Late Basket Beats Long Beach Poly

For the first 30 minutes of the Southern California Regional Division I championship game Friday night, Santa Ana Mater Dei guard Jason Quinn wasn’t a factor, but he finished the game a star.

With Mater Dei trailing, 45-43, and 1.8 seconds remaining, Quinn made a desperation, 20-foot three-point basket to give the Monarchs a 46-45 victory over Long Beach Poly before a crowd of 5,071 at the Sports Arena.

Poly, which made only two of six free throws in the last three minutes of the game, had a chance to increase its lead to three points after center Willie McGinest made a free throw with 19.3 seconds remaining.

However, McGinnest missed the second and Mater Dei got the rebound. With less than five seconds remaining, Quinn found himself trapped on the baseline in the right corner and put up the winning shot that hit nothing but net.

“I had no idea that I’d make it. . . It was just a Hail Mary,” said Quinn, who finished with 10 points, including eight in the game’s final two minutes. “I threw it up and just tried to get fouled.”

Quinn, who was fouled on the play but missed the free throw, sent Mater Dei (31-1) into its first State title game since 1987, when it defeated Ygnacio Valley, 69-51.

In the first half, Mater Dei’s pressure defense caused problems for Poly’s half-court offense. During one stretch, the Jackrabbits failed to score a point in over six minutes as the Monarchs took a 14-8 lead early in the second quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Poly, which outrebounded the Monarchs, 35-30, began to dominate the boards. Scoring mainly on second shots, the Jackrabbits opened a 44-40 lead with :50 seconds left in the game.

But Quinn made his first of two fourth quarter three-point shots to cut the lead to one, setting up the dramatic finish.

“Stuff like this happens,” Poly Coach Ron Palmer said. “It is all apart of the game. We’ll get our share down the line.”