Mater Dei boys and girls won regional titles Saturday night in Ontario.
Photo by Louis Lopez
Results from Southern Regional basketball finals at Citizens Business Bank Arena (Divisions I-III) and Colony High School (Divisions IV-V).
BOYSFinal score: Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 85,
Bullard (Fresno) 66
An emphatic finish for Mater Dei.
Photo by Louis Lopez
Xavier Johnson scored 10 points in the first eight minutes of action for Mater Dei. The senior and Colorado commit was just getting started too. He played with purpose from start to finish in this one and ended up with 26 points and 11 rebounds.
Key statistic: Top-seeded Mater Dei jumped out to a 17-12 lead at the end of the first quarter, extended the advantage to eight points at halftime and took a 65-44 lead to start the fourth quarter. With that, the Cinderella run by sixth-seeded Bullard was essentially over.
Noteworthy: Johnson had help along the way. Senior and UNLV commit Katin Reinhardt added 14 points for Mater Dei. Teammate and sophomore Stanley Johnson had 18 points. Junior Elijah Brown, son of Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike Brown, finished with 14 points for the Monarchs... Senior Aaric Armstead scored 20 of his 33 points in the first half for Bullard.
Records: Mater Dei (33-2), Bullard (33-4)
Bullard had a fantastic season but it couldn't block out Mater Dei Saturday night.
Photo by Louis Lopez
47,
Lincoln (San Diego) 43
Key player: Matt Shrigley struggled throughout which makes the La Costa Canyon victory all the more impressive. The senior and San Diego State commit was 3-of-13 from the field and had nine points, a total well below his average of close to 20 points a game this season.
Key statistic: Top-seeded La Costa Canyon played with a sense of urgency to open the second half. The Mavericks outscored third-seeded Lincoln by eight points in the third quarter alone. With little, or no, momentum, the Hornets could not overcome the deficit.
Noteworthy: Senior Erik Magnuson is known as one of the nation's premier football players and his scholarship to Michigan is proof. Turns out, he's a good basketball player too. Magnuson finished with 13 points for La Costa Canyon... Brothers Tyrell and Tyree Robinson made things interesting and Lincoln was never out of the game as a result. The juniors combined for 22 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Zach Beery scored a team-high 15 points for La Costa Canyon.
Records: La Costa Canyon (35-2), Lincoln (26-10)
DIVISION IIIFinal score: Alemany (Mission Hills) 62,
St. John Bosco (Bellflower) 61
Key player: K.J. Moffett did not score a field goal in his first 25-plus minutes of action on the floor for Alemany. However, the junior converted a reverse layup in traffic when it mattered most,with 1.5 seconds left on the fourth quarter clock, to clinch the victory.
Key statistic: Top-seeded Alemany took a 37-21 lead at halftime and extended the advantage to 18 points in the second half. Give second-seeded St. John Bosco credit, the Braves responded and took a six-point lead in the fourth quarter before fading down the stretch.
Noteworthy: Isaac Hamilton carried St. John Bosco from start to finish. The junior scored 32 points and added 11 rebounds... Hamilton's younger brother, sophomore Daniel, had nine points, 13 rebounds and five assists... Despite somewhat of an inconsistent 6-of-16 shooting effort from the field, Senior Max Guercy finished with 20 points for Alemany... Marqueze Coleman scored 24 points for Alemany. The senior and Nevada commit also had six steals and three rebounds.
Records: Alemany (32-4), St. John Bosco (25-8)
DIVISION IVFinal score: Price (Los Angeles, Calif.) 73,
Serra (Gardena, Calif.) 66
Key player: With star post Skylar Spencer limited with foul trouble, Price's Khalil Johnson more than picked up the slack with a game-high 26 points and he pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds. He made 8-of-14 shots.
Key statistic: Shooting turned out to be the key here as Price made 54 percent of its shots (26 of 48) to 44 for Serra (25 of 56) and made three more free throws (19) in the same amount of attempts (26).
Noteworthy: Spencer was effective while in there with 15 points and six rebounds, which helped to negate Serra's talented big man big Daddy Ugbede (18 points, six rebounds). ... Dekarai Tucker led Serra with 19 points and Kajon Mack added 18 points. ... JaQuan Green had 14 and Trey Dickerson 12 for Price, which jumped out of the games taking leads of 16-10 and 39-30 after the first two quarters. ... Price goes after its seventh state championship against Salesian-Richmond on Friday in what many believe is the premier game of the two-day event.
Records: Price (26-8), Serra (31-3).
DIVISION VFinal score: Village Christian (Sun Valley) 58,
Renaissance Academy (La Canada) 57
Key player: Though Marquis Salmon had team-highs of 19 points, nine rebounds and four assists, it was Bryan Alberts (13 points) who made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 40 seconds left, breaking a 55-55 tie.
Key statistic: Not much separated these two in any category, but ultimately five 3-pointers by Village Christian - including three by Alberts - to just two for Renaissance Academy proved decisive.
Noteworthy: Marsalis Johnson was also key for the winners, making 5 of 7 shots en route to 13 points. ... Jessy Cantinol led all scorers for Renaissance with 22 points on 9 of 11 shooting. ... Village Christian wasn't among the top four seeds and had earlier lost to Renaissance Academy 60-44.
Records: Village Christian 32-3, Renaissance Academy 27-7.
GIRLS BASKETBALL DIVISION I Final score: Mater Dei 54,
Long Beach Poly 43
Nirra Fields scored 20 points for
Mater Dei.
Photo by Louis Lopez
Key player: Nirra Fields scored 20 points for Mater Dei. The UCLA commit, Gatorade State Player of the Year and McDonald's All-American was unstoppable, particularly in the first half when she scored 12 points on a variety of shots in the lane and out on the perimeter.
Key statistic: Top-seeded Mater Dei opened up a 27-18 lead at the half and extended the advantage to 18 points in the second half. Third-seeded Long Beach Poly cut the deficit to five points with less than two minutes left in the game, but ultimately, ran out of gas in the end.
Noteworthy: Long Beach Poly's Keyla Morgan was injured in the the third quarter. She collided with a Mater Dei player, fell face first to the floor and appeared to suffer a seizure. Morgan was taken off the court on a stretcher. Reports have her alert and responsive and she was admitted to a local hospital for observation. ... Jordan Adams did not have her best scoring output of the season and finished with five points for Mater Dei. The USC commit and McDonald's All-American did contribute seven rebounds and three assists... Long Beach Poly did not have a starter reach double figures. Olivia Montgomery came off the bench and scored a team-high 12 points for the Jackrabbits.
Long Beach Poly came up just a
bit short.
Photo by Louis Lopez
: Mater Dei (33-3), Long Beach Poly (32-4)
DIVISION IIFinal score: JW North (Riverside) 57,
Foothill (Santa Ana) 49
Key player: Priscilla Brooks fouled out in the fourth quarter after 26 minutes of action. The damage, however, had already been done. The junior scored 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field. Brooks also had 10 rebounds and a pair of assists.
Key statistic: Second-seeded J.W. North jumped out to nine-point lead in the second quarter. Fifth-seeded Foothill cut the deficit to 26-24 at halftime. Ultimately, the Knights appeared to use up too much energy early and the rally came up short in the end.
Noteworthy: With the victory, J.W. North advances to the CIF State title game next week for the first time in program history... Brooks had help along the way as Brittany Crain finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds for J.W. North and teammate Simone De Coud ended up 11 points... Molly Greubel was 2-of-11 from the field for Foothill. The senior was 12-of-15 from the line though and finished with 16 points. Greubel added four rebounds and three assists.
Records:
J.W. North (31-5), Foothill (28-6) DIVISION IIIFinal score: Laguna Hills 75:
Mission Bay (San Diego) 69
Key player: Celia Marfone scored a game-high 28 points and added 14 rebounds for Laguna Beach. The senior and UC Davis commit also made four three-pointers.
Key statistic: Second-seeded Laguna Hills should consider itself lucky to have won given the fact the Lady Hawks got beat on seemingly every hustle play for a loose ball on the offensive end. Top-seeded Mission Bay had 34 second chance points. Laguna Hills had five.
Noteworthy: Maddy Ziering-Smith nearly had a triple double for Laguna Hills. The junior ended up with 13 points, 11 assists and seven steals. Briteesha Solomon did her best to keep Mission Bay close throughout. The junior finished with 28 points, five rebounds and five blocks... Senior Keyahndra Cannon had 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists for Mission Bay.
Records: Laguna Hills (26-8), Mission Bay (26-7)
DIVISION IVFinal score: La Jolla Country Day (La Jolla) 46,
Serra (Gardena) 36
Key player: One of the nation's top junior point guards Kelsey Plum scored a game-high 23 points and added six defensive rebounds.
Key statistic: The foul line told the story - La Jolla Country Day was hardly sizzling at 20 of 35 (57 percent), but Serra was absolutely chilly and largely vacant at 5-for-15 (33 percent).
Noteworthy: This was billed as the Southern Region Game of the Day, considering both teams were Top 20 nationally-ranked squads. ... Chalk it up to great defense or poor shooting, but LJCD shot 30 percent for the game (12 of 39) and Serra was 29.4 percent (15 of 51). ... Maya Hood added 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for LJCD, while Deandrea Toler led Serra with 14 points. ... Both teams turned the ball over 17 times. ... La Jolla Country Day has won 20 straight.
Records: La Jolla Country Day (31-1), Serra (30-4).
DIVISION VFinal score: Mission Prep (San Luis Obispo) 62,
Rolling Hills Prep (San Pedro) 41
Key player: Jenna Dunbar had team highs of 21 points and seven assists, leading Mission Prep to its seventh regional title.
Key statistic: There was no getting around the shooting disparity, Mission Prep made 52 percent of its shots (25 of 48), while Rolling Hills was 28 percent (17 of 60).
Noteworthy: Mission Prep broke open a reasonable close game with a 19-8 surge in the third and 32-17 in the second half. ... Kaylee Williams also had a big game for the winners with 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists. while teammate Bri harvey added 13 points. ... The most dominating player on the court was Rolling Hills Prep standout Mar-Jana Phillips with game-highs of 25 points and 12 rebounds. ... Mission Prep has lost all six previous appearances in the state title game. ... It enters the state-title game with 29 straight wins.
Records: Mission Prep (32-1), Rolling Hills (21-5).
Senior writer Mitch Stephens contributed to this report. Follow Sean Ceglinski on Twitter @seanceglinski.
