Prep BasketBall : Mater Dei, Crenshaw Set to Settle National Title Before the State Title

Tonight’s game between Crenshaw and Santa Ana Mater Dei is no longer just for the Division I title of the Southern California Regionals and a trip to Oakland for next weekend’s State finals, although that would have been more than enough.

It’s probably for No. 1 in the nation.

Mater Dei, the second-ranked team by USA Today, is now a logical successor for the top spot after Chicago Simeon lost earlier in the week in the Illinois playoffs. A win by the Monarchs (30-0) over No. 16 Crenshaw (23-2) at the Sports Arena (8 p.m.) could reduce the voting for the next poll to a formality.

But will it also do the same to the March 22 game in Oakland against the Northern California winner?

“It’s the game we’ve been looking forward to,” Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight said Friday of the meeting with Crenshaw. “This is the State championship. The one in Oakland is a token.

“I feel the winner of the Mater Dei-Crenshaw game will be the State champion. This is the game of the century.”

Play it safe and call it the game of the year.

Despite the national rankings, Cal-Hi Sports has Crenshaw No. 1 in the state and Mater Dei No. 2. In addition, it matches the contrasts of the fast break and full-court press of Crenshaw against the machine-like efficiency of the Mater Dei offense.

And some people, McKnight included, look at it as a game for more than rankings and records. It seems as though the contrasts in style has also gone to draw some battle lines between the two regions.

“There seems to be an attitude in the City that City basketball is better than in Orange County,” he said. “But if that’s the case, why has Willie West avoided all the CIF tournaments for the past two years?”

That is apparently a rip against the Crenshaw coach for choosing not to play in the prestigious Tournament of Champions. A knock that will undoubtedly be remembered by the Crenshaw people tonight sometime around 8.

The rest of the Sports Arena lineup:

Division I girls--Lynwood (28-4) vs. Point Loma (29-1), 6:15 p.m. Lynwood, which beat No. 3 Ventura Buena and No. 1 Pasadena Muir back-to-back in the Southern Section playoffs, is the 22nd-ranked team in the country according to USA Today, but Point Loma is No. 6.

Can Lynwood, which only has one player over six feet, continue the string of upsets? Stopping forward Terri Mann will be the key, but not the only thing the Knights, the Southern Section 4-A champions, have to worry about.

Mann gets all the publicity, but it is clear from Thursday’s victory over Granada Hills Kennedy that stopping her does not stop the Pointers. Mann, who is averaging 27 points a game, made only 3 of 13 shots and scored just 8 points in a 46-36 win.

Forwards Trise Jackson (18.7 points a game) and Shurrell Johnson (15.0) lead Lynwood.

Division II boys--Oceanside El Camino (25-3) vs. Hacienda Heights Wilson (29-3), 3:15 p.m.

El Camino, which beat Murphy in the semifinals, also has a tournament win against Poway to its credit, very impressive since the Titans gave Crenshaw a tough game Thursday in Division I play. Forwards Ken Crawford (17.5 points per game) and Steve Heard (15.0) are the top players on a team that likes to run.

Wilson, the Southern Section 3-A champion, is led, of course, by 6-10 center Scott Williams.

Division II girls--Chino (30-1) vs. Santa Clara (25-4), 1:30 p.m., matching the Southern Section 2-A champion against the Southern Section 1-A winners, respectively.

Chino had little trouble in beating San Joaquin Memorial of Fresno in the semifinals Wednesday, as Candida Echevaria scored 25 points and Stephanie Dykstra added 18.

Santa Clara advanced with 14 points from Kathy Torres, 12 from Kim Welch and 11 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists from Cathy Fenske.

Division III boys--Santa Monica Crossroads (22-7) vs. Cerritos Whitney (23-5), 11:45 a.m.

Playoff-proven Crossroads, the Southern Section 1-A champion, is a solid favorite against the Southern Section Small Schools winner. The Roadrunners played a tough nonleague schedule, going 5-6 against teams mostly from higher divisions, including close defeats to 5-A runner-up Gardena Serra and Culver City of the 4-A.

Whitney is a young team, starting five juniors. The inexperience was not apparent on Wednesday, though, as the Wildcats rallied from a 12-point deficit to defeat Laton of the Central Section, 63-61, at West Hills College in Coalinga.

Division III girls--Yucca Valley (26-2) vs. Woodlake (22-3), 10 a.m.

Yucca Valley advanced after handling Holtville, 39-29, Wednesday. The Trojans, winners of the Southern Section Small Schools, are led by forwards Hilary Brown and Becky Geeson and shooting guard Trina Anderson.

Central Section champion Woodlake from Tulare County won the Southern California Regional in 1984 but then lost to Colfax in the State final.