Boys’ basketball: Mater Dei picks up summer victory over Chino Hills

It won’t erase the memories of a 48-point defeat last season, the worst loss in Gary McKnight’s long coaching career at Santa Ana Mater Dei, but the Monarchs’ 79-68 win over Chino Hills on Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Fairfax summer tournament will provide a dose of confidence for a team that had little the last time it played the Huskies.

The Monarchs broke Chino Hills’ full-court press, rebounded well and attacked on offense. Eli Scott fouled out for Chino Hills with more than 13 minutes left in the game. And LaMelo Ball didn’t exactly have a good shooting night. He finished with 30 points but made just 11 of 42 shots. LiAngelo Ball didn’t play because of an ankle injury. Onyeka Okongwu had 14 rebounds and six blocks for the Huskies.

Justice Sueing led Mater Dei with 19 points. He was comfortable, consistent and took advantage of openings in Chino Hills’ defense. His three in the second half shut down a Chino Hills rally after the Huskies had come back from 14 points down to close to within three points.

“We went in with an open mind that we know we’re way better than what we showed in the past game,” Sueing said.

McKnight asked to be placed in the same bracket as Chino Hills to help give his team a chance to learn more about the Huskies.

“Last year, we got thrashed, and I felt the only way to get better is play teams that beat you,” McKnight said.

Michael Wang scored 17 points, Miles Bookins had 14 and Reagan Lundeen had 11. The Monarchs advance to Friday’s 7:30 p.m. semifinal against Trinity League rival Santa Margarita. The Eagles defeated Redondo, 78-67. Adrease Jackson scored 29 points and Jordan Guest had 21 points. Ryse Williams scored 21 points for Redondo.

The other semifinal at 6 p.m. will match Long Beach Poly against Corona Centennial.

In a consolation game, D.J. McDonald scored 28 points in Alemany’s 59-54 win over Calabasas. Loyola defeated Santa Monica, 64-56.

For the latest on high school sports, follow @LATSondheimer on Twitter