43 Free Throws Help Mater Dei Win by 19 : Division I: Monarchs attempt 57 from line in 74-55 victory in regional semifinal. L.A. Fremont connects on 15 of 20.

Reggie Geary was just as surprised as everyone else.

“That was the most I’ve been to the free-throw line all year,” he said.

Geary led a parade of Mater Dei players to the free-throw line in the top-seeded Monarchs’ 74-55 victory over fifth-seeded L.A. Fremont Thursday night in a Southern California Division I regional semifinal game at the Bren Center.

Geary, a 6-foot-3 guard who has signed with Arizona, made 14 of 20 free throws and finished with a game-high 24 points.

Mater Dei made 43 of 57 free-throw attempts; Fremont made 15 of 20, including 12 of 15 in the fourth quarter.

Mater Dei (33-1) extended its winning streak to 19 games and advanced to the regional final for the fifth time in Gary McKnight’s 10 years as coach.

The Monarchs will face Capistrano Valley, a 57-53 winner over L.A. Westchester, in the championship game at 9 p.m. Saturday at the L.A. Sports Arena. Mater Dei has beaten Capistrano Valley twice this season, 69-55 in the finals of the Tournament of Champions and 68-59 in a nonleague game.

Marmet Williams scored 14 points and sophomore Miles Simon added nine for the Monarchs Thursday. Simon and David Drakeford started in place of Kamran Sufi and Ray Jackson, who were benched for part of the first quarter for being late to a practice earlier in the day.

Mater Dei got off to a slow start from the line, missing four of its first eight attempts. But the Monarchs recovered and hit 18 of their next 19 in the first half.

The Monarchs made 22 of 27 first-half free throws, while Fremont’s Lamont Conway missed the Pathfinders’ only attempt of the half, which came with 1:32 left in the second quarter.

Geary and Wilborn led Mater Dei’s surge as the Monarchs outscored Fremont, 26-8. Geary had eight points and Wilborn seven--all on free throws--in the quarter as the Monarchs led, 40-16, at halftime.

Mater Dei led by as many as 25 in the second half and Fremont never came closer than 18.

McKnight was pleased with the Monarchs’ defensive effort.

“I got into the (passing) lanes and applied the pressure,” he said. “I don’t think Fremont was ready for that kind of pressure.”

The Monarchs held Fremont guard Todd Whitehead to eight points, 12 below his season average. Whitehead, who has signed with UC Irvine, fouled out with 6:24 left in the game.

Whitehead’s fifth foul came when he collided with Geary, who was attempting a breakaway layup. Both players crashed to the floor, and McKnight came off the bench. The coach argued that the foul should have been called intentional, and he drew a technical foul.

“I was just trying to protect Reggie,” McKnight said.

The second half was full of several rough fouls, and Geary twice had to be separated from Fremont players.

“The refs had a tough assignment,” McKnight said. “We were playing a team that was frustrated in the second half. They almost made it ugly, pressing and fouling a lot.”

McKnight wasn’t the only one upset with the officiating. Fremont Coach Sam Sullivan said the officials “took us right out of the game from the start.”

“That’s not sour grapes,” Sullivan said. “The free-throw situation was just ridiculous.

“The calls stunk both ways, and I can’t take anything away from Mater Dei. They would have won anyway. But they’re such a good ball club, they don’t need any help.”