Prep Basketball : Angelus League : Mater Dei Keeps Hold on Servite : Rembert Scores 21; Monarchs Win, 63-48

Mater Dei High School’s Kevin Rembert has been contributing to Servite losses for the last four years and saw no reason to discontinue that trend Friday night.

“Servite has never beaten us since I’ve been at Mater Dei, so I wasn’t going to lose my last game against them,” he said.

Rembert, a senior forward, made certain of that, as he led a fourth-quarter surge that gave Mater Dei a 63-48 Angelus League victory over Servite in front of 1,500 at Cypress College.

Rembert scored eight of his game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter, as the Monarchs (17-6 overall, 8-2 in league play) outscored Servite, 19-8. Rembert was 6 of 8 from the free throw line during the quarter and fouled out Servite center Nick Marusich in the process.

Mater Dei’s Mike Hopkins chipped in with five points in the fourth quarter and was 3 of 3 from the free throw line. Mater Dei made 28 of 43 free throws for the game.

Marusich, a 6-foot 9-inch senior, had caused problems for Mater Dei in the first half, as his size effectively plugged up the middle. Rembert, who went scoreless during the first quarter, went to work on Marusich in the second quarter, drawing three fouls with drives to the basket.

Marusich scored nine points and had seven rebounds before fouling out with 3 minutes 47 seconds left.

Mater Dei, which scored just six points in the first quarter and trailed by five, outscored Servite, 20-15, for a 26-26 halftime tie. Rembert scored seven points in the quarter, as did Hopkins, who was moved from guard to forward.

“They were dropping back inside on defense, so we moved inside and went with a double high post,” Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight said. “Those adjustments opened up the middle.”

Still, the Monarchs had trouble pulling away from Servite (12-11, 2-8).

Hopkins, who scored 17 points, and guard Mike Morris led a 7-0 run that gave Mater Dei a 40-32 lead with 2:37 left in the third quarter. Morris made two outside jump shots during the run and Hopkins made three free throws.

But, Servite came back, as guard Brian Kenney scored on a drive and then made two free throws to cut the deficit to 44-40 going into the final quarter.

Kenney scored a team-high 18 points before fouling out with three minutes left.

“We knew Servite was going to be fired up for this game,” said Rembert, who also had a game-high 12 rebounds. “They are not going to the playoffs, so this was their season.”

Neither side resembled a playoff caliber team. Mater Dei, which finished second in the league, committed 21 turnovers and Servite 18.

However, the Monarchs made just two turnovers in the final quarter and were 13 of 17 from the free throw line.

That and Rembert was all Mater Dei needed.