HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL : Oak Hill Crowns Mater Dei for Title

Reggie Geary, Mater Dei’s Arizona-bound guard, addressed reporters after the Monarchs fell to Oak Hill Academy, 69-50, in the championship game of the Del Mar Torrey Pines basketball tournament Tuesday at San Diego State’s Peterson Gym.

If the teams played 10 times, Geary speculated, Mater Dei would win five games.

That’s easier said than done for the only senior among the Monarchs’ top 10 players. Geary, who was selected to the all-tournament team, was limited to six points against Oak Hill, a private school in Mouth of Wilson, Va.

“We’re a really good team and they’re on another level,” said Mater Dei assistant Phil Bellomo, the offensive coach whose team shot 46% (19 of 41).

If it’s any consolation, Oak Hill Coach Steve Smith said his team played a nearly perfect game, the kind they’ll need to play when they face the nation’s No. 1-ranked team, Baltimore Dunbar, on Friday.

“We found out tonight we’re not as good as we thought we were,” Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight said. “They’ve got that zone and we couldn’t get our press going. We had terrible matchup problems and, physically, they’re a lot stronger than us.

“They dominated with their strength and size.”

It showed, especially in the third quarter, when Chris Davis, Oak Hill’s 6-foot-6 center who’s headed for Kansas, dominated the middle. He blocked four shots and got most of his six rebounds after being slowed by early foul trouble. Oak Hill stretched a 31-23 halftime lead to 45-28 with 2:43 left in the quarter.

Oak Hill (20-1) entered the game ranked ninth in the nation by USA Today; Mater Dei (14-1) had been ranked 21st.

“Some of our kids were rattled,” McKnight said. “They pushed us out to a perimeter game in the first half, and (Davis) could score any time he wanted to--or whenever they felt it was his turn to score.”

Brooklyn Lincoln wins--Brooklyn Bishop Ford had seven players break curfew Monday night and forfeited the third-place game game.

Los Alamitos 58, Carlsbad 53--Tim Lin scored 19 points and Jason Cunningham had 17 for Los Alamitos (5-7) in a consolation game. Ali Miller added 12 points and six assists for the Griffins, who had lost to Carlsbad, 65-55, earlier this season in the Trabuco Hills tournament.

El Camino 59, USDHS 55--USDHS out-rebounded El Camino, 28-23, and outshot El Camino, 48%-45%, but could not corral El Camino’s balanced attack. El Camino had three players in double figures--Bryant Westbrook (11 points), Mike Booker (11) and Damian Wade (10)--while only one USDHS player, Ian Hamilton managed more than eight points. He had 31.

Lincoln 104, Menlo 46--All eleven Hornets scored. Forward Berry Randle led with 25 points and 14 rebounds. Others in double figures included: Archie Robinson, 19; Hosa Baker, 16; Chester Magnum 12,; and Scott Hammond, 10.

Los Alamitos 58, Carlsbad 53--Carlsbad out-rebounded Los Alamitos, 34-19, and had 13 offensive rebounds, but couldn’t keep up with Los Alamitos offensively. Los Alamitos had three players in double figures, including Tim Lin who scored 19. Andy Reed led Carlsbad with 20.

Alta (Utah) 61, Mercer Island 55--Alta limited Mercer Island to 34% shooting accuracy.