ABOVE THE RIM TOURNAMENT : Mater Dei’s Defense Disrupts Torrey Pines

The intense defensive pressure of Santa Ana Mater Dei lifted the state’s No. 2 team to a 63-52 victory over host Torrey Pines in the quarterfinals of the Above the Rim Hoopwear Classic on Saturday night.

“I think our depth wore them down, and then our sophomore kid (Miles Simon, 18 points) stepped up,” Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight said. “I don’t think they’re used to seeing that kind of pressure, not in the first three games of this tournament, anyway.”

Mater Dei scored the first 10 points of the fourth quarter to advance to the semifinals against Brooklyn Bishop Ford at 8:45 p.m. Monday at Peterson Gym.

The Monarchs (13-0) took advantage of nine turnovers in the third quarter to pull within one entering the fourth, 43-42, after trailing by five at halftime.

Simon had four three-point baskets in the second half; one tied the game at 37, another gave the Monarchs their first lead, 42-41, since leading 19-18 in the second quarter.

Scot Pollard, a 6-foot-11 junior, led Torrey Pines (8-3) with 24 points. Steve Lemery had 13.

Reggie Geary had 16 for Mater Dei.

Bishop Ford (N.Y.) 67, Oakland Bishop O’Dowd 63--It took a while for them to reach the tournament site, but once Bishop Ford High from Brooklyn finally arrived, the Falcons brought plenty of party favors.

Ford (7-1) overcame a nine-point halftime deficit and advanced to Monday’s semifinals with a victory over Oakland Bishop O’Dowd (8-1).

The bus that was supposed to take Ford and O’Dowd to Torrey Pines High left early, without the team, Ford Coach Ray Nash said. Nash couldn’t phone in to Torrey Pines, couldn’t use the Red Lion Inn vans, and couldn’t find a car rental that had four cars ready to roll.

They reached the school five minutes after the game was supposed to begin and played early on as though they shouldn’t have shown up at all.

“We stopped playing in the first half and I thought we were going to be back on an early plane,” Nash said. “I thought we were going to be home for New Year’s Eve.”

Ford went more than six minutes in the first half without scoring, and O’Dowd’s 15-0 run gave it a 27-18 lead.

It was the second straight game Ford overcame a nine-point halftime deficit; the Falcons beat Mercer Island (Wash.), 62-41, Friday.

Both teams had 12 rebounds in the first half, but it wasn’t even close in the second. Ford held a 23-12 edge the final 16 minutes.

The starters scored all of Ford’s points, led by Winston Gordon (22), Robert Blackwell (16), Charles Jones (12), and Michael Saenger (11).

Blackwell also had a couple of fourth-quarter blocks that were converted to baskets as Ford stretched its lead from 51-50 to five points, and Gordon, who scored seven points in the third quarter, followed with a pair of baskets off the rebound to make it 59-52.

Frontier (N.Y.) 68, USDHS 45--Ian Hamilton’s 13 points and Brad Rossin’s six rebounds led the Dons. For Frontier, Travis Carrow scored 19 points and pulled down nine rebounds.

El Camino 65, Red Bluff 60--El Camino (6-3) won its first Above the Rim game after dropping its first two. Chris Dade led the Wildcats with 18 points and three assists and Tyrone Butler added 15 points and five rebounds.

Lake Tahoe 66, Lincoln 64--Lincoln (7-6) led by six after three quarters, but lost for the second consecutive night. Hosa Baker led the Hornets with 15 points, Akili Smith had 14 and Archie Robinson added 13.

Oak Hill (Va.) 90, South Salem Oregon 46--After blowing out Lincoln by 37 points Friday, Oak Hill (18-1) was never threatened in this one either. Chris Davis led Oak Hill with 29 points and 15 rebounds.

Mercer Island 70, Cleveland St. Joseph 65--St. Joseph, ranked 23rd nationally, was upset for the second straight night. Fred Brown led Mercer Island with 35 points. Chris Callender led St. Joseph (4-3) with 25 points.