Mater Dei Yet Again Up to Par : Division I-A boys: Monarchs match expectations, winning, 63-41, for their seventh championship in 11 years.

As expected, the Mater Dei boys’ basketball team won another Southern Section championship.

Predictably, the Monarchs used their superior depth, talent, rebounding strength and defensive skills in dismantling Huntington Beach, 63-41, Saturday night in front of 7,034 fans at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

Of course, moments after the Monarchs won the Division I-A title last year, Mater Dei was expected to win its seventh title in 11 seasons this year.

“They’re all great, but I’m especially proud of this team because I put a lot of pressure on them,” Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight said. “They had to live up to a lot of expectations.”

Saturday’s title victory marked the third time Mater Dei (31-1) has defeated Huntington Beach this season, and each time the Monarchs made it look easy. They also won, 67-52, in the championship game of the Daily Pilot Tipoff Classic, and followed with a 64-46 victory in the semifinals of the Tournament of Champions.

This time, Mater Dei trailed only once, 4-2, early before they went on a 13-0 scoring spree to take control. Huntington Beach (28-4) threatened twice, but in reality, the Oilers were no match for Mater Dei.

“They’re just too good,” Huntington Beach Coach Roy Miller said. “You gotta put the ball in the hole. We’ve been shooting 50% as a team all season, but we didn’t come close to that tonight.”

Huntington Beach made only 15 of 44 shots and managed to score just seven points in the last quarter. It came down to this: Reserve center Jay Shubin was casting off three-point shots in the final minutes of play.

Guard Tommy Walden, who had played so well in victories over Moreno Valley Valley View and Los Angeles Loyola, failed to score. He missed all eight of his attempts.

Forward Matt Ambrose, who was averaging 12.6 points per game, finished with just four points. Most of Ambrose’s misses were inside the key against Mater Dei’s pressure defense.

“They really shut me down,” Ambrose said. “They out-hustled us and played really well. They deserve to be champions.”

Ambrose was a key player in a four-point switch just before halftime that turned the game around. Huntington Beach was trailing, 26-19, when Ambrose missed a short layup in the final seconds of the first half.

Teammate Bryan Chang fouled Mater Dei center Terence Wilborn with one second left, and Wilborn made both free throws to give the Monarchs a 27-19 lead.

“I was concerned at that point,” McKnight said. “They were making a serious run at us, and then Terence made those two big free throws.”

Huntington Beach made a second run at the Monarchs in the third quarter. The Oilers cut an eight-point halftime deficit to six, but Mater Dei’s Kamran Sufi answered with a three-point play with 3:53 remaining in the quarter that gave the Monarchs a 36-27 lead.

Sufi also had a big three-point shot with 36 seconds left in the quarter that moved Mater Dei ahead, 42-34.

“He’s the last guy on that team that you would expect to hurt you,” Miller said. “I didn’t think he’d hurt us as much as he did.”

In the end, Mater Dei’s defense was the difference. The Monarchs limited Huntington Beach to an average of only 46.3 points in its three victories over the Oilers.

“This is my best defensive team by far,” McKnight said. “I was really concerned about this game. I have all the respect in the world for Roy and his team. They have five really good players.”

Unfortunately, Mater Dei has 10 really good players, and down the stretch, superior depth won out. Junior center Tony Gonzalez was the only effective weapon for the Oilers, finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

There was some consolation for Huntington Beach, however. Both teams are guaranteed berths in the Southern California Regionals that begin Tuesday. Pairings will be announced today at the state CIF office.

“There is life after tonight,” Miller said. “That’s the positive that we have to cling to. We’ll get a second chance in the regionals, and hopefully, we’ll come back.”