Costa Mesa Tournament : Mater Dei Beats Saddleback in Double Overtime

In the six years Gary McKnight has been the Mater Dei High School basketball coach, no Orange County team has ever beaten the Monarchs. Saddleback, the team that had come the closest, came even closer Friday night.

Down by 11 points early in the fourth quarter, Mater Dei finished with a fury to defeat the Roadrunners, 58-53, in double overtime, winning the Newport-Costa Mesa tournament along the way.

Char Ruppel, scoreless in the first half, made a tying layup that barely beat the final buzzer in regulation and had six points in overtime for the Monarchs.

The 6-foot 6-inch senior finished with 15 points and earned tournament most valuable player honors.

Saddleback, which lost to Mater Dei, 53-51, in single overtime two years ago, went on a rampage in the third quarter behind the play of Gylan Dottin and his brother, Malru. The Dottins combined for 13 points in the quarter, and when Gylan turned a steal into a slam early in the fourth quarter, the Roadrunners led, 40-29.

But the Monarchs went to a pressure defense, beginning to play with some intensity, and forced three Saddleback turnovers on inbound plays in the final 25 seconds of regulation.

Kevin Rembert opened the first overtime period with a turnaround jumper, but Saddleback’s Sean Simon countered with a short jumper. Ruppel followed up an offensive rebound with a layup with 35 seconds left only to see Craig Marshall turn a steal into a basket with five seconds remaining.

In in the second overtime, Ruppel scored three quick points and Mike Hopkins followed with a pair of baskets as the Monarchs’ pressure finally cracked the Roadrunners.

“The difference was being there before and not being there,” Saddleback Coach Pat Quinn said. “It was a little too early in the season for us to learn how to handle the pressure.”

In the third-place game:

Estancia 50, La Quinta 41--Mike Curtis had 8 of his game-high 20 points in the first quarter to lead the Eagles to an 18-4 lead they never relinquished. Chris Rupsa added 15 points, including 8 in the first quarter, for Estancia (3-1). James Johnson had 15 points for La Quinta (2-2).

In the fifth-place game:

University 75, Los Alamitos 69--Steve Stolzoff had 32 points, Ben Saltzman had 10 rebounds and Carl Caldwell had 7 assists to lead the Trojans (3-1). Brett Pagett had 26 points for Los Alamitos (2-2).

In the consolation game:

Newport Harbor 49, Mater Dei JV 44--Jim Geerlings had 15 points, Mike Nguyen 11 and Tyler Koon 10 to lead the Sailors.