Boys’ basketball: It’s a Mater Dei-Bullard regional final
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Santa Ana Mater Dei, trailing by two points entering the fourth quarter, went on an 11-1 surge and came away with a 75-63 victory over Loyola in a Division I Southern California Regional semifinal game.
The Monarchs will play Fresno Bullard in Saturday’s 8 p.m. final in Ontario. Bullard upset Long Beach Poly, 54-52, on a three-point basket by Walter Orr at the buzzer.
Mater Dei received a huge game from Katin Reinhardt, who had missed the quarterfinals with stretched ligaments in his hand. He scored 21 points and had 11 rebounds. Xavier Johnson had 26 points and Stanley Johnson 17.
Julian Harrell scored 20 points for Loyola. Freshman Max Hazzard had 11 points and came up big when Loyola trailed, 30-29, at halftime and led, 49-48, going into the fourth quarter. The future is bright for the Cubs (26-6) because another contributor was 7-foot center Thomas Welsh, who scored three baskets.
It was a night of drama. Price pulled out a 53-52 victory over La Verne Lutheran in Division IV when Skylar Spencer made two free throws with 6.9 seconds left. Price will face Gardena Serra in the regional final.
In Division III, St. John Bosco defeated Pasadena, 53-51, when Daniel Hamilton made a basket with 1.7 seconds left. St. John Bosco will face Alemany, an 84-64 winner over Cathedral Catholic. Marqueze Coleman scored 31 points for Alemany. Max Guercy had 16 points and 11 assists.
In Division V, Sun Valley Village Christian upset No. 1-seeded St. Bernard, 75-65. Marquis Salmon scored 29 points. Village Christian will play Renaissance in the final.
For the record, 9:07 a.m., March 14: An earlier version of this post incorrectly identified Mark Anderson as the player who made the game-winning shot for Bullard.
-- Eric Sondheimer