Mater Dei Pulls It Out at the Line : Division I: O’Neil’s free throws in the final seconds give the Monarchs a 62-60 victory over San Francisco Riordan and their second state championship.

Mater Dei High School capped a banner season with a 62-60 victory over San Francisco Riordan Saturday night, winning the State Division I boys’ basketball championship before 14,629 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

Guard Dan O’Neil made two free throws with eight seconds remaining, clinching Mater Dei’s 26th consecutive victory and its second state title. Mater Dei also won the 1987 Division I championship.

“I couldn’t feel good until O’Neil made those free throws,” said Gary McKnight, Mater Dei’s coach. “They’re a nasty team that wouldn’t let us put them away.”

Mater Dei (34-1) made 12 of 17 free throws in the fourth quarter to hold off a frantic rally by Riordan.

O’Neil, playing his final basketball game before embarking on a football career at the University of Oregon, finished with 19 points. Andy Karich added 16 points, including seven key free throws in the final quarter.

But it was the defensive play of forward Charlie Andres on Riordan’s high-scoring forward, Dwayne Fontana, that was the difference. Fontana, averaging 20 points a game, was limited to eight, making only three of 13 shots.

“It was a super defensive effort,” McKnight said. “Charlie did a good job of denying him the ball. And when Fontana got it, he pushed him out farther, forcing Fontana to come up short on his shots.”

Fontana, a 6-foot-4 senior who will attend Arizona State, said at times he felt as if he was being guarded by all five of Mater Dei’s starters as they repeatedly helped Andres whenever the ball went inside.

“They shut down the passing lanes, and it was hard for us to get into our offense,” Fontana said. “Everything I shot wouldn’t go in. That’s only the third time in my career I haven’t scored in double figures.”

Riordan (29-3) faced an uphill battle most of the game after falling behind by as many as 13 points in the first half. Riordan’s Dorian Manigo missed his opening 13 shots but scored 21 of his game-high 25 points in the second half, including a three-point shot with two seconds remaining. The final score was the closest Riordan came in the second half.

“They did an excellent job defensively,” said Ron Isola, Riordan’s coach. “We usually get 20 points out of Dwayne, and tonight we got eight. They took Dwayne away and said go ahead and shoot outside.

“We had two or three chances in the fourth quarter, but over-aggressiveness hurt us. We weren’t patient at critical times and that really hurt.”

McKnight, savoring his 227th victory in eight seasons, said the state championship was a tribute to a team that was destined to win it all.

“You know (assistant) Phil Bellomo said before the first day of practice that our goal this season should be to go undefeated,” McKnight said. “I told him he was crazy.

“We weren’t playing well at the beginning of the year, but when we won the Orange tournament, I didn’t think we’d lose again. It’s a real tribute to win nine post-season games, beating nine caliber teams, and win the state title.”