ANGELUS LEAGUE : No. 1 Mater Dei Smooth as Glass While Beating St. Paul, 95-61

When your basketball team is 14-1 and ranked No. 1 in Orange County, it can be tough to find faults.

But if you’re Mater Dei High School Coach Gary McKnight, you just look underneath your feet. His problem wasn’t basketball players Friday night, but the basketball court.

The basketball court at St. Paul High, where visiting Mater Dei beat the Swordsmen, 95-61, is a slick, painted concrete surface as opposed to the standard hardwood.

Instead of being able to enjoy watching his team cruise to an easy victory, McKnight winced every time one of his players made a cut off a pick, and prayed that nobody would dive for a loose ball.

“It’s a Slip ‘n Slide out there,” McKnight said. “It’s like a Boys Club court. Someone needs to do something about that court before someone gets seriously hurt.”

The slick surface didn’t bother McKnight’s starting five, who built a 67-39 lead before McKnight cleared the bench in the fourth quarter.

Derek Stone, a 6-foot-8 center, led the Monarchs with 20 points, and swingman David Boyle added 17.

Mater Dei point guard Jason Quinn had 13 points and seven assists, all in the first half.

Andy Karich and Dan O’Neil had nine points apiece. Karich added eight rebounds and eight assists.

The Monarchs also forced 23 turnovers.

St. Paul (3-9) cut the deficit by bombing from the outside in the second half, but the long rebounds only served to feed Mater Dei’s fast break.

“That’s St. Paul’s style,” McKnight said. “They either shoot themselves into the game or they shoot themselves out of it.”

Edgar Diaz led St. Paul inside with 15 points, and sophomore guard Brandon Ertle added 15.

St. Paul also got 10 points from reserve freshman Eric Gutierrez, who connected on a pair of 25- footers in the first half.