BOYS’ BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Muir Close, but Mater Dei Wins

Mater Dei is no doubt a good basketball team, and when the Monarchs get Schea Cotton back, the Monarchs probably will be a great team. But in their season opener against Pasadena Muir, the Monarchs showed they can be had.

The final score, 60-45, that Mater Dei recorded against the Mustangs on Monday, in front of about 500 at the Bren Center, was deceptive.

After recovering from a cold-shooting first quarter, Muir got within 45-43 with less than four minutes to play, and had a fastbreak opportunity to even the score and really make the Monarchs think about the possibility of being upset.

But the Mustangs missed the layup and Mater Dei shut the door for good, outscoring Muir, 15-2, in the remaining 3 minutes 43 seconds.

Monarch guard Clay McKnight led all scorers with 18 points. Shaun Jackson--stepping in for Cotton who is sidelined with a bad rash--had 15 points and 14 rebounds.

Quincy Stinson sank five three-pointers to lead the Mustangs with 15 points, followed by Duane Curtis with 12.

“It looked like opening-night jitters out there,” said Monarch Coach Gary McKnight after he watched his team nearly fritter away a 12-point second-half lead. “Obviously we missed Schea, who is a big part of our offense. We have some young players, so this was a good experience for them. But we have to get better before we go to some of these national tournaments.”

Muir Coach Rocky Moore, also playing a young team, knew his team came thisclose to stealing the game from Mater Dei.

“After the first quarter we had our chances, but too many of our shots that usually go down didn’t,” Moore said. “As the game progressed we got better, and if we tie it up, who knows? But also give credit to Mater Dei; they shut us down those last few minutes. We had made a big push to get back in the game and ran out of gas.”

By all rights, Muir (1-2) should have been blown out in the first quarter. The Mustangs made only one of 14 shots, and that was a three-pointer by Curtis. They would not make their second field goal until 5:15 was left in the half.

But the Monarchs (1-0), save for McKnight and Jackson, were not much warmer. They led, 14-3, after the first quarter, and were outscored, 17-9, in the second. The Mustangs discovered Mater Dei could be disrupted by a pressuring, halfcourt trap defense, and whittled the deficit to 23-20 by halftime.

In the Costa Mesa tournament:

Costa Mesa 54, Southern California Christian 48--Mike Montoya made a three-pointer with about 30 seconds left to clinch the first-round game for Costa Mesa. Montoya scored 16 points for the Mustangs.

Josh Cameron, who scored a game-high 28 points, fouled out with about three minutes left and SCC leading by one.

University 76, Saddleback 63--Steve McKee scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and freshman Fred Sears scored 14 and had nine steals for University (1-1).

Century 56, Bolsa Grande 33--Vibul Ros and Hector Beltran each scored 13 points to lead Century, which outscored the Matadors, 34-15, in the second half.

In the La Quinta tournament:

Katalla 72, Marina 42--LaByron Clayton scored 23 points and added nine rebounds for Katella, which led, 33-18, at the half. Carlos Romero had 15 points and Mike Pahl had 13 points and nine rebounds for the Knights.

Laguna Beach 50, Garden Grove 48 (OT)--Gregory Osborne and Nick Beimfohr each scored 12 points for Laguna Beach. Osborne and Brandon Block each scored four points in overtime.

In the In-N-Out tournament:

Sonora 65, Agoura 58--Seven-footer Craig Clark led Sonora (1-1) with 20 points as the Raiders took a 29-20 halftime lead.

Lynwood 63, Fountain Valley 51--Paul Tayyar had 19 points for Fountain Valley, which trailed by three at the half, but was outscored, 39-30, in the second half.

Trabuco Hills 88, Long Beach St. Anthony 40--Jon Paisley scored a game-high 18 to lead the Mustangs. Rob Warnick had 13 points and Brandon Monroe 11. Matt Grace led the team in rebounds with 10. Trabuco Hills will play Long Beach Poly.

In the Faith Baptist tournament:

Brethren Christian 70, Calabasas 66--Kevin Cooper and Franz Criego scored 17 points to lead Brethren Christian (2-0) in a first-round game.