BOYS’ BASKETBALL / TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS : Old Fires Rekindled as Mater Dei Blows Past Servite for 61-38 Victory

Kevin Augustine scored 17 points and lefty Tom Lippold added 15 to lead Mater Dei past Servite, 61-38, on the final night of pool play at the Tournament of Champions boys’ basketball tournament Wednesday at Ocean View High.

Lance Day led Servite (4-2) with 16 points in a game that featured a lot of the old-fashioned spirit--by players and fans alike--that these two used to put on display when they played each other twice a season in the Angelus League.

Despite the lopsided score, Servite put up a good fight, with Day, who also had seven rebounds, leading the charge.

“Obviously we’re rivals. This still had that old flare to it,” Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight said. “Maybe we’ll get back to that again in a couple of years.”

Rebounding, mostly on the offensive side, was the difference for the Monarchs (2-1), who pulled away to a 31-18 halftime lead. Augustine and Lippold combined for 19 of the 31 points.

Mater Dei went to work on the defensive backboards in the final two quarters for a 26-18 rebounding advantage overall. The Monarchs also had seven steals in the second half.

“I thought our team defensively was very good in the second half,” McKnight said. “That’s one thing we will have to do if we are going to get better.”

Servite Coach Scott Hamilton saw some things he liked from his team, as well. For instance, the Friars committed only 13 turnovers, three fewer than Mater Dei. Many of those came under heavy pressure in the front court. But Servite shot only 40.5% from the field (17 of 42), compared to 48% for Mater Dei (24 of 50).

“I was a little disappointed that we never got into the flow offensively,” Hamilton said. “Gary has another good club and we wanted to play them, especially this early in the season. We wanted to play against good competition.”

The Friars stood toe to toe with the Monarchs in the early going, holding a 9-8 lead as the first quarter ended. But Mater Dei went on a 12-1 spree that extended from the final minute of the first quarter until Augustine’s spinning, driving layup with 6:46 left in the second. The Monarchs led, 20-10.

Servite pulled within five points, but Mater Dei finished off the quarter with an 8-2 run.

Hamilton knew what his team needed to do in the second half.

“We tried to keep the ball out of Augustine’s hands,” he said. Augustine, a 6-foot junior guard, finished with five rebounds, five assists and four steals.

In another Tournament of Champions game:

Ocean View 52, Lakewood 39--Mike Seguin scored 19 points, Kevin Hanson had 11 and David Hatch had seven points and 10 rebounds for Ocean View (5-4).