Mater Dei Gets Break in Gear, Routs Servite

No one could ever accuse Mater Dei High School basketball Coach Gary McKnight of not preparing his teams. But preparation that preceded the Monarchs’ 82-44 Angelus League victory over Servite Saturday at Cypress College was focused more on keeping the team down than getting it fired up.

“We had them so keyed up for our game (against St. Paul) Wednesday,” McKnight said. “We tried to keep them at an even temperament tonight.

“I really didn’t push them too hard in preparation for this (Servite),” he said. “I didn’t want them too up, because of the playoffs.”

Servite Coach Larry Walker expressed similar sentiments regarding postseason play.

“This game doesn’t mean much,” Walker said. “We’re in (the playoffs) and we can’t stop (Mater Dei) from getting into the playoffs.”

Walker said the Friars had been notified they will receive an at-large 4-AA bid. They finished 3-5 in league play, 12-10 overall. Mater Dei will play in the 5-AA playoffs.

So maybe the playoffs are to blame for the sloppy play in the first half, when the teams combined for 25 turnovers. The playoff pairings will be announced Sunday.

“It was pretty physical the first half,” McKnight said. “It really didn’t get fun until we got the breaks going.”

Which happened just after halftime.

The Monarchs blew the game open with a 16-4 spree that lifted them to a 45-25 lead with 3 minutes 10 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

The spurt was led by senior guards Dylan Rigdon and Mike Morris, who combined for 18 of the Monarchs’ 22 points in the third quarter. Morris finished with 24 points, Rigdon 20.

“At halftime the coaches stressed that we were not running the break,” Rigdon said. “We were playing methodical (in the first half), not Mater Dei basketball.”

For the Monarchs, it’s the sixth time they have gone undefeated to win the league championship. They finished the regular season 8-0 in league play, 24-2 overall. They are 66-2 in league play over the last seven seasons.