Mater Dei, Woodbridge Brace for Finals : County Teams Are a Game Away From State Championships

Mater Dei High School will attempt to become the first Orange County school to win a state Division I boys’ basketball title since the tournament was revived in 1981 when it meets Ygnacio Valley of Concord tonight at 8:15 in the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum Arena.

Woodbridge (27-5), which has won 17 straight games, plays De Anza of Richmond (31-3) for the Division II title at 4:30.

Woodbridge and Mater Dei are the first county schools to advance to the state championship since Orange won the title in 1920. There was no state championship game from 1929 to 1980, and the Southern Section did not participate in 1981 or 1985.

Mater Dei (30-1) faces a team that is similar to it in playing style and personnel. Ygnacio Valley (28-6) is a tempo-control team that relies on the scoring of 6-foot 8-inch center Eric Bamberger, who averaged 28 points in three Northern California regional games.

Ygnacio Valley was the surprise team of the regionals. It entered the eight-team tournament as an at-large entry and upset Merced, Bishop O’Dowd and Logan to qualify for tonight’s game.

“If their coach looks anything like Gene Hackman, we’re in trouble,” said Gary McKnight, Mater Dei coach. “If you look carefully, most of their losses came early in the season while some of their kids were still playing football.”

The most prominent of those football players is 6-2 point guard Chris Walsh, who has signed to play football at Stanford. Walsh averages 12 points and is the key player in the Warriors’ ball-control offense.

“They’re very disciplined and very patient,” McKnight said. “They will sometimes work for a minute to get a good shot.”

Mater Dei counters with 6-11 center LeRon Ellis. Ellis, one of the top players in the state, has been a dominant force in all six of the Monarchs’ playoff victories. He averages 24 points and 9 rebounds.

“If LeRon plays well, we’ll win,” said Mater Dei assistant Rich Schaaf. “It’s that simple.”

Woodbridge’s junior center, Adam Keefe, also has dominated play in Division II. He has averaged 24 points and 16 rebounds in seven playoff games.

Teammate Vince Bryan, who will attend Brigham Young University in the fall, is coming off his best game of the season. Bryan scored 20 points and had 7 rebounds in the Warriors’ regional final against Saugus.

Forward Matt Rodriguez, the leading scorer for De Anza, suffered a separated left shoulder in a regional semifinal game and is doubtful for tonight.

The smaller Dons rely on 6-3 forward Don Barksdale (13.4 points) and 6-5 center Maurice Dickens (11.2) for most of their scoring and rebounding. Sophomore center Ben Klash, 6-8, may start.

“De Anza is the best team in Northern California,” said Mark Tennis, editor of Cal-Hi Sports of Sacramento. “The De Anza-Woodbridge game could be the best game of the day.”

In the Division II girls’ title game, Valley Christian, which has won seven playoff games by an average of 36.7 points, meets Red Bluff (28-2).

Atascadero was Valley Christian’s only playoff opponent to keep the final margin within 20 points, losing the Southern Section 1-A title game, 64-50. Valley Christian (27-2), which has won 25 straight, beat Lompoc, the 2-A champion, by 29 Saturday in the Southern California Regional final.

In the Division I girls’ game, All-American center Terri Mann, averaging 38 points and 27 rebounds, and Point Loma will go for their fourth straight title and a 34-0 record. The Pointers’ opponent, just as last season, will be Sacramento Grant (33-1).

In the Division III boys’ game, Crossroads of Santa Monica (22-5), the Southern Section 1-A champion, is the only Los Angeles-area team making its second straight appearance.

The Roadrunners, who lost in the state title game in 1986, are led by guards Chris Brown, Matt Bailey and Michael Arnold and center David Wolfe going into their 12:45 p.m. game against Colusa (27-1). That will be the second game of the day, after the Woodlake-Willows matchup in girls’ Division III.

Prep Notes Prime Ticket will televise the Division I boys’ game live with Geoff Witcher and Brad Holland doing the announcing. . . . Hawthorne, with sophomore Curtis Conway, seniors Robert Carroll and Yki Vallery and junior Travis Hanna, ran 3 minutes 19.44 seconds last Sunday, winning in what would have to be considered the greatest indoor prep mile relay ever at the Pathmark national indoor meet at New Haven, Conn. The Cougars’ time is the fourth-best in the event, and Central of Philadelphia, at 3:19.82, and Davidson of Mobile, Ala., at 3:19.98, moved into seventh and ninth places, respectively. Still another team, Woodsen of Washington, D.C., wasn’t far behind at 3:20.40. Hanna clocked a 48.9 anchor leg to hold off Central’s William Reed, who ran a blazing 46.0. . . . Lisa Hardy of Santa Monica struck out 21 batters last Thursday in the Vikings’ 11-0 softball victory over St. Monica, second best all-time in the Southern Section for strikeouts in a game. The two-time all-league junior finished the game with a one-hitter. . . . Tom Richards has resigned after eight years as football coach at Sylmar. . . . The 20th annual Arcadia Invitational, the top prep track meet on the West Coast, has been set for April 11, with two prominent changes--an all-weather track being used at the school for the first time and a morning session that will allow more athletes to compete. In all, 300 schools from four states are expected.

Times staff writer Scott Howard-Cooper contributed to this story.

THE ROAD TO OAKLAND

MATER DEI (30-1)

Southern Section Playoffs

Mater Dei 64, Fountain Valley 42

Mater Dei 68, St. Anthony 57

Mater Dei 48, St. Monica 47

Mater Dei 53, Millikan 52

Regionals

Mater Dei 63, Fresno Edison 62

Mater Dei 46, Fairfax 42

WOODBRIDGE (27-5)

Southern Section Playoffs

Woodbridge 81, Central 64

Woodbridge 69, Walnut 57

Woodbridge 62, Righetti 48

Woodbridge 73, Victor Valley 59

Woodbridge 68, Banning 60

Regionals

Woodbridge 71, Fresno Wash. 66

Woodbridge 65, Saugus 53