Mater Dei Is Overwhelmed by Kidd Stuff : Division I boys: Guard is the star as Alameda St. Joseph wins, 59-37. Margin of victory is biggest since State tournament was revived in 1981.

The 1992 State Division I boys’ championship game was billed as a matchup of the state’s best player, Jason Kidd, versus the state’s best team, Mater Dei.

Well, at least one of the two opponents lived up to the billing.

Kidd, the multitalented guard from Alameda St. Joseph, put on quite a show Saturday night as his team rolled to a 59-37 victory in front of 15,788 fans at the Arco Arena.

Kidd, playing his final high school game, scored 28 points, had nine rebounds and added three assists as St. Joseph won for the 122nd time in 136 games with him in the lineup.

St. Joseph’s 22-point margin of victory was the largest since the State tournament was revived in 1981. St. Joseph (32-3) also won its second consecutive title, matching Los Angeles Crenshaw’s titles in 1985-86.

“I guess the third time wasn’t a charm,” Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight said after watching his team’s 19-game winning streak end. “It would have been nice to have LeRon Ellis tonight.”

Mater Dei won a State title with Ellis in 1987 and repeated in 1990, but its junior-dominated lineup was no match for Kidd and his talented supporting cast.

“They beat us on offense, defense, on the boards and up and down the court,” Mater Dei center Terence Wilborn said. “We have no excuses.”

Seldom has a Mater Dei team been so thoroughly dominated during the McKnight era over the past 10 years. St. Joseph outrebounded the Monarchs, 48-32, and forced 20 turnovers, including 14 in the first half.

St. Joseph’s 1-2-2 zone defense was also difficult for the Monarchs to penetrate. Mater Dei went nearly 11 minutes to open the game before making a field goal, missing its first nine attempts and falling behind, 19-4.

Kidd capped a brilliant first half by making a three-point shot with three seconds remaining for a 28-20 lead.

Mater Dei (34-2) managed to rally to within 28-26 after forward Marmet Williams made two free throws in the third quarter. That’s when Kidd led St. Joseph on a 15-2 run.

After the brief comeback, it was all downhill for Mater Dei, which made only seven of 32 shots in the second half.

“We never get any credit as a defensive team,” St. Joseph Coach Frank LaPorte said. “We played ‘man defense’ the last five games, but we thought they would have trouble shooting outside, so we decided to go into the zone.”

The defensive strategy worked perfectly as Mater Dei repeatedly got only one shot. The Monarchs misfired on 11 of their 12 three-point attempts as sharpshooting sophomore Miles Simon suddenly went cold.

Kidd signaled the beginning of a St. Joseph celebration that will include a parade through Alameda today when he soared high for a dunk with 1:06 left to play that gave St. Joseph a 57-34 lead.

After the game, Kidd reflected upon his storied high school career.

“I didn’t want it to end,” he said. “I wish we could have kept playing, but it felt good to be leaving on a winning note.

“I thought our experience played a big part. Adrian (Ealy), Malik (Jasper) and myself were the three most relaxed players on the court.”

McKnight had hoped to wear down Kidd by using four different defenders against him during the course of the game. Simon got the opening assignment, followed by Ray Jackson, Chris Jackson and David Drakeford.

“We tried to run a lot of people at Jason and wear him out,” McKnight said. “But the TV timeouts worked against us. But then I don’t think anything is going to stop Jason Kidd.”

What surprised McKnight most was St. Joseph’s ability to dominate the boards. Ealy, Kidd’s less-celebrated backcourt mate, had 14 rebounds to lead the Pilots.

“We got one shot (each trip) down most of the time,” McKnight said. “Our outside shooting left us about three games ago. We used to get five or six three-pointers in every game, but that hasn’t been happening lately.”

Reggie Geary, Mater Dei’s leader through nine postseason games, had an off night. Geary had only eight points before fouling out with 4:33 remaining and his team trailing, 47-28. But despite the poor showing, Geary was upbeat.

“We have nothing to hold our heads down about,” he said. “We lost to a great team with a great player. Sometimes, you catch yourself just looking at Jason Kidd because he’s such a show.”