Boys' basketball: Mater Dei finishes third at City of Palms Classic

Katin Reinhardt finished with 28 points and Xavier Johnson added 26 points as Mater Dei captured third place at the City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers (Fla.) with an 84-66 victory over Winter Park (Fla.) on Thursday.

Reinhardt and Johnson picked a good time to show off their basketball skills -- Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski and basketball commentator Dick Vitale were among the notable college basketball celebrities in attendance during the final day of the prestigious tournament.

The Monarchs' lone loss in the tournament came Tuesday against eventual tourney champs Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick. At 9-1, Mater Dei has once again established itself as one of Southern California's best teams.

Ranked No. 3 in the Southland by The Times, Mater Dei will play its next game Monday at the Orange Holiday Classic at Chapman University.

Go here for more results from the City of Palms Classic.

-- Austin Knoblauch

Comments

[Black Tooth]

If Mater Dei couldn't recurit players from South Central Los Angeles, what kinds of teams do you suspect the school would produce year in and year out.

Come on, you know the answer!

[Nice To See A Good Game]

The problem I have with Mater Dei is that they play Hack-a-Shaq defense...highly effective at the prep level, but exploitive of basketball's foul rules.

Here's their game plan: Rotate a cadre of 6-3 Gomers through the lineup so that they can foul (and foul HARD...you're not going to be making a basket) the opposing team's top two players every time they go up for a good shot. Their stars foul occasionally, but the dirty work is for the D-II bound second stringers.

They are happy as hell to trade foul for foul, and if a team does this, then the Monarchs will win. They have Catholic school discipline and make 80-90% of their free throws, compared to the vast majority of other prep teams, which have 5o-60% free throw percentages.

Look, if your team has one of two stars, and a few other quality players, you are going to lose against Mater Dei (a la Winter Park at the City of Palms Classic). But when a team like last year's Westchester squad meets them, the Monarchs will fall. Coaches need to adjust and get their 3-point bombers chucking the ball...