SANTA ANA – Senior Zack Davidson scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Mater Dei High boys’ basketball team outscored visiting Orange Lutheran by 26 points in the second half in route to a 74-47 Trinity League victory Friday night.
The game was the last of five played in the Meruelo Athletic Center Friday as part of the two-day 28th Nike Extravaganza.
About 20 miles south Friday night in another Trinity game, league-leading St. John Bosco suffered its first league loss at JSerra, 58-53.
But, despite the defeat, the Braves (7-1 and 22-4 overall) clinched a share of the Trinity championship since second-place Orange Lutheran dropped to 5-3 in league with its loss to the Monarchs.
St. John Bosco gets another chance to claim the title outright when it visits Orange Lutheran (16-8 overall) Tuesday night.
Mater Dei (4-4 and 19-6 overall) fell behind 9-2 and 12-4 to the Lancers Friday night before getting to within six points at the end of the first quarter and going up a point at intermission by way of a layup by freshman Brannon Martinez (who scored 11 of his eventual 16 points in the first half; he also grabbed six rebounds with a game-high five assists).
The 6-foot-8 Davidson (pictured; he’s bound for the University of Montana) dominated the second half, hitting a couple of 3s as part of his 21 points over about 12 minutes.
Another freshman, Luke Barnett, came off the bench for Mater Dei and added 13 points, nine by way of three of five shooting from behind the arc.
The Monarchs, who led by 21 points at intermission Wednesday night before falling at St. John Bosco (65-57), play host to Santa Margarita in another Trinity clash Tuesday night.
Mater Dei (7:40 p.m., vs. Phoenix St. Mary’s) will return to its home court to play one of the 11 Nike X games set for Saturday.
Those games begin at the crack of dawn – not really, but it will seem that way – when Servite and Los Alamitos hook up at 8 a.m.
The last of the games is scheduled to tip at 9 p.m. (and that’s assuming no overtimes during any of the first 10 games), with a couple of defending state champions, Corona Centennial and Henderson (NV) Liberty, playing.
Among the other games on tap for Saturday are:
*JSerra (17-8) vs. Crean Lutheran (18-6), 1 p.m.
*West Rancho (24-1) vs. Arlington (VA) Bishop O’Connell, 3:40 p.m.
*Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (18-8 and 6-1 in the Mission League, following its 66-62 defeat of Sierra Canyon in Pauley Pavilion Friday) vs. San Diego’s top team, St. Augustine (20-3), 5 p.m.
*The Mission League’s regular-season champion, Harvard-Westlake (25-1), plays one of Northern California’s best teams, Concord De La Salle (19-4), at 6:20.
In other results Friday:
*Mater Dei 76, Esperanza 52 (girls): The Monarchs of Coach Kevin Kiernan improved to 24-2 with their 16th win in a row.
Five players scored in double figures, led by Addie Deal and Janessa Cotton (14 apiece).
Kaiya Mack had a game-high 21 points for the Aztecs (21-4).
*Las Vegas Bishop Gorman 65, Northridge Heritage Christian 53: The Gaels, who lost by 23 points at home Wednesday night to Liberty and are in San Diego Saturday night to face San Ysidro, got double-figure scoring from three players with sophomore guard Nick Jefferson coming off the bench for 12 points (including seven of seven from the free-throw line).
Sophomore forward Tae Simmons had game-highs in scoring (24) and rebounds (15) for the Warriors (16-10).
*Rolling Hills Prep 53, San Juan Hills 37: The Huskies went to 21-5 with their seventh consecutive win despite hitting just .365 from the field (missing 13 of 16 shots from behind the arc).
Freshman forward Kawika Suter came off the bench for 10 points and six rebounds for RHP while Mason Hodges led the Stallions (14-11) with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
*St. Margaret’s 47, Palm Springs 46: Junior Russell Frye went for 14 points, six rebounds and three assists as the Tartans improved to 19-6 in the first game played Friday afternoon.
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