Mater Dei’s Mantel Getting Crowded : I-A boys: Monarchs defeat Riverside North, 65-55, to win seventh section championship trophy in 10 years.

Well, at least it was a close game.

Still, the outcome was never in doubt. It seldom is when the Mater Dei boys’ basketball team comes onto the court.

True to form, Mater Dei won its seventh Southern Section championship in the past 10 years under Coach Gary McKnight with a hard-fought, 65-55 victory over Riverside North Saturday at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

Mater Dei’s victory in the I-A title game followed a successful pattern in four previous postseason games. The Monarchs utilized their superior depth in the first half and ultimately wore out North in the second half.

Only this time, North (27-3) didn’t falter until six minutes remained in the fourth quarter. Forward Marmet Williams and center Terence Wilborn scored on consecutive dunks, signaling the beginning of the end for another Mater Dei victim. Afterward, all North Coach Mike Bartee could do was marvel at the Monarchs.

“We got outplayed by a program,” he said. “We’d like to be where Mater Dei is. The mark of a great program is that they get the job done under any circumstances. They substitute and there’s very little dropoff in talent. Their depth is such a factor.”

McKnight said the Monarchs came into the game with two objectives: 1) Make North work on the defensive end of the court; or 2) Get into a transition game in which the Monarchs could get some high percentage shots.

Mater Dei accomplished both goals, repeatedly burning North for easy fast-break baskets and making the Huskies work defensively.

“I thought they expended a lot of energy on defense and it showed in the fourth quarter,” McKnight said. “Despite what everyone says, it’s tough to be No. 1 because there’s only one place to go and everyone is shooting for you.

“I thought North matched us athlete for athlete. We put together a good first half, which made me real happy. Then, we got that 12-0 spurt that got us going in the fourth quarter.”

North had rallied to within three points, 45-42, after Quincy Brewer scored on a follow shot. But Mater Dei then hit its stride, outscoring North, 12-0, to take a 57-42 lead. All that was left was to clear out more space in the Mater Dei trophy case.

The Monarchs shot a sizzling 57% from the field in the second half, making 11 of 19 shots. Williams, who has developed into Mater Dei’s second-best player behind Geary, scored 10 of his 18 points in the half and added 13 rebounds.

Geary, who also scored 18 points, admitted he enjoys playing in the big arena in front of a big crowd.

“I’m a little character, and I love the atmosphere of the arena,” he said. “I try to relieve any tension before a big game. I thought we were pretty calm going into this game.

“North was very big and physical. They were a little quicker than I thought they would be. But I thought we stepped up our play on both ends of the court. This was our best playoff game.”

McKnight took advantage of the post-game interview to campaign for Geary as the county’s player of the year. It was difficult to argue after his fine game against a very talented North team.

“I know you’re sick of me saying this, but Reggie Geary is the best player in the county,” McKnight said. “He’s so overlooked. We haven’t seen a complete player like Reggie in a long, long time.”

The same could be said for McKnight’s entire team.