Mater Dei Survives a Battle

As the host team of the Nike Extravaganza, it would be no surprise if Mater Dei had drawn the easiest opponent in Saturday’s one-day tournament.

But Oakland Bishop O’Dowd is no one’s cupcake. And the Dragons took the Monarchs to the final second and the final shot before falling, 57-54.

Steve Scoggins, who led all scorers with 19 points, gave Mater Dei its final cushion with two free throws with two seconds to play.

Bishop O’Dowd guard Justin Silva--whose three-pointer with five seconds remaining had drawn his team to within one, 55-54--tossed one last long shot at the basket, but it hit the front of the rim as the final horn sounded.

The victory bumped Mater Dei’s record to 24-3. Bishop O’Dowd dropped to 16-5.

If the game was tighter than Mater Dei expected--or wanted--it couldn’t be helped.

Even though both teams had played Friday games, the Monarchs and Dragons were willing to play rugged defense. It was reflected in the field-goal percentages (Mater Dei shot 48%, Bishop O’Dowd 43%) and the number of mistakes. The Monarchs turned the ball over 15 times, the Dragons 16.

The game never got out of hand, and never got away from either team. Mater Dei’s biggest lead was six points, O’Dowd’s five. But the Dragons’ last lead was in the third quarter, 36-35, after a 12-footer by Garry Hill-Thomas (17 points). Derrick Mansell’s 10-foot jumper got the lead back for Mater Dei, and the Monarchs had to work hard to keep it.

Both coaches had no complaints after the game, although the Bishop O’Dowd staff could have wondered about the free-throw discrepancy. Mater Dei had 23 foul shots (making 12); the Dragons had only six (making three).

“You saw a good game between two great teams tonight,” Bishop O’Dowd Coach Mike Phelps said. “When you have two teams willing to play hard defense, you’re not going to get a bunch of dunks and score 90 points. You have to execute every play.

“I thought we played well against a great team. And in the end we were only one shot away.”

Said Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight: “The kids did a real good job. We had a big, emotional game earlier this week against Capistrano Valley, a must-win as far as league and playoff seeding is concerned. We didn’t have time to prepare for [Bishop O’Dowd]. But I also worried that having that big game earlier this week would take some of their ability to focus away.”

Mater Dei forward Cedric Bozeman had the team’s best overall game--15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

In other games:

Lakewood Artesia 85, Capistrano Valley 55--Senior forward Jason Kapono scored 23 of his game-high 28 points in the first half as Artesia (23-2) cruised. Mike Stowell had 23 points for the Cougars (19-6).

Glendora 63, Troy 53--The smaller Warriors (15-9) trailed only 47-43 late in the fourth quarter but could not overcome the Tartans’ superior size and depth. Glendora’s Casey Jacobsen led all scorers with 29. Jerry Inzunza scored 14 for Troy.