Morningside Blitzes Notre Dame : High school basketball: Knights fall to Monarchs, 86-65, in regional semifinal.

So that’s how Morningside High won the state Division III championship last season.

The Monarchs held a basketball clinic disguised as a Southern California Division III regional semifinal Thursday night. The pupil was Notre Dame, which watched host Morningside dash to an 86-65 victory.

“I think this was a showcase game for them,” Notre Dame Coach Mick Cady said. “They wanted to show people they were the top dogs in town.”

Morningside (28-5) will face South Torrance, which it defeated in the Southern Section III-AA final last week, in the regional final Saturday at the Sports Arena.

Notre Dame (25-7), the Southern Section Division III-AA champion, will be content with an excellent season. There wasn’t much the Knights, whose largest previous margin of defeat was seven points, could have done to prolong it.

“I’ve seen Morningside play before,” Cady said, “but I’ve never seen them play like this. When (Stais) Boseman hit a three-pointer while he was falling down, I knew we were in trouble.”

Boseman finished with a game-high 23 points, including five three-pointers. Guard Dwight Curry and center Corey Saffold each added 18 points.

Notre Dame was led by Monte Marcaccini, who can now rest his tendinitis-riddled knees before heading to Indiana. Marcaccini and freshman Eddie Miller each scored 14 points and Marcaccini added 11 rebounds.

Morningside controlled the game with a 13-2 run late in the first quarter, stretching its lead to 25-10.

The Monarchs, who led, 40-24, at halftime, dominated with equally strong inside and outside games. The 6-foot-7 Saffold, who has signed with Oklahoma, scored 12 points in the half, mostly inside.

Boseman, a 6-4 swingman who has signed to play at USC, made his first four three-point shots and scored 13 before halftime.

The Knights struggled in part because of a lack of outside shooting.

Forward Glen Carson, the team’s hottest three-point shooter as the game began, missed his first four shots from the field, three from three-point range. Carson heated up somewhat in the second half, finishing with 11 points--including one three-pointer--but it was too late.

The closest Notre Dame came in the second half was 70-53.

“I said before the game we were going to have to play really well and they had to have an off night,” Cady said. “Well, they played great and we had an off night. So it was a little mixed up.”