DIVISION I-A : Mater Dei Races Past Buena, 68-49

The night was short on aesthetics, but Mater Dei’s one quarter of beauty was enough to defeat Ventura Buena, 68-49, Tuesday in a Southern Section I-A semifinal game before about 3,000 in the Bren Center.

Although the Monarchs (30-1) missed a bundle of short shots and fumbled away plenty of passes, they blitzed Ventura (22-6) with a 26-9 third-quarter run to advance to their eighth championship game in the past 10 seasons.

Mater Dei will play Riverside North, an 86-72 winner over San Bernardino Cajon, in the title game at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the L.A. Sports Arena.

For much of the game, the Monarchs, who have won six Southern Section titles in Coach Gary McKnight’s 11 seasons, didn’t look anything like the top-ranked team in the state, a position they have held much of this season.

They flubbed many inside opportunities in the first half--making only 38% of their shots from the field--and committed 10 turnovers. The Monarchs’ first-half turnovers allowed Buena, which appeared overmatched, to stay close.

The Bulldogs averaged 84.7 points in their first three playoff victories but had more trouble scoring on Mater Dei. Lance Fay, the section’s leading scorer in the regular season with a 30.3 average, was taken out of his rhythm by the Monarchs’ man-to-man pressure. He still managed 12 points in the first half.

Just before halftime, Buena used the press to force a Mater Dei turnover, and Nick Houchin made a reverse layup at the buzzer to bring the Bulldogs to within a point, 32-31.

It turned out to be a last gasp.

Mater Dei picked up the tempo in the second half and blew the game open with a 17-4 run in the first 5 1/2 minutes of the third quarter. Jerry Jones’ three-point play finished a 10-0 run that gave the Monarchs a 49-35 lead with 2:27 left in the quarter.

“I do believe they looked a little down in the third quarter,” McKnight said.

McKnight had plenty of help from his bench--he used nine players in the first half--and that depth advantage proved insurmountable for Buena.

Fay, who made only eight of his 22 shots from the field, finished with 24 points.

Marmet Williams scored 18 points for the Monarchs, many after offensive rebounds. Reggie Geary, who has signed with Arizona, had 15 points.