BOYS’ BASKETBALL / ABOVE THE RIM TOURNAMENT : Cotton Comes to Mater Dei’s Rescue Again

Thursday night’s game was not one of Mater Dei’s finest performances. Shaun Jackson spent much of the game pouting or in foul trouble. Clay McKnight missed all four of his three-point attempts and finished with six points.

But sophomore forward Schea Cotton scored 31 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and Mater Dei survived with a 65-63 victory over New York Christ The King in the semifinals of the Reebok/Above The Rim Prep Classic in front of an overflow crowd of about 3,500 at Torrey Pines High. The Monarchs play Brooklyn Lincoln in the final at 7:30 tonight.

“To be honest with you, that was an ugly win,” Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight said. “I told the kids after the game, that was nothing to be happy with. I don’t think we came in very focused. Our pregame wasn’t very focused. Our two seniors did not come through. Shaun and Clay did not play well.”

Jackson played only 18 minutes and had 13 points, eight rebounds and six turnovers before fouling out. Jackson was pulled by McKnight with four minutes left in the half and did not return until six minutes remained in the third quarter.

“Shaun is worn out,” McKnight said. “Facing this kind of competition every night is tough.”

Before he departed, Jackson helped Mater Dei (15-1) to a 60-52 lead by making a 10-foot jumper with 4 minutes 37 seconds left. The shot ended a 6-0 run that turned the game around.

Cotton appeared to run over a Christ The King defender, but the referee called a block, and then called a technical on the Royals’ bench. Cotton hit his two free throws and McKnight hit both technicals before Jackson hit his jumper.

Christ The King Coach Bob Oliva didn’t agree with the call or many others made by the referees, and he said the booing crowd agreed with him.

“It was so inconsistent, I couldn’t tell what I was supposed to get used to,” Oliva said. “The crowd said it all and it was a California crowd and you’ve got to live with that.”

The Royals (6-2) could have overcome the officiating if they could have stopped Cotton down the stretch or made some free throws. They made only 17 of 30 free throws and missed three in the last four minutes.

“Schea carried us,” McKnight said. “He carried our four guys against five of theirs.”

“I like the pressure,” Cotton said. “That’s what you play for. I hate blowouts. I remembered when Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) got hurt and Magic (Johnson) had to take over the game. That’s what I thought of when Shaun fouled out.”

*

In the consolation bracket:

Ocean View 67, Las Vegas Gorman 59--Dan McDonald had 20 points and five steals, David Wilson had 17 points and seven rebounds and Erik Petersen had eight points and eight rebounds to lead Ocean View (10-6) to fifth place.