ORANGE HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT : Mater Dei Marches to Victory

ORANGE —  Coach Gary McKnight wasn’t ready to give Mater Dei High School a vote as the top-ranked boys’ basketball team in Orange County. But the Monarchs will surely get some consideration after their 55-49 victory over Capistrano Valley in the title game of the Orange Holiday Tournament Saturday night at Chapman College.

Mater Dei (10-3) won the title for the seventh time in the past nine years by taking Capistrano Valley out of its offense and making 17 of 25 free throws in the second half.

The victory was the Monarchs’ eighth in their past nine games and should give them strong consideration for the top ranking in the next county poll after Tustin, Estancia and Irvine lost in the Coast Christmas tournament.

Capistrano Valley’s 30-27 lead disappeared in the second half when Mater Dei scored 12 consecutive points for a 39-30 lead. The Monarchs finished off Capistrano Valley (13-2) with free throws, making 10 of 13 in the last quarter.

Still, Capistrano Valley Coach Mark Thornton wasn’t ready to concede No. 1 to Mater Dei, especially with his team scheduled to play the Monarchs on Saturday at Saddleback College.

“They played a good game, but I’m not sure they’re playing the best basketball in the county,” he said. “They played really well and took us out of our offense. They did a great job of stopping us.”

Capistrano Valley’s squad of three-point shooters was never a factor. Guard Tom Airey, who made 10 three-pointers in a semifinal victory over San Francisco Riordan, had three three-pointers but finished with nine points.

“Kamran Sufi did a great on Airey,” McKnight said. “You saw two good teams playing great defense tonight. I thought their inability to make free throws in the first half (six of 15) kept us in the game. I don’t know if we’re No. 1, but I’m really happy with our improvement over the last three weeks and our ability to win close games in this tournament.”

Mater Dei’s defense forced Capistrano Valley to commit 21 turnovers and repeatedly denied the ball inside to the Cougars’ center, Brett McCorkle. McCorkle finished with 15 points before fouling out with 1:10 remaining.

J.J. Ballesteros led Mater Dei with 19 points, but he made only six of 17 field-goal attempts. Reggie Geary added nine points and was named tournament MVP.

In consolation games:

San Diego Morse 69, Orange 52--Center Darnell Cherry scored 15 points, had 12 rebounds and blocked five shots to lead Morse (8-3) in the fifth-place game. Orange (6-6) substituted for Kent Meridian, which returned to Washington Friday.

Long Beach Wilson 63, Fountain Valley 47--Fountain Valley was outscored, 21-2, in the first quarter of the consolation title game. Steve Johnson scored seven of his game-high 14 points in the first quarter for Wilson.

Saddleback 79, Laguna Beach 67--Forward Jason Register scored 22 points to lead Saddleback (5-8) in the ninth-place game. Guard Josh Borrella scored 38 points for Laguna Beach (6-6). The teams meet again on Wednesday night in a nonleague game.

Carlsbad 62, Orange Lutheran 60--Forward Chad Mihr had 19 points for Orange Lutheran in the 11th-place game.