SOUTHERN SECTION BOYS’ BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : DIVISION I-A : Nobody’s Coming Close to Raining on Mater Dei’s Parade

Hey, Mater Dei won by 28 points Tuesday night.

So what else is new?

Some teams win a Southern Section semifinal game and go nuts celebrating their chance to play in the Sports Arena.

After dismantling Pasadena, 78-50, in the Division I-A semis at Arcadia High, Mater Dei’s players simply gathered their sweats and shook hands with the Bulldogs.

No wild hug-a-thon at midcourt. No emotional speeches.

It was no big deal.

Top-seeded Mater Dei, ranked second in the state and No. 13 nationally, advanced to a section championship game for the ninth time in Coach Gary McKnight’s 11 seasons at the school. The Monarchs (30-1) play the winner of tonight’s Huntington Beach-Thousand Oaks game Saturday at the Sports Arena.

Pasadena ended its season 23-7.

Once again, contributions came from near and far for Mater Dei.

Miles Simon had a game-high 26 points and Terence Wilborn added 17, providing much of Mater Dei’s scoring punch. David Drakeford played suffocating defense on Donald Guyton, Pasadena’s leading scorer. Kamran Sufi handled the ball in textbook point guard fashion, finding the right players open at the right times.

And Marmet Williams, who scored seven points, was content to snatch every rebound that came near.

“Defensively, we’re playing really, really well right now,” McKnight said. “We’re shooting well. We’re rolling. We’re peaking for the playoffs.”

So far, no one has escaped Mater Dei’s overpowering run through the playoffs.

The Monarchs defeated Ontario by 72 points in the first round, Quartz Hill by 34 in the second, Claremont by 29 in the quarterfinals and Pasadena by 28 in the semifinals.

The championship game doesn’t figure to be much of a contest, either.

Mater Dei has defeated Huntington Beach twice this season. McKnight said he’s not concerned with Thousand Oaks.

“Obviously, this sets up a rematch with Huntington Beach,” he said. “Unless the bus breaks down on the way to the game, (Huntington Beach) won’t have any trouble.”

Pasadena fought hard, but was too inconsistent to stick with Mater Dei for the full 32 minutes.

Guyton managed 17 points, roughly his average, and Treyvone Towns and Tyrone Williams added 14 and 13 points, respectively. Only five Pasadena players scored.

Mater Dei came at Pasadena in waves.

The Monarchs led by eight by the end of the first quarter, by 11 at halftime, and Pasadena seemed ready to crack at any moment.

The Monarchs increased their lead to 49-36 after three quarters, then hammered the Bulldogs in the fourth.

“This is one of the biggest challenges we’ve had since December,” McKnight said.

If so, what does that say about Mater Dei’s nightly romps?

“The kids are really focused now,” McKnight said. “This might be one of our best defensive teams ever.”

The fact is, McKnight probably could take the word defensive out of the last sentence and not be second-guessed.