PREP BASKETBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS : Riordan Had an Easier Road to the Final

The videotape machine has been getting a workout this week at Mater Dei High School.

Each day, Mater Dei’s basketball players have huddled in the team room to watch the final minute of the Monarchs’ 46-45 victory over Long Beach Poly last Saturday in the Southern California Division I boys’ regional final at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

The game featured a fluke, last-second three-point basket by guard Jason Quinn, a basket that erased Poly’s 45-43 lead with 1.8 seconds remaining on the arena clock.

“They must have had that tape going back and forth 100 times,” Coach Gary McKnight said. “I think they enjoy watching the reaction of everyone on the floor after the shot. It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime games.”

Well, before Mater Dei puts the lid on a once-in-a-lifetime season, there’s the business at hand of a state championship game. Mater Dei (33-1) meets San Francisco Riordan (29-2) at 7 tonight in the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

For Mater Dei, it’s time to turn off the tape machine, forget that your coach has missed practice this week with severe muscle spasms in his back and get busy one more time.

Mater Dei beat two very good teams from the Los Angeles City section, North Hollywood and Manual Arts, setting up last weekend’s showdown with Long Beach Poly. Poly was the only team to beat Mater Dei this season, 54-47, in the Tournament of Champions final. But Mater Dei avenged the loss on Quinn’s last-second basket.

Riordan had an easier road reaching tonight’s game, winning three Northern Regional games by an average margin of 17 points.

Forward Dwayne Fontana is the team’s most talented player and best hope inside against a taller and more physical Mater Dei team. Fontana averages 22 points and 12 rebounds per game. He has signed with Arizona State.

Guard Dorian Manigo is Riordan’s spark, averaging 19.1 points and five assists per game. Manigo has signed with Cal State Northridge.

Among the crowd watching Riordan’s 80-60 victory over Oakland Skyline last Saturday at the Oakland Coliseum Arena were McKnight and assistants Dave Taylor and Phil Bellomo. McKnight was impressed with Fontana.

“He’s a great one,” McKnight said. “He can score from the perimeter, on the side, inside or anywhere they can get him the ball. I don’t know how we’re going to stop him.

“They remind me a lot of our team. They play hard-nosed defense, and they’re very team-oriented. I just hope we don’t go up there thinking we’ve won the state because we beat Poly.”

Riordan Coach Ron Isola said the trip to the state championship game has been rewarding, considering the makeup of his team.

“The fact that this is not a team with a bunch of kids going on to major college basketball has made this special,” Isola said. “We do have two outstanding players, but there have been so many others who have contributed.

“Our win over Skyline was a great team effort, but it’s been that way all year. Two really outstanding players with the other guys playing beyond their potential.”

Riordan will need one of those “beyond their potential” efforts tonight if it hopes to end Southern California’s hold on the state championship; Southern Regional winners have won the state title eight consecutive years.

BOYS’ STATE DIVISION I LINEUPS SAN FRANCISCO RIORDAN (29-2)

Name Hgt. Yr. PPG Pos. Rich Buckner 6-3 Sr. 6.5 F Dwayne Fontana 6-4 Sr. 22.6 F Andre Crump 6-3 Sr. 4.8 C Jaime Edwards 5-6 Sr. 6.5 G Dorian Manigo 6-1 Sr. 19.3 G Coach Ron Isola

MATER DEI (33-1)

Name Hgt. Yr. PPG Pos. Charlie Andres 6-7 Sr. 11.1 F Andy Karich 6-6 Sr. 10.1 F Derek Stone 6-8 Sr. 9.0 C David Boyle 6-5 Sr. 15.8 G Jason Quinn 6-0 Sr. 6.2 G Coach Gary McKnight