Sampson Is Ejected, but Mater Dei Rejects Eagles

Mater Dei center Jamal Sampson wasn’t around for the start or finish of his Serra League game Friday night against Santa Margarita.

But the 6-foot-11 center scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in between, helping the top-ranked Monarchs defeat No. 2 Santa Margarita, 71-51, before an overflow crowd of about 2,100 at Santa Margarita High.

Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight kept Sampson on the bench during the first four minutes of the game because he missed practices earlier in the week due to illness. Sampson was later ejected after getting his second technical foul with one second remaining in the third quarter.

Sampson, who keyed Mater Dei’s 37-17 advantage in rebounding, got his first technical for hanging on the rim following a missed dunk in the first quarter. The second came when he pushed Santa Margarita’s Lenny Collins after some contact under the basket that resulted in a cut on the nose to Mater Dei’s Shaun Michel.

“The guy gave one of my players a shot and busted his nose,” Sampson said. “I gave him a little push and they called the tech. I guess they didn’t see the first incident.”

McKnight didn’t think Sampson deserved either technical foul.

“I don’t think the refs protect a big man like him,” he said. “It’s frustrating because I feel if a guard gets touched outside it’s a foul, [and] if a big guy gets touched inside it’s a foul.”

Cedric Bozeman and Ricky Porter helped pick up the slack for Mater Dei (16-2, 2-0). Bozeman scored 24 points on nine-of-13 shooting and Porter had 17, including seven in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, when Mater Dei stretched its lead to 12.

“It wasn’t that we felt we needed to step up [after Sampson’s ejection],” Bozeman said. “We just did our normal thing.”

Santa Margarita (16-2, 1-1) kept the game interesting in the first half, despite converting just two of 13 three-point attempts. The Eagles fell behind by seven early in the second quarter, but R.J. Socci’s three-pointer capped a 12-4 run and gave Santa Margarita a one-point lead with 2:10 remaining in the first half.

Sampson’s dunk and a driving layup put Mater Dei back up, 31-28, heading into the half, and Sampson then scored five points in a 9-0 run to start the third quarter.

Socci finished with 13 points to lead Santa Margarita and Lenny Collins had 11.

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In another Serra League game:

Bellflower St. John Bosco 46, Servite 43--Servite (8-12, 0-2) was outscored, 19-8, in the fourth quarter. Billy Burfeind scored 11 points and Sebastian Zielonka had 10 for the Friars, who led, 35-27, after three quarters.