Mater Dei Gets Off to Customary Start

The Tournament of Champions has traditionally been a springboard for the Mater Dei boys’ basketball team to start steam-rolling opponents.

Monday night’s 31-point victory over Savanna at Ocean View High was no different.

Center Jamal Sampson had 15 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocked shots to lead the top-ranked Monarchs past the Rebels, 75-44.

Guard Steve Scoggin had 13 points and three assists, swingman Mike Strawberry had 12 points and six rebounds and guard Cedric Bozeman had 11 points and six assists. Each played a bit more than half the game.

Forward Allan Purnell scored 13 points for Savanna.

It was up to Purnell, forward Paul Nelson (four points) and a few others to try to defend the post area against the 6-foot-11 Sampson, who played well, particularly in the first quarter when his three dunks and three blocked shots were part of a barrage that put Mater Dei (2-0) ahead by as many as 16.

Under the watchful eyes of about a dozen club and high school coaches, as well as representatives from several scouting services, Sampson followed his rebound and lay-in with another slam dunk late in the third quarter for a 46-22 lead and then Scoggin hit a jumper.

Sampson, who played 19 minutes, jammed the ring finger of his right hand on the backboard late in the second quarter while going for a rebound and was icing it after the game.

That’s a concern because he spent most of last season out of the lineup because of hand and foot injuries.

“I hope I can stay healthy all season,” he said. “I thought this was a pretty good effort.”

Savanna Coach James Honell, who said prior to the game that he looked forward to playing against a top-notch opponent to see how the Rebels stacked up, said he saw a lot of positives, even though Savanna was outrebounded, 39-17, and made only 19 of 58 shots.

“I saw things to build on,” he said. “We gained confidence, even though we lost by 30. I think we can match up with just about anyone.”

Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight said he thought Honell did the right thing by entering a tough tournament like the Tournament of Champions.

“He put himself in a difficult position, but his team is going to get better and learn from it,” McKnight said. “It’s a step in the right direction and it’s great to see an Orange County school do that.”

Sampson agreed.

“They’re not a bad team,” he said. “Purnell is pretty good. He can penetrate and kick the ball out well.”

In another first-round game:

Westchester 83, Servite 46--The Friars, ranked No. 5 in Orange County, couldn’t handle the Comets’ full-court press. Sophomore center Martin Iti scored 10 points for Servite.

The Friars trailed 23-7 after the first quarter and were down by 25 at halftime. Guard Roger Hogan, one of the county’s leading scorers last season when he played at Canyon, was held to six points.

--PAUL McLEOD

In the El Dorado Gary Raya tournament:

Aliso Niguel 65, Los Amigos 34--Brandon Sievers scored 21 points, including two three-pointers, for Aliso Niguel (3-2). Los Amigos is 1-2.

Fountain Valley 79, Alhambra Mark Keppel 20--Brandon Early and Brendan Cotter each scored 14 points for Fountain Valley. Casey Clark and Murray Pratt each added 12 for the Barons.

In the Foothill tournament:

Marina 58, Santa Ana 33--Beau Brown scored a game-high 18 points, all on three-point baskets, for host Marina (3-0). Richard Dawson added 16 points and Dustin Kaatz had eight assists and nine points for the Vikings. Marina will host Foothill Wednesday in the second round.

Laguna Hills 59, Sonora 50--Forward Marshal Houser had 19 points to lead Laguna Hills (2-1). Nick Homyak controlled the boards for the Hawks, getting 10 rebounds and scoring 10 points.

Robert Abreu scored 16 points to lead Sonora.

Orange Lutheran 82, Foothill 70--Jason Whieldon scored 34 points, 18 in the fourth quarter, for Orange Lutheran (4-0).

The Lancers were 19 for 23 at the free-throw line, including nine for nine in the fourth.

Whieldon also led in assists with nine. Brent Canada had 14 points and Patrick Salyer was the rebound leader with nine for Orange Lutheran.

Ryan Evans and Chad Bigler each scored 15 points for host Foothill (1-1).

In the Fullerton tournament:

Fullerton 90, Santiago 38--Akachi Azubuike scored 19 points and Puukmaan Sidhu made four three-pointers and finished with 16 points for Fullerton (3-0).

Western 72, Whittier 40--Robert Turner scored 25 points for Western, which led, 42-18, at the half.

In the La Quinta tournament:

Calvary Chapel 73, Huntington Beach 54--Torin Beeler scored 21 points and had nine rebounds for host Calvary Chapel (4-1).

Santa Ana Valley 61, La Quinta 59--Alex Landa scored 16 points and Alex Cervantes added 15 for Santa Ana Valley. Eliu Fatu had 13 for the Falcons (1-4).

In the Academy League:

St. Michael’s 79, Saddleback Valley Christian 33--Victor Alcantara, a 5 foot 10 point guard, led St. Michael’s with 19 points and teammate Matthias Chaney had 16.