Angelus League : Mater Dei Beats Pius X to Clinch League Title

Top-ranked Mater Dei High School took the first step toward a second consecutive CIF Southern Section basketball championship Friday night, defeating Pius X, 54-31, to clinch the Angelus League title at Rancho Santiago College in Santa Ana.

The Monarchs (8-0, 23-0) have won the league for the last four years under Coach Gary McKnight.

In the third quarter, the Monarchs re-established the inside game they used to jump to a 12-2 first quarter lead and removed any upset ideas the Warriors may have entertained when they climbed to within five points, 16-11, in the second quarter.

Senior forward Stuart Thomas scored 10 of his game-high 18 points in the third quarter as Mater Dei’s lead increased to 19 points, 39-20, by the end of the period.

Thomas, who has already signed to play at Stanford next year, opened the period with a short turnaround jump shot. Then, after teammate LeRon Ellis hit from closer range, Thomas scored six straight points. He hit two short jump shots, then scored off a rebound.

“We are always looking for a big guys,” McKnight said. “That’s just our offense. At halftime me moved the guards outside and had both Ellis and Thomas step away from the basket. That opened up the middle and they just went to work.”

Thomas’ last basket came in the fourth quarter and gave Mater Dei its biggest lead, 47-20. Thomas, Ellis (12 points) and the rest of the Monarch starters were removed with with nearly four minutes left.

Pius X had come the closest of any Angelus League team to upsetting Mater Dei, when the Warriors lost by only five points, 66-61, on Jan. 17.

The Warriors shot only 28% in the first half and struggled even more at the free throw line, making just one of seven. In the second half, Pius X improved its shooting to 39% and made 4 of 9 free throw attempts. But four of the misses were the front ends of one-and-one situations.

“We got hammered early and there were few fouls called,” Pius X Coach Mike Murphy said. “And that tends to bother our team. But, we lost this game, not the officials. We had our chances inside, we just didn’t make them and they did.”

The Warriors didn’t score until there was 2:06 left in the first quarter when guard Anthony Jenkins banked in a 15-foot jump shot. Pius X made just 1 of 8 shots in the period.

In the first meeting, Jackson scored 19 points but was held to just 9 Friday. Much of the credit to this can go to senior guard Tom Peabody (four points), who guarded Jenkins for most of the game.

Servite 78, Bishop Amat 66--Junior forward Tony Smalley scored 32 points and pulled down 9 rebounds to lead the Friars past the Lancers (2-6, 9-12) at Servite. Smalley, who is averaging 19 points a game overall and 22 a game in league, was 9 of 14 from the field and 14 of 16 from the free throw line. Teammate Shaun Sullivan, a guard, scored 23 points on 7 for 12 from field and 9 of 11 from the free throw line. Servite (4-4, 9-10) is tied for second with Pius X.