Monarchs Win, Meet Eagles in Rematch

His name is Bayer, like the aspirin, but Mater Dei’s Mike Bayer was more like a headache to Corona Centennial Tuesday night in the semifinals of the Orange Holiday Classic at Chapman University.

Bayer, a 6-foot-7 senior forward, had 20 points, 10 rebounds and two assists as Mater Dei wore down the Huskies, 75-63.

Mater Dei (14-2), the top-ranked team in the county, advanced to the final tonight at 8:30 in a rematch of last year’s championship game against Santa Margarita.

Centennial (7-4), a talented, young team that has three sophomore starters, did not let the Monarchs dominate the way they did in winning their first two games of the tournament by an average of nearly 30 points.

The Huskies pulled to within five, at 68-63, on a three-point basket by Brian Gonzales with 2 minutes 36 seconds to play, but Bayer made two free throws to start a 5-0, game-ending run.

Bayer said he was able to take advantage of Centennial’s defense, which focused on the Mater Dei guards. And with Mater Dei’s long-range shooting sagging--the Monarchs made only four of 16 three-point attempts--Bayer decided to step up down low.

“The middle was pretty open,” said Bayer, who made six of 12 field goals and eight of nine free throws. “I felt like I needed to be more of a presence inside and I didn’t have to move much down there.”

Centennial led, 15-13, near the end of the first quarter, but Bayer keyed a 10-4 run to end the second half with a fast-break layup and an offensive rebound tip-in to give the Monarchs a 37-30 halftime lead.

Centennial tied the score, 41-41, with 4:15 left in the third quarter, but Mater Dei’s cold shooting suddenly became hot. Derrick Mansell and Imran Sufi each made three-pointers during a 15-5 Monarch run to end the quarter.

Mansell had 16 points and Cedric Bozeman 11 for Mater Dei.

Mater Dei, nine-time champions of the Orange Holiday Classic, lost to Santa Margarita by three points in the final last year.

In other tournament games:

Santa Margarita 59, Tracy Merrill West 45--The Eagles, had a 20-point third-quarter lead dwindle to nine with 5:45 left to play, but Kelly Kramer and Spencer Gloger scored the next 13 Santa Margarita points in a 13-6 run that sealed the semifinal victory.

Kramer had 19 points and ,Gloger, who started the game with a dunk and back-to-back three-pointers, had 24 points.

Dana Hills 73, Foothill 65--Brett Nowell had 28 points, including five three-pointers, for the Dolphins, who trailed, 53-49, after three quarters.

Jeremy Cooly scored 13 points for Dana Hills, which will play Fountain Valley in the fifth-place game today at 5:10 p.m. Drew Buford had 20 points for Foothill.

Aliso Niguel 74, Orange 59--Dino Lamela scored five of his seven points in the fourth quarter as the Wolverines pulled away in a consolation semifinal game. Dave Camadini had 20 points and Steve Munsell had 19 for Aliso Niguel, which led, 56-51, after three quarters. The Wolverines play Murrieta Valley in the consolation final.

Tion Demyers had 18 points for Orange. Fountain Valley 65, Esperanza 42--Zach Hardin scored 21 points, had four assists and five rebounds to lead Fountain Valley (8-4). Kennedy 47, Huntington Beach 29--Ten players scored for Kennedy, led by Jason Grier, who had nine points, in a consolation game. Valencia 64, Laguna Hills 63--Cordell Hollins made a three-point basket in overtime as Valencia won a consolation game. Dixon had 21 points and Hollins had 15.