Frank Burlison

SANTA ANA, Ca – There were a few precarious moments early in the second quarter and even into the final minute for the host Mater Dei Monarchs Friday night during the first day of the 21^st Nike Extravaganza.

But, ultimately, Coach Gary McKnight’s team had too much for the Shadow Mountain Matadors of Phoenix – specifically too much Michael Cage Jr., Spencer Freedman and Harrison Butler – while securing a 79-72 victory.

With senior guard Michael Bibby Jr. hitting four 3s, the visitors took a one-point lead into the second quarter that stretched into seven points (28-21) midway through the second period.

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SANTA ANA, Ca. – Even those cursory-level high school basketball followers will find an abundance of story-lines to their liking over the two-day, 21^st Nike Extravaganza that will be hosted by Mater Dei High on Friday and Saturday.

Tickets can be purchased on the school’s ticket window (located on East-facing front of the Meruelo Athletic Center) beginning at 10 o’clock Friday morning.

The 13 games (including the 7 p.m. clash between the Mater Dei girls squad and its counterpart from Las Vegas Centennial) are divided into Friday ($12 general admission), Saturday morning ($12 general admission) and Friday afternoon/evening ($12 general admission and $22 reserved seating) sessions.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – Several teams from the BurlisonOnBasketball Southern California Top 25 will participate in the 21^st Nike Mater Dei Extravaganza in Santa Ana on Friday and Saturday.

Those include top-ranked (nationally, as well) Chino Hills, which will play Las Vegas powerhouse Bishop Gorman (Saturday, 7:15); No. 4 Foothills Christian (which plays No. 5 Mater Dei Saturday, 8:45); No. 10 Corona Centennial (vs. Concord De La Salle Saturday, 5:45); No. 11 Los Alamitos (vs. No. 16 Saturday, 2:45); No. 12 L.A. Westchester (vs. No.

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NORWALK, Ca. – All things considered, a whole lot of things fell in favor of the Bishop Montgomery High team knocking off the nation’s top-ranked squad Saturday night during the eighth James Samson/Fairfax State Preview.

The Chino Hills team that came into the game 21-zip and averaging 100 points per game was limited to 30 points under its average against the Knights’ man-to-man defense.

The Huskies, who normally crank in 12 to 15 3-pointers a game, were limited to just four buckets behind the arc.

And the best guard in America missed 19 of the 21 shots he attempted against Bishop Montgomery, which also came into the game 21-0 and ranked No.

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NORWALK, Ca. – The two best high school basketball teams in California – and, in reality great distances north, south and east – hook up at 7 o’clock Saturday night at Cerritos College during the most high-profile of the eight games being played in the 8^th James Samson/Fairfax State Preview.

And, it reality, it could be the first of three times that Chino Hills and Torrance Bishop Montgomery – No.’s 1 and 2 in the BurlisonOnBasketball SoCal Top 25 ratings – meet over the next six weeks or so.

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