Fremont Gets Away From Mater Dei

Mater Dei had been down this road before, had faced a quick, agile defense, had faced pressure that could squeeze the zip out of a point guard’s pass.

And it had not fared well.

This time, it wasn’t Crenshaw’s press choking the Monarchs out of the Southern California final, but Oakland Fremont in the Division I state championship game.

Fremont forced 24 turnovers, prevented Mater Dei from mounting much of an offense, and scored a 50-45 victory over the Monarchs in front of 5,196 at Arco Arena.

Fremont redeemed itself for a loss four seasons ago to Mater Dei in the title game. It was the first championship for a Division I Northern California team since 1992, when Alameda St. Joseph, led by Jason Kidd, defeated Mater Dei.

Fremont Coach Clinton Williams promised 32 minutes of hell, and his team made good on it.

“I don’t think we got into our offense five times,” said Mater Dei point guard Imran Sufi. “They took us out of our game. We still had a chance to win--I’m surprised.”

Said Monarch Coach Gary McKnight: “They’re so athletic and they put so much pressure on you. They take you out of what you want to do. Sometimes there’s no rhyme or reason but they play so hard it’s tough to control the offense and take good shots.”

In the 1995 final, Mater Dei defeated Fremont, 71-67, in overtime. They avoided the extra session this time, but barely.

The Tigers (29-4) made only three of seven free throws in the final 1 minute 16 seconds, and Jermaine Turner tipped in a rebound at the buzzer for the final margin.

Lance Pitts’ three-pointer from the left wing with 2:32 remaining gave Fremont a 43-41 lead.

“When he hit the three, I knew the game was over,” said Turner, who supplied the other back-breaker, a 15-footer off the glass with 1:48 to go for a 45-42 lead.

“I still had confidence we were going to come back and hit some shots,” said Mater Dei’s Mike Bayer, who had a team-high 12 points and 10 rebounds.

But Mater Dei didn’t hit its shots. It made only three of 14 in the fourth quarter, 16 of 46 (34.8%) in the game. And, even worse, made only 12 of 25 free throws despite shooting 70% on the season.

Bayer’s putback with 15 seconds left closed the deficit to 47-45, but Josh Shavies made a free throw for Fremont.

Mater Dei (34-4) had a chance to tie or win, but Mario Vital picked the ball from Steve Scoggins’ dribble with nine seconds left.

There were several factors that worked against Mater Dei, including Jamal Sampson re-breaking his finger in the second quarter. Sampson (seven points) had 10 rebounds and was a defensive force. He played only eight minutes in the second half.

There were also missed opportunities. In the second quarter, Fremont missed its first 11 shots and went 4:54 without scoring.

In that span, Mater Dei outscored Fremont 7-0, taking a 21-17 lead. Turner ended the scoring drought, Mater Dei’s lead having peaked at 21-17 on Sampson’s putback.

Fremont closed the half making four of its last five shots, and scored the final six points for a 25-23 halftime lead.

Though Fremont committed seven turnovers in the quarter, Mater Dei outscored the Tigers only 9-8.

“There were a lot of missed opportunities--that run, we kept hanging at the same score for a long time--it was very frustrating,” McKnight said. “We had a hard time finishing on some of our shots around the basket, tip-ins, rebounds. Free throws.”

Mater Dei had won 16 in a row. The Monarchs were 3-1 in state championship games.

Fremont won its first state title since 1917, the second year a state championship game was played.

Mater Dei had taken its final lead, 41-40, with 2:58 remaining on Bayer’s basket inside. Then came Pitts’ three-pointer on the other end, with 2:32 to go.