Southern California regional championship-game previews

Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) High School's boys basketball team had a goal this season. It was plain and simple, in fact: Win the title game of the Southern California Regional playoffs, advance to the state finals and defend its state crown.

The Monarchs, accordingly, are two wins from that accomplishment.

Bullard (Fresno), on the other hand, was not expected to make much, if any, noise the during regional postseason play. Nevertheless, the Knights find themselves in the same position as Mater Dei, a step away from the ultimate stage and two wins from a once unthinkable dream scenario.

On Saturday, 8 p.m. at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, we will find out which team fulfills it promise as the top-seeded Monarchs (32-2) face Bullard (33-3) in the championship game, one of six showdowns at the venue during the day.

Four other title games - Division IV and V match-ups - take place at Colony High School, also in Ontario.

Mater Dei appeared destined to make and appearance in the finals. Behind seniors Katin Reinhardt and Xavier Johnson, along with sophomore Stanley Johnson, the Monarchs were ranked among the nation's premier programs around for a majority of the season.

Maxpreps.com has Mater Dei No. 4 in the Freeman computer national rankings, No. 6 in the Xcellent 25 human rankings and No. 1 in California in both. And rightfully so, considering its resume. The Monarchs are coached by Gary McKnight, who has won a staggering 92 percent of his team's 1,007 starts. He's won a state-record 924 games.

Bullard only recently started to open some eyes as Walter Orr, a 5-foot-11 senior point guard, hit the game-winner at the buzzer for the Knights in a 54-52 upset over Long Beach Poly in the semifinals. This came after Southern California playoff wins over traditional state powers Westchester and Taft.

Bullard is ranked No. 55 nationally and No. 10 in the state.

The Monarchs must be considered the prohibitive favorite in this one. With their goal in sight, it is difficult to believe they'll come up short. Bullard figures to enter with the same mentality. A victory is the only thing separating both from their ultimate goal.

Orr certainly helped get the Knights to this point with his timely basket in the regional semifinal game. However, Bullard would not be in the position it is without the play of Aaric Armstead. The 6-5 senior off-guard, a transfer from Chicago, has a handful of scholarship offers, mostly from mid-major schools. According to the Fresno Bee, he averages 23.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 6.2 deflections and 4.5 steals per game.

If the Knights hope to stay close against the Monarchs, Armstead will have to be at his best. But he has a deep supporting cast led by two younger brothers, Adam Armstead, a junior, and Austin Armstead, a freshman. The guard quartet of Orr, Chris Russell, Brad Thakham and Corey Silverstrom is impressive.

Division II
La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad) (34-2) vs. Lincoln (San Diego) (26-9), 4 p.m.

The top-seeded Mavericks figured to go as far as Matt Shrigley would take them this season and the 6-foot-6 senior forward and San Diego State commit guided his teammates to the title game.

Behind Shrigley, La Costa Canyon lost just twice this season, to a pair of more than worthy opponents, Woodland Hills Taft and La Verne Lutheran. Despite the setbacks, the Mavericks stayed focused and rattled off a rather impressive 18-game winning streak.

The third-seeded Hornets, are no slouch. The fact they made to the championship showdown is all the more impressive considering Lincoln lost its best player overall, Norman Powell, from last season. He graduated and has moved onto to playing ball at UCLA.

In Powell's absence, Tyree Robinson has emerged as a leader. The junior is averaging 21.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game this season. His brother Tyrell Robinson is pretty good also.

Division III
Alemany (Mission Hills) (31-4) vs. St. John Bosco (Bellflower) (25-7), noon

At 5-9, Max Guercy might not be the tallest player on the court in this game. The senior point guard for the top-seeded Warriors makes up for his lack of height with more than enough heart.

Guercy is the catalyst for Alemany, to be sure. He averages 18 points, five assists, four rebounds and three assists per game. Just imagine if he was a tab bit taller, perhaps an inch or two. Surely, Guercy would have more than three scholarship offers to his name.

Sixth-seeded St. John Bosco relies on youth, particularly from brothers Isaac Hamilton and Daniel Hamilton. Both play beyond their years, with the experience of upperclassmen. Combined, they average 45 points and each is capable of taking over at any point, first or second half.

Division IV
Serra (Gardena) (31-2) vs. Price (Los Angeles) (25-8), 7 p.m.

Serra, the 2010 state Division III state champions take on the six-time state champions at Colony High School. This is the ultimate grudge match as the squads have split two previous meetings, a 49-47 Price win on Jan. 14 and a Serra 70-63 payback in the Southern Section playoffs on Feb. 24.

In the later, Serra's Dakarai Tucker had a career-high 33 points, according to the Los Angeles Times. Price's ultra-talented 6-8 Skylar Spencer had 17 points and five blocks.

Division V
Village Christian (Sun Valley) (31-3) vs. Renaissance Academy (La Canada) (27-6), 3 p.m.

This is the second game of the day at Colony High School. Village Christian is led by the trio of 6-5 sophomore Bryan Alberts (18.6 points per game), 6-7 sophomore Marsalis Johnson (15.4) and 6-7 senior Marquis Salmon (13.0). Renaissance Academy uses much more balance, but the duo of 6-5 senior Jessy Cantinol (15.1) and 5-9 senior Vince De Guzman (14.1) duo most of the scoring. Six other players score between 4.8 and 6.1.

Renaissance Academy already has a win over Village Christian, 60-44, but that was way back on Nov. 30. GIRLS
Division I
Mater Dei (Santa Ana) (32-3) vs. Long Beach Poly (32-3), 6 p.m.

Identical records isn't the only thing these two national powers share. These programs possess loads of history and a talented lot of alumni, including the reigning national Player of the Year, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, the former Mater Dei standout now starring at Connecticut.

Mosqueda-Lewis led the Monarchs to back-to-back state and mythical national crowns and once she left, many wondered how Mater Dei would respond. With the return of USC-bound senior point guard Jordan Adams along with sharp shooting UCLA-bound guard Nirra Fields, a pair of McDonald's All-Americans, the Monarchs are back in the national hunt and are No. 6 in the Xcellent 25 national rankings.

If anyone matches Mater Dei - if not on the court then certainly in history - it is the third-seeded and 17th-ranked Jackrabbits, who rely, as usual, on a deep roster led by Destiny King, Keyla Morgan and Arica Carter. Poly won a Division I record four straight state titles, starting in 2006 before being upset in 2010 by Oak Ridge.

Division II
JW North (Riverside) (30-5) vs. Foothill (Santa Ana) (28-5), 2 p.m.

Go ahead and pick your poison, the second-seeded Huskies feature three players scoring in double digits. Brittany Crain averages 16.7 points per game, Pricilla Brooks scores 15.5 and Simone De Coud adds 12.1.

Fifth-seeded Foothill counters with Molly Greubel. The senior does a little bit of everything, most of it well. She averages 16.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists.

Division III
Mission Bay (San Diego) (26-6) vs. Laguna Hills (25-8), 10 a.m.

It begins and ends with Briteesha Solomon for the top-seeded Bucaneers. The junior guard nearly averages a triple double per game with 24.2 points, 12.2 rebounds and 8.5 assists per game. She also blocks 3.6 a night.

The road to the regional title game has been easy for the second-seeded Hawks. They marched to a Southern Section title and defeated Mission Hills Alemany to win it all. According to the Orange County Register, point guard Maddy Ziering-Smith had a team-high 23 points to beat Alemany, while teammate Celie Marfone added 20 points and 22 rebounds.

Division IV
La Jolla Country Day (La Jolla) (30-1) vs. Serra (Gardena) (30-3), 5 p.m.

This very well might be the best match-up of the day, either gender, as LJCD enters No. 3 in the Freeman computer national rankings and No. 9 in the Xcellent 25 human rankings. Serra is No. 20 in the Freeman rankings and coming off two wins over Windward (Los Angeles), which was ranked as high as No. 2 nationally.

La Jolla Country Day is led by the terrific trio of point guard Kelsey Plum (21.9 ppg), high-flying forward Maya Hood (17.4) and her sister Malina Hood (13.3). Serra thrives with the trio of 6-2 post Rejane Verin (14.4) and guards Simone Thompson (12.5) and Siera Thompson (11.3).

Each team has lost to Long Beach Poly and LJCD has won 19 straight and Serra 13.

Division V
Mission Prep (San Luis Obispo) (31-1) vs. Rolling Hills Prep (San Pedro) (21-4), 1 p.m.

Mission Prep seeks its seven regional title and is led by the duo of point guard Jenna Dunbar (14.6) and 5-10 senior Bri Harvey (14.4). The Royals have won 28 straight.

Rolling Hills features a dynamic trio of co-captains Mar-jana Phillips, a versatile 6-foot junior and 5-3 guard Cat Traylor, along with 6-foot sophomore Peyton Langston.

Senior writer Mitch Stephens contributed to this report.