Servite Summer Basketball Tournament : Question of Balance Tips Title Game Mater Dei’s Way, 91-66

The post-LeRon Ellis era is being ushered in at Mater Dei High School this summer, and if the Monarchs’ performance in the Servite summer basketball tournament this weekend is any indication, Mater Dei will manage just fine without their 6-foot 11-inch center, who is headed for the University of Kentucky.

The Monarchs, fashioning a more balanced team than the one that captured the 1987 Division I state championship, thoroughly dominated St. Anthony in Sunday night’s championship game, defeating the Saints, 91-66, at Servite High.

It marked the second straight tournament blowout for Mater Dei, which beat Pius X, 73-46, in the first round; Santa Monica, 62-49, in the quarterfinals, and Foothill, 69-61, in the semifinals.

Forward Kevin Rembert led the way Sunday night with 23 points and 8 rebounds, and Mater Dei also received outstanding individual performances from forward Char Ruppel, who had 20 points, and guard Mike Hopkins, who added 16.

“If those three score in that range, we’ll be good,” Monarch Coach Gary McKnight said. “We don’t need anyone to score 25 points a game for us.”

St. Anthony guard Darrick Martin, who scored 125 points in four tournament games, including 43 against Servite Saturday night, had 28 points Sunday night, but one player wasn’t going to beat Mater Dei.

The Monarchs simply had too much overall team speed and strength inside, as Rembert and his teammates continually muscled their way to easy baskets. In all, Mater Dei scored 50 points on layups or inside shots.

“We played very well as a team,” McKnight said.

Martin had 20 points in the first half but cooled off considerably in the second and finished with a 12-for-32 performance from the floor.

Mater Dei opened up a 10-point lead (26-16) at the end of the first quarter and went ahead, 49-34, at halftime when Hopkins hit a three-point shot as the buzzer sounded.

Just before Hopkins’ shot, St. Anthony had cut the lead to 12 points, 46-34, when Martin hit a jumper with four seconds left, was fouled after the shot and hit two free throws in the one-and-one situation.

The Monarchs put the game away in the third quarter by scoring 14 straight points to make it 67-39 with 3:40 to play. Mater Dei’s biggest lead was 30 points, which the Monarchs achieved once in the third period and once in the fourth.

Guard Dylan Rigdon also finished in double figures for the Monarchs, scoring 11 points, and Derrick Walker scored 18 points for the Saints.

Mater Dei had advanced to the final by defeating Foothill in Sunday morning’s semifinals. Rembert, Ruppel and Hopkins each scored 17 points to lead the Monarchs.

St. Anthony, on the strength of Martin’s 21 points and Alan Aragon’s 18, advanced with a 77-70 victory over Capistrano Valley.

In the third-place game:

Foothill 58, Capistrano Valley 56--Steve McCaughey’s eight-foot jump shot with three seconds remaining bounced off the front of the rim, and the Knights held on for the victory.

Rusty Van Cleave led Foothill scorers with 19 points, and Chris Kostoff scored 17 points for the Cougars.

In the fifth-place game:

Servite 90, Santa Monica 82--Brook Hansen scored 20 points, Brian Kenney had 18, and Pat Ruble added 15 to lead the Friars to the victory over the Vikings. Keith Neal led all scorers with 30 points, and Wil Benjamin had 28 for Santa Monica.

In the consolation game:

Pius X 80, Dominguez 56--Lamont Hollinquest scored 21 points, and Willie Wilson had 17 to help the Warriors to an easy victory over the Dons.