Early preview: Mater Dei vs. Westchester
Checking out the matchup for Saturday's Southern California Regional final.
March 16, 2010 8:09 PM
By DAMIAN CALHOUN
OCVARSITY.COM
Ahead of Saturday’s ultimate showdown between No. 1 Mater Dei and No. 2 Westchester in the CIF Southern California Regional finals, here is an early preview:
What: No. 2 Westchester Comets (30-3) vs. No. 1 Mater Dei (32-1)
When: Saturday, 8 p.m.
Where: Galen Center, USC
How Westchester got here: The Comets, the Division I L.A. City Section champion and defending state champions, defeated Colony of Ontario (77-42), Santa Monica (73-64) and Long Beach Poly (65-53).
How Mater Dei got here: The Monarchs are the CIF-SS Division 1AA champion. Mater Dei has defeated Buchanan of Clovis (90-65), Rancho Verde (80-48) and Taft (75-73).
Why is this so important? This game is a basketball fan’s version of a Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather fight. You, know that fight that is so big, that it has to happen (we all hope it will happen). This is the matchup that I’ve been looking for since the start of the season. The top two high school basketball teams in the Southern California facing off with a berth in the CIF State Finals on the line. This has can’t-miss written all over it.
What makes Westchester click? Forward Dwayne Polee Jr. Polee, a 6-7 senior forward, can run and jump with the best. He had 19 points and 10 rebounds against Taft in the L.A. City Section finals and he dropped in 22 points against Long Beach Poly in the regional semifinals despite missing most of the second quarter in foul trouble. Mater Dei will have to keep an eye on him. He can fill out a stat sheet better than most.
Westchester player to watch: Center Reggie Murphy. Murphy, 6-9, will be the tallest player on the court Saturday. The Monarchs' tallest starter is Tyler Lamb (6-6). If Murphy is able to control the boards and become a force in the paint, that could make for a long night for the Monarchs. He better do something because Mater Dei’s Keala King has been dominating on the boards during the playoffs, averaging 13.7 a game.
The Westchester guards are both D1-caliber, led by combo guard Jordin Mayes (Arizona) and shooting guard Kareem Jamar (Montana).
Mater Dei players to watch: Katin Reinhardt and Max Hooper. Mater Dei survived Taft in the regional final thanks in large part to the play of sophomore guard Katin Reinhardt. Reinhardt, who moved into the starting lineup earlier this season after guard Tommy Stangl injured his foot, scored 15 points and grabbed five rebounds against Taft. Hooper gets overlooked at times, but if you leave him open, he will make you pay.
The final word: I’ve only watched the Comets once this season and that was on television when they defeated Oak Hill Academy, 52-47. That was in December. Jordin Mayes scored 16, Murphy had 12 and Polee 10. To hold Oak Hill to 47, should tell you all you need to know about the Westchester defense. I’ve said all year that Westchester was the only team that could beat Mater Dei. I think this one will be a wide-open game. Westchester wins 85-80.
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Mater Dei had to beat Etiwanda, Buchanan, Rancho Verde and Taft high schools to get to Saturday's final game. Lamb scored 22, 19, 21 and 21 pts, in these games, respectively. For stories and videos on these previous games, check out earlier blog posts.
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