It was a good run, but the Mater Dei Monarchs unfortunately witnessed the end of their 15-game winning streak on Wednesday. They took a 68-62 hit to the loss column at the hands of JSerra Catholic. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as Mater Dei came into the matchup with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' national basketball rankings (they are ranked eighth, while JSerra Catholic is ranked 60th).
Several Monarchs players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Brannon Martinsen, who scored 24 points along with seven rebounds. Martinsen hasn't dropped below 15 points for nine straight games. Scotty Belnap was another key contributor, scoring 16 points along with two steals.
Mater Dei's defeat ended a six-game streak of away wins and brought them to 22-2. As for JSerra Catholic, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six games, which lines up perfectly with their 20-4 record this season.
Mater Dei will be playing in front of their home fans against Servite at 9:00 p.m. on Friday. Hopefully Servite focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 20 on Wednesday. As for JSerra Catholic, they will head out on the road to take on Orange Lutheran at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Orange Lutheran is coming into the game on a four-game losing streak.
