PREP FLASHBACK : THIS WEEK IN COUNTY PREP SPORTS HISTORY

10 YEARS AGO

Few watching the Servite-Mater Dei basketball game would have guessed they were seeing what would become a rare sight: a Servite victory over Mater Dei, 55-42.

Servite would go on to sweep the season series in 1982 but then would not win from 1983 until January, 1991.

Mater Dei-Servite was just as big in 1981 as it is today, but the basketball side of it had not developed the same as the football. The Times’ headline read: “Hey, They Play Basketball Too.”

Fans from the schools already knew what The Times was discovering, however. Games were played at Chapman College, Rancho Santiago and Cypress College to accommodate the crowds.

Scott Sinek, who would accept a scholarship to play for Brigham Young, led the Friars to their victory with six points and seven assists.

5 YEARS AGO

Other players, such as Bob Erbst of Katella, were getting more attention from scouts and newspapers, but Laguna Beach’s Coby Naess was the hottest.

Naess scored 88 points and grabbed 37 rebounds in three games to lead the Artists to three consecutive victories.

Naess capped his hot week with 29 points and 18 rebounds in a 73-69 victory over Saddleback.

1 YEAR AGO

At the top: In a matchup of the No. 1 boys’ basketball team in Orange County (Mater Dei) and the No. 1 team in Los Angeles County (Artesia’s Ed O’Bannon Show), the Monarchs won, 62-59. David Boyle, who now plays for Holy Cross, made two free throws with nine seconds left to clinch the victory.

No big thing: Sunny Hills defeated Fullerton, 85-80, for its first victory in Fullerton’s gym in six years. It was a matchup of the Freeway League’s best teams, but not even the coaches were impressed. Before the game, Fullerton Coach Chris Burton said: “The league is pretty bad. If we don’t beat Sunny Hills at our place, they’ll probably go 10-0 in league. I can’t see anybody matching up to their height.”

Postscript: Sunny Hills (10-12) and Fullerton (11-12) both finished 8-2 in league.