Boys’ basketball: Mater Dei wins 22nd section title for Coach Gary McKnight
Chino Hills made Mater Dei work very hard to deliver a 22nd Southern Section championship for Coach Gary McKnight, but the Stanley Johnson-led Monarchs came through with a 48-44 victory in the Open Division final at the Honda Center.
Johnson finished with 28 points and made eight consecutive clutch free throws in the fourth quarter. Mater Dei made just one shot from three-point range in 14 attempts, but it was Johnson’s three as the shot clock buzzer went off with 2:15 left that provided a lift.
Chino Hills Coach Steve Baik said he thought his team should have won the game, but the Huskies shot 26.2% from the field. Freshman LiAngelo Ball finished with 14 points. His brother, Lonzo, was four of 22 shooting and had nine points.
Mater Dei improved to 31-0.
“It’s a pretty impressive group,” McKnight said. “They do play defense.”
Get our high school sports newsletter
Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
