ANGELUS LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Ballesteros’ 27 Help Mater Dei Deliver a Message to Servite

Just in case Servite High School had any delusions of grandeur, Mater Dei’s J.J. Ballesteros sent a very clear message Friday night. There would be no repeat.

It was just three weeks ago that the Friars ended eight years of frustration with a victory over Mater Dei, stopping a 16-game losing streak against the Monarchs. The memory of that victory faded rather quickly Friday.

Ballesteros acted as Mater Dei’s spokesman on and off the court. He scored 27 points to lead the Monarchs to a 68-44 Angelus League victory at the Bren Center in Irvine.

“We were disgraced just losing to them once,” Ballesteros said. “There was no way we were going to let that happen again.”

Ballesteros made sure of that from the start. He missed his first shot, then made 10 of 11, including five three-pointers. His 27 points were a career high.

“I’ve been shooting a lot the last couple of days and it felt good tonight,” Ballesteros said. “Even when I missed that first shot, I knew it was there. I was going to keep shooting no matter what.”

Servite and Mater Dei came into the game in a three-way tie for first with Bishop Amat. But the Monarchs demonstrated quickly why they have won seven of the last eight league titles.

In the first meeting, the Friars (14-6, 4-2 in league) were able to control the momentum. They slowed the tempo to a near crawl and came away with a 50-49 victory.

At the start of Friday’s game, Servite was again able to dictate the pace. But that didn’t last long, as Ballesteros took over.

Leading, 7-5, the Monarchs (17-4, 5-1) went on a 13-1 run to finish the first quarter. Ballesteros scored 11 of the points.

He sandwiched two three-pointers around a layup by Reggie Geary (13 points) and then had a steal and a layup to give the Monarchs a 17-6 lead. Ballesteros ended the quarter by dribbling baseline, pulling up and sinking a three-pointer over the outstretched hand of Adam Anderson.

“We told our kids that they had to adjust if one of their players made a couple of shots,” Servite Coach Richard Smith said. “We didn’t get out on him. We didn’t play smart basketball.”

Mater Dei was able to dominate the inside despite the fact that center Jason Janeski was in foul trouble most of the game. Matt Manwarren filled in well, though, with six points and eight rebounds off the bench.

The Friars made a half-hearted attempt to get back in the game in the second quarter. Led by Anderson (13 points), they cut a 14-point deficit to nine with 5 minutes 37 seconds left in the half. But they could get no closer.

Ballesteros scored five straight points to bury the Friars. Mater Dei led, 39-22, at halftime.

“We needed to get out fast tonight,” Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight said. “We couldn’t let them go into their four-corner offense and grind us into the ground again.”

In other league games:

Santa Margarita 81, Loyola 58--Dan Bathey scored 30 points, Mike Carpenter 15 and Jeff Layne 14 for host Santa Margarita.