Boys’ basketball: Mater Dei wins tournament
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Like the sun rising in the east and your phone bill amounting to more than you suspected, you can count on Mater Dei winning an early season Orange County tournament.
The Monarchs, ranked No. 3 in the Southland by The Times, improved to 4-0 with a 76-63 victory over Los Alamitos in the championship of the Loara tournament. If there was a surprise it was that the score was relatively close and the Griffins actually outscored the Monarchs, 14-8, in the second quarter.
But it proved to be a bit like Lehigh outscoring Georgetown in the second half of a NCAA tournament loss--something to be proud of but ultimately fruitless. Keala King had 17 points, 18 rebounds and six assists for Mater Dei, which also received 19 points and 10 rebounds from Tyler Lamb.
Monarchs guard Gary Franklin had 14 points but made only three of 13 shots, including two of 10 attempts from three-point range. James Walker III had a whopping 30 points for Los Alamitos (3-1), shooting 11 of 25 from the field. He was 11 of 18 from two-point range, missing all seven of his three-point attempts.
--Ben Bolch