ANGELUS LEAGUE ROUNDUP : After Slow Start, Mater Dei Rolls

For one half Friday night, it looked as if Mater Dei might actually have its hands full. For one half, Coach Gary McKnight sweated while Servite ran its plod-and-pass offense. For one half, it was anybody’s basketball game.

Then for one half, it was business as usual for the Monarchs, the No. 1-ranked team in Orange County.

Mater Dei, harnessed for 16 minutes, broke loose in the second half for 58-45 Angelus League victory at the Bren Events Center. The victory was decisive, but deceiving.

“Boy, after that first half, I was ready to start refunding tickets,” McKnight said. “We got caught in their style. We like it up-tempo, they like it low-scoring.”

The Monarchs (18-1, 2-0) finally had it their way, with Reggie Geary on the accelerator.

Geary, a 6-foot-3 senior guard, scored 12 of his game-high 14 points in the third quarter. He made all five of his shots, including two three-pointers.

More importantly, Geary lumped much of it into one burst of ability, which turned a close game into something the Monarchs are more accustomed to.

Leading, 21-19, Mater Dei went on a 15-3 run. Geary, who has signed a letter of intent to play at Arizona, scored 10 of his points during the three-minute run.

“I had to try and pick things up after the first half,” Geary said. “I feel it’s my responsibility. I don’t look for the one-on-one stuff. I just try create something.”

Ray Jackson picked up were Geary left off, scoring nine of his 11 points in the second half.

Once in gear, the Monarchs didn’t slow down. They led by as many as 17 points in the fourth quarter.

“I was a lot happier midway through the third quarter,” McKnight said.

There wasn’t a lot of grinning on the Mater Dei side during the first half.

Servite (7-9, 0-2) used its four-corner offense to milk the clock and trailed only 19-17 at halftime.

The Friars worked for high-percentage shots and dominated the boards. During one possession, they had five offensive rebounds before getting a layup.

At halftime, Servite had a 23-13 edge in rebounding, 13 of which were offensive rebounds.

“They just wanted it more than us,” McKnight said. “We weren’t battling.”

However, the Friars’ poor shooting caught up with them. They made only seven of 30 shots in the first half and shot only 33% for the game.

Adam Anderson, their leading scorer, made only one of 13 shots and finished with five points. He was averaging 14 points per game going into the game.

In another league game:

Santa Margarita 95, Loyola 84--Michael Carpenter scored 28 points and Dan Bathey 24, as the host Eagles improved to 15-2, 2-0.