Antelopes Run Afoul in 2nd Half

Early in the third quarter Tuesday night, with Mater Dei trailing Antelope Valley in their Division I-A boys basketball semifinal, Monarch guard Anthony Vallas passed by his bench and was blasted by Coach Gary McKnight.

This wasn’t just any ordinary dressing down. McKnight’s already red face looked more like a beet.

Vallas was allowing Antelope Valley players to beat him for offensive rebounds and McKnight wanted Vallas to stop it.

Vallas got the message. His rebound and basket got the Monarchs even, and his two rebounds and two steals in the next several minutes keyed an 11-2 run that helped Mater Dei gain the upper hand in a 70-49 victory at Ocean View High.

Mike Vukovich scored 24 points and had 20 rebounds to help Mater Dei (29-2) advance to a Southern Section final for the sixth consecutive season. Kevin Augustine ignored a sore right shoulder and a stiff left knee to score 12 points, including several drives for baskets in the fourth quarter.

Antelope Valley center Le’Tre Kelly led the Antelopes (23-7) with 17 points. But Kelly played in foul trouble much of the second half. He made just six of 19 shots and missed all five of his from three-point attempts.

“Both teams did a good job defensively in the first half,” Antelope Valley Coach Tom Mahan said. “In the third quarter when Le’Tre got his fourth foul it really hurt. He’s been our main guy all year and that forced us to change things.”

Vallas’ basket to tie the score, 32-32, with 4:40 left in the third quarter set the tone. Until then, Antelope Valley had been grabbing most of the key rebounds, particularly on the offensive end.

“We weren’t intimidated when the game began and we came out ready to go,” Mahan said. “We played real well in the beginning. We were able to thread the needle and get the ball inside.

“But with all the foul trouble, we had to go away from our game plan.”

Mahan tinkered with a zone trap and threw a 1-3-1 zone at Mater Dei to open the game, the first time this season he has used it. The tactic worked. With Augustine pushed out to the No. 2 guard spot because he is not fully recovered from his injuries, Mater Dei had just two options: force the ball inside to Vukovich or try three-pointers.