Kidd Finishes With Flourish : Prep basketball: Alameda St. Joseph guard scores 28 points to lead 59-37 rout of Mater Dei for State Division I title.

Jason Kidd’s final basket of his prep career, a dunk, was indicative of the way things went for Santa Ana Mater Dei Saturday night in the State Division I boys’ championship.

Before a record crowd of 15,788 at Arco Arena, Kidd led Alameda St. Joseph to a 59-37 victory over the Monarchs. It was the most lopsided final since the State tournament was renewed in 1981.

Kidd, a 6-foot-4 guard, finished with 28 points, nine rebounds and three steals to help St. Joseph (32-3) to its second consecutive title. He left the court to a standing ovation.

“I wish we could have just kept playing because I didn’t want to end my high school career,” said Kidd, an All-American who signed with California last fall. “But I guess it is time for me to move on and get ready for college.”

Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight said that Kidd and St. Joseph were even better than he expected.

“We tried to run a lot of different people at Jason and nothing worked,” said McKnight, who led Mater Dei to State titles in 1987 and ’90. “But Jason can do it all. Can I get his autograph?”

With Kidd in the starting lineup the past four years, St. Joseph had a 122-14 record.

“That’s a pretty amazing record for any group of kids,” said Frank LaPorte, St. Joseph’s coach. “It’s been a fun run.”

Kidd had plenty of support Saturday night. Senior forward David Victor scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Senior guard Adrian Ealy had a game-high 14 rebounds.

“I think tonight we showed that we are not a one-man team like everyone always calls us,” Kidd said. “We always play as a team.”

Mater Dei, which shot only 27%, got off to a slow start, trailing, 19-4, early in the second quarter. The Monarchs (34-2) didn’t score their first basket until junior center Terence Wilborn hit a baseline jump shot with 5:18 remaining in the first half.

Mater Dei made a brief run in the third quarter, scoring the first six points to close to within 30-26. St. Joseph then scored six consecutive points to regain control.

Senior guard Reggie Geary, headed to Arizona, had his most disappointing showing of the playoffs for Mater Dei. He hit two of seven shots and finished with eight points. He fouled out midway through the fourth quarter.

“We didn’t do our job on the boards at all and that killed us,” Geary said. “We lost to a better team.”

St. Joseph outrebounded Mater Dei, 48-32.