los Angeles Sports Arena to avoid a conflict with a Clippers’ game Saturday. Other divisional title games are scheduled for Saturday.

In Division III:

Tulare Western (12-12) at Estancia (20-9), 7:30 p.m.: Tulare Western finished third in the East Yosemite League but came on strong in the Central Section playoffs. LeRohn Dodson averages 14 points and Rayland Elzy averages 13.8 points for Tulare Western.

Guard Agustin Heredia led Estancia in the 3-AA playoffs. Heredia scored 32 points in a triple overtime victory over Lompoc in the semifinals and scored 32 points in a 51-49 overtime victory over Servite in the title game. Against Servite, Heredia sent the game into overtime with a 12-foot baseline shot with two seconds remaining and then made five free throws in overtime.

Servite (17-11) at LeMoore (18-9), 8 p.m.: Servite center Steve Marusich will have to rebound from a poor showing performance (13 points) in the 3-AA division title game. Marusich had been averaging 20 points in four previous playoff games. Sophomore Adam Anderson has been Servite’s steadiest performer.

Center Jimmy Moore averages 16.6 points and 10.1 rebounds a game for LeMoore. Gene Smith averages 11.3 points and 7.2 rebounds. LeMoore allows only 56.4 points a game.

Corona del Mar (19-10) at San Diego Lincoln (22-8), 7:30 p.m.: Corona del Mar Coach Paul Orris is still wondering what happened to the final second on the Bren Center clock in his 39-38 overtime loss to Dos Pueblos in the 3-A title game. Center Jeff Jackson averages 13 points and eight rebounds per game for Corona del Mar and teammate Warren Johnson had 14 points against Dos Pueblos.

Lincoln has 12 consecutive victories and five consecutive league titles. Center Darryl McMillan leads Lincoln with a 19.8 scoring and 12.5 rebounding average and guard Victor Dean averages 14.2 points a game. Lincoln averages 80.3 points a game.

In Division IV:

Laguna Beach (22-6) at Coronado (19-8), 7:30 p.m.: Laguna Beach gets a second chance after blowing a 14-point lead and the 2-A division title to St. Joseph last Saturday. Center Dain Blanton, a three-year starter, averages 19.5 points and 12 rebounds for the Artists.

Derek Wastila, a 6-4 forward, averages 16.7 points for Coronado. He also blocked 12 shots in one game earlier this year.

In Division V:

St. Margaret’s (21-5) vs. El Cajon Christian (16-11) at Granite Hills High, 7:30 p.m: Ryan Westendorf, who has dominated smaller players all season, will meet his match in this game. Westendorf averages 25.8 points and 19.2 rebounds for St. Margaret’s.

Tony Clark of El Cajon Christian has averaged 44 points and 14 rebounds a game since transferring from Valhalla. Clark, who has signed with the University of Arizona, scored 64 points and had 21 rebounds in a San Diego section playoff game.