Mater Dei is back in state title game

Juniors David and Travis Wear combined for 32 points and 12 rebounds, and Andy Brown had 21 points and four rebounds Saturday as Santa Ana Mater Dei rolled to a convincing 75-59 victory over Fresno Edison in the Southern California Regional Division II final at the Sports Arena.

The Monarchs (34-1), whose only loss this season was to Compton Dominguez in the Southern Section Division I-AA final, advance to the state Division II title game against San Jose Archbishop Mitty (32-1) at 8 p.m. Friday at Arco Arena in Sacramento.

“I’m proud of the boys because last Saturday we had a tough night where we really struggled against Dominguez,” Coach Gary McKnight said.

Edison (28-5) got 20 points and 10 rebounds from Greg Smith.

Mater Dei has now won 11 regional championships, including the last four in Division II.

Edison had never reached a regional final, but the Tigers came in riding a 19-game winning streak.

They never had much of a chance at No. 20.

Smith opened the game with a dunk for Edison. Then Mater Dei ran off 14 unanswered points.

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Mike Terry

Santa Margarita 67, Torrance Bishop Montgomery 39 -- The Eagles did not win the Trinity League title -- that was won by Mater Dei. Nor did they win the Southern Section Division I-AA championship -- that was claimed by Compton Dominguez.

But on Saturday, Santa Margarita finally found what it was looking for with a victory in the Southern California Regional Division III final at the Sports Arena.

The Eagles (29-5) will play Sacramento (30-3) for the state Division III title at 2:45 p.m. Saturday at Arco Arena.

“This means everything,” said Santa Margarita forward Klay Thompson, who led all scorers with 21 points.

Bishop Montgomery, which won the Southern Section Division II-AA championship, ends its season at 26-7.

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Mike Terry

North Hollywood Campbell Hall 76, Fresno San Joaquin Memorial 45 -- Dallas Rutherford scored 23 points and UCLA-bound Jrue Holiday contributed 22 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists at Mater Dei to help Campbell Hall earn a trip to the Division IV final, where it will play Albany St. Mary’s (33-1) at 1:30 p.m. Friday at Arco Arena.

The Vikings (30-5) are seeking their third state title in the last four years. They have won 13 consecutive games, with an average victory margin of 36 points.

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Eric Sondheimer

La Canada Renaissance 55, Los Angeles Price 52 -- In its eighth year of existence, the boys’ basketball program at Renaissance reached a high point, advancing to the state Division V championship game behind a clutch performance from senior guard Josh Thomas at Mater Dei.

Thomas, who sat out more than a month this season because of a knee injury, made a 17-foot jump shot with 38 seconds left to give Renaissance a 51-50 lead. He made two free throws with 12.8 seconds left.

After Tyreese Breshers’ basket for Price, another Renaissance senior guard, Justin Cook, made two free throws with less than a second left.

Renaissance (27-3) will play Ross Branson (30-3) at 11:15 a.m. Saturday at Arco Arena.

Price finished 31-4.

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Eric Sondheimer