Westchester Beaten From the Start by Mater Dei, 72-54

Cullen Countee had trouble finding his way to the Tournament of Champions Wednesday night at Ocean View High in Huntington Beach.

The Westchester High boys’ basketball team also had trouble finding its way in a 72-54 loss to Mater Dei in a quarterfinal game.

Countee, the Comets’ starting forward, did not arrive until midway through the first half. By then, Mater Dei, the State Division I runner-up, already had the game in hand.

Mater Dei (7-0), which led, 35-17, at halftime, extended a three-point first-quarter lead to as many as 20 points late in the first half.

“It didn’t make any difference whether (Countee) was here or not,” Westchester Coach Ed Azzam said. Westchester also played without starting guard Damon Smith, who missed the game to attend a church function.

Clay McKnight, a 6-foot-2 senior guard who is the son of Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight, came off the bench to score a game-high 20 points. McKnight was six of six from three-point range and finished seven of seven from the field.

Marmet Williams, a 6-6 senior forward, had 14 points and 13 rebounds. Terence Wilburn, a 6-7 senior center, had 12 rebounds despite fouling out in the second half.

Mater Dei (7-0), which defeated Westchester in last season’s tournament final, outrebounded the Comets, 38-17.

The Monarchs, who are seeking their sixth tournament title since 1983, will meet the winner of tonight’s quarterfinal between Serra and Huntington Beach.

Jason Sanders, the only returning starter from last season’s City Section 4-A Division champions, had 14 points and seven rebounds for Westchester (7-3).

Danny Walker and Jonathon Crutcher added 12 and 10 points for Westchester (7-3), which will play Locke in a fifth-place semifinal on Friday.

Kelly Washington, filling in for Countee, had eight rebounds. Countee, who averaged 10.1 points entering the game, did not play in the first half and did not score.

“We’re a strong team and we’re strong enough to compensate for (Countee),” Crutcher said. “We had our depth to cover for him, but they started killing us on the boards.”