Mater Dei Struggles in Victory : Prep basketball: Free-throw shooting saves Monarchs in the end and they defeat Edison, 65-59.

It was supposed to be effortless. Over by halftime at the latest. A real yawner.

Nobody was yawning Saturday night.

Undefeated Santa Ana Mater Dei, The Times No. 1-ranked team, couldn’t pull clear of Huntington Beach Edison and needed strong free-throw shooting in the final minute to win, 65-59, and take the Southern Section Division I-A championship.

At Anaheim Arena, the section set an evening session attendance record of 13,395. The total for the day was 25,739.

The Chargers (19-10), who came in fourth in the Sunset League, needed a tiebreaking playoff win to receive a berth to the section playoffs.

“They gave us a run like no one has in a long time,” said guard Miles Simon, who had a game-high 26 points. “They came out and they played a lot tougher and harder than we thought they would. I don’t know how they finished fourth in their league.”

Schea Cotton had 25 for Mater Dei (31-0).

The Monarchs won their ninth Southern Section championship in 12 years, all under Coach Gary McKnight.

But while they expected to win, this was not what they had in mind.

Leading, 49-36, entering the fourth quarter, the Monarchs seemed to relax and the Chargers took advantage.

Led by Ben Beard (24 points), the Chargers rallied and trailed, 59-55, with 58 seconds left.

But Simon, the Monarch point guard, went on to hit six free throws to ensure the victory.

The six-point differential was a shock. During South Coast League play this season, no team came within 18 points of the Monarchs. In four previous playoff games, only Loyola gave Mater Dei a run before folding, 78-60.

In the first half, the Monarchs could not rid themselves of the Chargers. Taking a 14-8 lead into the second quarter, Mater Dei catapulted to a 22-11 advantage on two baskets apiece by Simon and freshman Schea Cotton with 5:49 left.

After increasing their lead to 30-18, the Monarchs let the Chargers close to 32-22 at the half.

“We just went through a couple lapses where we let people get away,” said Edison Coach Larry Hirst. “It seemed like Mater Dei was going to capitalize on that.”

This title marks the second consecutive season the Monarchs have beaten a Sunset League team in the final. Last season Mater Dei beat Huntington Beach.

The height of the Monarchs’ starting team (6 feet 7, 6-6, 6-6, 6-4, 6-2) could match up with a number of Division I college teams. The Edison guards, Corey Smith and Jason Koerner, stand 5-11 and 5-7, respectively.

The Chargers’ road to their first-ever championship appearance was challenging. They rallied from a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat Santa Ana Servite in double-overtime to finish tied for fourth in the Sunset League. Then they beat Huntington Beach Ocean View to gain the league’s fourth playoff berth.