16-Team Tournament of Champions Usually Lives Up to Billing

Defending champion Mater Dei High School heads a strong field of 16 teams in the Tournament of Champions, which begins today at Ocean View’s gymnasium.

Last year Mater Dei became the first school to win four tournament titles when it defeated Ocean View, 58-43, in the championship game.

Mater Dei opened the 1989-90 season with five consecutive victories, winning by an average margin of 35.8 points. The Monarchs are coming off an impressive victory in the St. Louis Shootout, defeating three-time defending Illinois state champion East St. Louis Lincoln, 62-48.

Loyola, with five returning starters from a team that finished 22-3 last season, is seeded second in the tournament. Ryan Jamison, a 6-foot-10 center who has signed with California, is the team’s top player.

Capistrano Valley, an easy winner in the Simi Valley tournament, also is entered. Forward Scott McCorkle set two tournament records last year as a junior. He scored 130 points in four games, breaking former Mater Dei standout Tom Lewis’ mark of 122 points. McCorkle, who will attend Syracuse, averaged 32.5 points in the tournament.

Other top players in the tournament include Chris Kostoff (Capistrano Valley), Willie McGinest (Long Beach Poly), Terrence O’Kelly (Lakewood), Robert Conlisk (Los Alamitos), LaDay Smith (Muir), Keith Walker (Brea-Olinda), Arthur Savage (Morningside), Greg Evans (Ocean View) and John Hillman (Glendale).

The championship game, which drew 1,821 last year, will be at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. The first-round pairings:

Today: 4 p.m.--West Covina vs. Westchester; 5:30--Capistrano Valley vs. Moreno Valley; 7--Lakewood vs. Loyola; 8:30--Hoover vs. Mater Dei.

Tuesday: 4 p.m.--Brea-Olinda vs. Muir; 5:30--Los Alamitos vs. Morningside; 7--L.A. Jefferson vs. Ocean View; 8:30--L.B. Poly vs. Servite.

Edison High School, featuring 6-10 center Bill Martineau, is the top-seeded team in the 24-team Irvine World News tournament beginning today ) at four sites.

Edison has three returning starters from a team that finished 15-13 and was a tri-champion of the Sunset League.

Other seeded teams include San Bernardino, Marina and Saddleback. San Bernardino is the Southern Section’s defending 4-A division champion, and Saddleback was the runner-up in the 5-AA division.

Among the top players in the tournament are Cherokee Parks (Marina), Brandon Jesse (Edison), Ray Owes (San Bernardino), Chauncy Woolridge (Santa Ana), Jimmy Galbert (Saddleback), Jim Barker (Kennedy), John Molle (Irvine) and Daryl Cole (Orange Lutheran).

The championship game will be at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Christ College Irvine. The first-round pairings:

At Woodbridge: 6 p.m.--Santa Ana vs. Garey; 7:30--Villa Park vs. Woodbridge. Edison and Eisenhower have byes.

At University: 6 p.m.--Saddleback vs. Savanna; 7:30--University vs. Esperanza. Compton and Kennedy have byes.

At Irvine: 6 p.m.--Palos Verdes vs. Paramount; 7:30--L.B. Wilson vs. Irvine. San Bernardino and Canyon Springs have byes.

At Christ College Irvine: 6 p.m.--Orange Lutheran vs. L.B. Millikan; 7:30--Laguna Hills vs. Corona del Mar. Marina and Redlands have byes.

Long Beach Jordan High School is the boys’ favorite and two-time defending champion Downey is the girls’ favorite in the third El Dorado co-ed basketball tournament, which starts Tuesday at El Dorado High.

Long Beach Jordan, a quarterfinalist in the 5-AA division playoffs last year, features center Joel Rosborough and guard Reggie King. Other top boys’ players are Ruben Oronoz (Whittier Christian), Kevin Wilborn (Canyon), Brett Mitchelson (Sunny Hills) and Mike Bradach (El Dorado).

The girls’ championship game will be at 6 p.m. Saturday; the boys’ title game is at 7:30. The first-round pairings:

Girls:

Tuesday: 3 p.m.--Anaheim Canyon vs. L.B. Jordan; 6--Pomona vs. Whittier Christian. Wednesday: 3 p.m.--Sunny Hills vs. Saugus Canyon; 6-- Downey vs. El Dorado.

Boys:

Tuesday: 4:30 p.m.--Anaheim Canyon vs. L.B. Jordan; 7:30--Pomona vs. Whittier Christian; Wednesday: 4:30--Sunny Hills vs. Saugus Canyon; 7:30--Downey vs. El Dorado.

Huntington Beach High School, featuring forwards Mustapha Abdi and Stephen Lucas, is the favorite in the La Quinta tournament, which begins tonight in the Aztecs’ gymnasium.

Other top teams in the eight-team tournament include Estancia, Foothill and La Quinta.

Among the top players are Augustine Heredia (Estancia), Mark Wilkinson (Foothill), Jared Rice (Cypress) and Mike Abbott (Troy).

The championship game will be at 8 p.m. Friday. The first round-pairings:

Tonight: 6:30--Katella vs. Estancia; 8--Torrance vs. Huntington Beach.

Tuesday: 6:30--Cypress vs. Foothill; 8--Troy vs. La Quinta.