McKnight Gets 500th Victory

Mater Dei clinched its seventh South Coast League championship and Coach Gary McKnight won his 500th game when the Monarchs beat visiting Dana Hills, 77-56, in boys’ basketball Wednesday.

McKnight (500-45), in his 17th year at Mater Dei, is the second active county coach with 500 victories. Tom Danley, in his 32nd season at Katella, is 616-241.

McKnight said he was grateful to have reached the milestone, considering he had surgery two years ago to remove a cancerous tumor.

“To get this many wins means you’ve had great players,” McKnight said. “I’ve been blessed with great players and great assistant coaches.

“I really appreciate being able to come back and coach [after the surgery.] It’s a personal number, but it’s a tribute to the teams we’ve had.”

Mater Dei center Mike Bayer, who led all scorers with 15, said the team “was proud the way he came back to us after the surgery. It shows how strong he is.

“I’m also glad we did it tonight, so we can concentrate on the playoffs.”

In acknowledging the team’s final regular-season game at Mater Dei this season (Friday’s season finale is at the Bren Center), McKnight started four reserve seniors--Imran Sufi, Travis Kasper, Chris Mello and Bryan McKnight--with Bayer.

The makeshift lineup enabled the Dolphins (9-15, 2-7) to jump out to a 17-8 first-quarter lead. But once regulars Derrick Mansell, Steve Scoggin, Cedric Bozeman and Erik Soderberg got in and got warmed up, the Monarchs (25-3, 9-0) took control, outscoring Dana Hills 51-22 over the next two quarters.

Tommy Gallups led Dana Hills with 11.