Mater Dei’s unbeaten season on the line at rival’s gym

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Let’s face it, boys’ basketball games don’t get much bigger than this. Mater Dei, ranked No. 1 by The Times, plays at No. 4 Santa Margarita at 7 p.m. tonight/Wednesday.

Mater Dei (23-0, 7-0) and Santa Margarita (21-2, 6-1) are ranked 1 and 2 in Orange County by The Register, and they are ranked 1 and 5 in the state by CalHiSports.com.

And this is just a regular ol’ Trinity League game. OK, maybe not so regular.

Last time out, Mater Dei won, 74-61, largely on the strength of a decisive 19-11 third-quarter advantage and 21 points each by sophomore Gary Franklin and junior David Wear.

Although there’s reason to believe Santa Margarita’s Klay Thompson will have a better game than last time, when he scored only 15 points, and the Eagles will make a more serious run, here’s food for thought: Travis Wear, who, like his twin, is averaging 17 points a game, sat out the last contest with a bum shoulder. If he’s in the Monarchs’ lineup tonight, does that offset any advantage Santa Margarita might have picked up emotionally?

Get there early or risk being locked out by the fire marshall.

-- Martin Henderson

-- Image from www.mp3sight.com