ANAHEIM, CA – After winning 20 CIF Southern Section championships during his first 29 seasons as the Mater Dei High coach, would Gary McKnight think winning titles is a bit monotonous?
Uh, what do you think?
The Monarchs made it 21 in 30 for McKnight Saturday night, edging second seed Long Beach Poly, 63-59, in front of a noisy crowd in the Anaheim Convention Center Arena during the IAA final.
The first Southern Section crown that the Monarchs rung up under McKnight? Well, it came in 1983, in the Long Beach Arena, against the same Jackrabbits’ program when it was coached under the legendary Ron Palmer.
Neither team shot better than 34.0 percent from the field (the winners were 18 of 53 with the Jackrabbits 19 of 56) with the biggest factor in the ultimate outcome proving to be the Monarchs’ work under their offensive glass.
Mater Dei grabbed 21 of its own misses – with Colorado-bound forward Xavier Johnson snagging 11 of those for a day-high 20 rebounds – as the Jackrabbits repeatedly failed to check the Monarchs out as shots were in the air.
Johnson also had a game-high 20 points while fellow seniors Katin Reinhardt added 17 and 11 and sophomore Stanley Johnson chipped in with 14, including just enough free throws down the stretch to keep the Jackrabbits at bay.
Junior Roschon Prince had 16 points for Poly but missed three of 12 shots from the field and five of his 14 free throws.
Senior guard Chris Croom kept the Jackrabbits close when Mater Dei was on the verge of pulling away, scoring 19 points.
The State Southern Regional Division I bracket will be unveiled on Sunday with the Monarchs assured of being the No. 1 overall seed. Games get underway Wednesday night.
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