Mater Dei Lets Down Its Guard and Just Hangs On for 5-A Title

Three weeks ago, Mater Dei High School Coach Gary McKnight was asked to characterize his team after the Monarchs’ regular-season finale against rival Servite.

“Kicked back,” McKnight quickly replied. “And it could cost us in the end.”

True to form, those laid-back Monarchs nearly saw the Southern Section 5-A title slip away Saturday night, but they managed to hang on for a 53-52 victory over Long Beach Millikan in front of 7,715 in the Sports Arena.

The victory gave the Monarchs (28-1) their third consecutive 5-A title, but it didn’t come easy. It should have, but then this season’s version of the Mater Dei dynasty doesn’t do anything the easy way.

Mater Dei held a seemingly safe 52-44 lead with 1:23 remaining after junior forward Kevin Rembert scored on a dunk. But from this point, the Monarchs nearly self-destructed.

The Monarchs missed six consecutive free throws, including the front end of three one-and-one opportunities down the stretch. Millikan (24-4) came charging back, slicing the deficit to just two points after reserve Rodney Camper made two free throws with 43 seconds remaining.

Somehow, Mater Dei survived two high-percentage shots by Millikan in the waning seconds and then Rembert finally put an end to the suspense by making a free throw with nine seconds left for a 53-50 lead.

Millikan reserve O.J. Campbell made a concession basket at the buzzer, but by then the Monarchs were celebrating their fourth large-school division title under McKnight in the past six years.

“I really thought with a six-point lead and 45 seconds left that we had it won,” McKnight said. “We made it a lot closer than that. We keep doing that.

“I don’t know what the problem is with our free throws. We’ve tried everything this season, but sometimes we just go into a drought.”

As usual, center LeRon Ellis led the Monarchs with 21 points and 14 rebounds. But the 6-foot 11-inch senior was pathetic at the free-throw line, making 3 of 10 attempts.

“It seems we spark it up and then we have a semi-letdown,” Ellis said. “Then we have to spark it up again. By the fourth quarter, we were in our letdown stage.”

For most of the game, the Monarchs were very much in control. Guard John Boyle gave Mater Dei a 27-18 lead with a three-point play coming with only three seconds left in the first half. He opened the second half with a long jump shot that pushed the Monarchs ahead, 29-18.

But Millikan continued to whittle away at the Monarchs’ big lead and closed to within two points, 38-36, with 7:13 remaining in the fourth quarter following a jumper by forward Ken Jarvis.

That’s when LeRon went to work. The big guy made four consecutive shots, and it appeared Mater Dei had another title neatly wrapped up. But it was cruise control time.

Boyle was the unsung hero of the game as well as the unsung hero of the season. He averaged only four minutes on the Monarchs’ junior varsity team last season, but found himself starting this year when Mike Hopkins suffered an ankle injury.

Asked what he was doing in the spotlight at the Sports Arena, Boyle said, “I really don’t know how I got here, but of course, I think it’s great. Maybe it’s destiny.”

Mater Dei will open play in the Southern California Division I regionals on Thursday night. They’ll likely receive a first-round bye when the pairings are announced today at the Southern Section office in Cerritos.