Montclair Prep to Face Cathedral in Quarterfinals

Montclair Prep, led by Craig Handschu and David Sanger, meets Cathedral in a Southern Section 1-A Division quarterfinal round basketball game at 7:30 tonight at La Salle High.

Montclair Prep (17-6), the Alpha League co-champion, will try to advance to the semifinal round for the first time in three seasons, and Cathedral (20-6), the Santa Fe League co-champion, hopes to move into the semifinals for the first time since winning the 1-A title in 1978.

Handschu, a 6-2 junior swingman, scored 32 points in a 77-72 first-round victory over Pasadena Poly last Friday and is averaging 25.8 points a game.

“We have to hold Handschu to 20 points to win,” first-year Cathedral Coach Michael Miller said. “And we have to control Sanger inside. We can’t let him get any easy points in there.”

Sanger, a 6-8 senior, is averaging 13.9 points, 12.2 rebounds and 5.7 blocked shots a game. Although he was held to two points against Pasadena Poly, he had 22 rebounds and a school-record 10 blocks.

Ice Williams, the Santa Fe League player of the year, will be assigned to contain Sanger. Williams, a 6-2 senior, is averaging 16 points and 17 rebounds.

Guards Javier Montenegro and Louis Fuentes provide the bulk of the Phantoms’ outside scoring.

Montenegro, a 5-11 senior who is averaging 19 points a game, has scored 58 points in the Phantoms’ two playoff victories. Fuentes, a 5-9 junior, is averaging 11.5 points and 8.1 assists a game.