ORANGE TOURNAMENT : Mater Dei Takes Care of Parks and Marina

Mater Dei High School’s defense was more than even Marina’s talented center, Cherokee Parks, could handle Thursday night in the semifinals of the 25th Orange Holiday Tournament at Chapman College’s Hutton Sports Center.

Mater Dei limited Parks to only 10 shots and utilized a half-court trap that was responsible for 25 turnovers in a 71-54 victory to advance to the championship game for the seventh time in the past eight years.

Mater Dei (11-1) meets Saddleback in the final, marking the third time the teams have played in a tournament championship in the past two years. Saddleback defeated Mater Dei in the finals of Orange and Newport-Costa Mesa tournaments last year.

Parks scored 17 points, had seven rebounds and blocked four shots but wasn’t a factor against a tall and physical team. Mater Dei took a 10-point lead in the third quarter when Charles Andres completed a three-point play and then turned it on in the final quarter.

“We didn’t handle their press and let the pressure get to us,” said Steve Popovich, Marina coach. “They’re so physical, they just pound you with size and strength.”

Parks, a 6-foot-11 junior, was hounded by Andres and Andy Karich most of the night. He made six of 10 shots and worked hard for all of his points.

Marina had problems getting the ball inside to Parks in the first half, committing 17 turnovers. Marina had 11 turnovers in the first quarter alone, but the Vikings only trailed, 30-24, at halftime.

Marina (8-5) did have some success with outside shooting provided by guard Travis Boyd, but the Vikings usually got only one shot with Mater Dei controlling the boards.

Mater Dei took the biggest lead of the half, 29-22, when guard Jason Quinn made a free throw following a steal. But the Monarchs were cold in the first half, making only 10 of 33 shots.

Marina forward Brent Shelor, who scored 24 points on Wednesday night against El Toro, finished with only 10 points.

In another game:

Saddleback 53, Dominguez 41--In a game short on points and long on defense, Saddleback forced 18 turnovers and limited Dominguez to just 19 of 47 shots in advancing to the championship game for the third consecutive year.

Saddleback (10-4) never trailed and opened a 20-point lead early in the fourth quarter. Dominguez (10-2) finally got untracked midway through the fourth quarter when reserve Greg Lacy made a pair of three-point shots. Guard Andre McFarlane led Saddleback with 15 points and center Marco Gomez had 12 rebounds.