Mater Dei lives up to expectations
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No surprises from out here in North Hollywood. Thanks to a 21-point effort by David Wear and 17 points by Gary Franklin, second-seeded Mater Dei (29-0) cruised to an 84-59 victory over Harvard-Westlake (21-8) in a Southern Section Division I-AA boys’ basketball playoff game on Tuesday.
The Monarchs’ strong perimeter shooting along with their outstanding defense was too much for the Wolverines’ top guns, who looked very average on this night. Harvard-Westlake played well in spurts, but it couldn’t put a collective effort against a squad many have pegged as the divisional title favorite.
I’ll admit I haven’t seen Dominguez or Santa Margarita (which smoked Loyola) play this season, but Mater Dei is definitely the best team I’ve seen play this year. The Monarchs’ combination of size and speed has to be one of the best in the state. I feel sorry Capistrano Valley has to play these guys in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Harvard-Westlake had a memorable season, though, and here’s Coach Greg Hilliard’s outtake on the game and the year:
