CIF STATE BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS : Monarchs’ McKnight Helps to Write Different Ending : Division I boys: For two seasons, he watched Mater Dei lose to Crenshaw, but he put that behind him against Oakland Fremont.

After Mater Dei’s emotional 71-67 overtime victory over Oakland Fremont, it was hard to tell if guard Clay McKnight had just won or lost the State Division I boys’ basketball championship Saturday at Oakland Coliseum Arena.

For McKnight, a two-year starter, he was in heaven. He was just too tired to celebrate.

While his teammates held the celebratory dog-pile to commemorate the Monarchs’ first State title since 1990 and third in school history, the senior guard just watched with weary eyes.

“This is the most incredible feeling in the world,” McKnight said.

He knows all about the heartbreak.

As a sophomore, McKnight watched as Los Angeles Crenshaw eliminated the Monarchs in the Southern California Regional final by posting a two-point victory.

Last season, the Cougars were the nemesis again, topping Mater Dei in the Southern California Regional final. This season, McKnight and the Monarchs were on a mission.

“I saw what the seniors went through last season and I didn’t want to go through that,” McKnight said earlier this season.

The Monarchs made sure he didn’t have to endure it again.

Mater Dei weathered the hot shooting of Fremont’s Frank Knight, who scored all of his 23 points in the second half.

“I swear the basket must have looked like a hula hoop to him,” McKnight said. “Luckily, time ran out on them.” After Knight’s three-pointer at the buzzer sent the game into overtime, the Monarchs outscored the Tigers, 6-2, in the extra period.

Although McKnight suffered through a dreadful evening shooting from the field--he went 3 for 14, including a 1 for 9 effort from three-point range--the 6-foot-2 senior, who has signed with UC Irvine, was undaunted during crunch time.

After Schea Cotton made a driving layup to give the Monarchs a 67-65 lead with 36 seconds remaining, McKnight helped ice the victory.

He made both ends of a one-and-one free-throw situation with 17 seconds remaining to make it 69-65.

“I really wanted the ball in my hands for free throws in the last minutes,” McKnight said. “I wanted to either win it or lose it.”

Fremont was the team that lost it. After McKnight made the free throws, Knight missed his chance to cut the lead to two. Then Mater Dei’s Shaun Jackson rebounded the miss and was fouled. He made two more free throws and the celebration started eight seconds later.

“After being so close last year, this one was sweet,” Cotton said.

Said McKnight: “This was the last high-school game of our career. We wanted to play not only with talent, but with our hearts.”