BOYS’ BASKETBALL / ABOVE THE RIM TOURNAMENT : Cotton and Jackson Have Their Way in 86-61 Victory

Sometimes an enthused crowd can fire up a team. And sometimes a listless crowd can bring a team down. Wednesday night at Del Mar Torrey Pines High, the latter happened to an already tired Mater Dei team.

The result was an uninspired 86-61 victory over an outclassed Anchorage Service team in the second round of the Reebok/Above The Rim Prep Classic.

“We have not practiced since two weeks ago Thursday,” Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight said. “When you don’t practice, you break down, not only physically, but mentally too.”

Despite never being challenged by a much smaller Service team, Mater Dei center Shaun Jackson said his team, now ranked fourth in the country by USA Today, is still not totally in sync.

“We’re still not playing up to our capabilities,” said Jackson, who tied teammate Schea Cotton for game-high scoring honors with 28 points. “The loss in Vegas brought everybody down. By the start of the (league season), we’ll be OK. We’ve still got three more games here to get it together.”

Service Coach Greg Fullmer said he wouldn’t want to see a team get it much more together than Mater Dei.

“We weren’t in awe of them,” he said. “We had nothing to lose and we knew who we were playing. But we just couldn’t match up with them.”

Service (6-7), like everyone else, couldn’t come close to matching up with Cotton or Jackson, who did whatever they wanted inside. Cotton (13 of 15 from the floor) had seven dunks and each one seemed to wake up the crowd.

“He’s awesome,” Fullmer said. “I wish every coach could have a sophomore like that.”

Jackson, a 6-8 senior, was just as impressive, but in a less sensational manner. His nifty moves and silky smooth jumper didn’t draw the same reaction as Cotton’s high-flying slams, but he made 12 of 17 shots, grabbed eight rebounds and had five steals.

“They were really small, so we just tried to push it inside,” Jackson said. “I don’t think they had a player over 6-4.”

Mater Dei (13-1) led, 25-10, after a quarter and were ahead, 51-32, at the half.

The Monarchs figure to get a tougher test when they play Merced (8-4) tonight at 5:55 in the quarterfinals. They might need a better shooting game from Clay McKnight, who made just two of nine shots from the floor, all three-pointers, and finished with six points.

In another game:

Ocean View 79, West Anchorage 58--Dan McDonald had 34 points and six rebounds and Erik Petersen had 16 points and eight rebounds for Ocean View (8-5), which outscored West Anchorage, 37-23, in the second half of a third-round victory.