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Mater Dei plays at home Friday night against Westchester of Los Angeles in a CIF Southern California Regionals Open Division boys basketball first round game.
They have played each other several times over the many years that Ed Azzam has coached Westchester and Gary McKnight has coached Mater Dei.
The most recent Westchester-Mater Dei game was in the 2015 CIF Southern California Regionals in which Mater Dei defeated Westchester in the Open Division first round. Mater Dei would go on to the CIF State Open Division championship game in which the Monarchs lost to Bishop O’Dowd of Oakland.
Mater Dei beat Westchester in the first ever CIF Southern California Regionals Open Division final, 59-54, in 2014.
Westchester defeated Mater Dei in the 2010 Southern Calfornia Regionals Division 1 championship game.
There have been other Regionals and regular-season tournament games between the two. Westchester has been a regular at the annual Nike Extravaganza at Mater Dei. Westchester has played a variety of opponents at the Nike Extravaganza, including some battles against Mater Dei.
In the 2006 Nike Extravaganza, Mater Dei defeated Westchester, 91-89. That game established the Nike Extravaganza record for most points scored by two teans, 180; the record was broken in this year’s Nike Extravaganza when Chino Hills and Oak Hill Academy of Virginia combined to score 186 points in Oak Hill’s 95-91 win.
Westchester coach Ed Azzam has 86 career wins. His teams have won six CIF State championships. Mater De coach Gary McKnight has 1,082 wins and 11 state titles.
In their sectional playoffs this month, Westchester lost to Birmingham of Lake Balboa in the CIF-Los Angeles City Section Open Division championship game. Mater Dei lost to Bishop Montgomery of Torrance in the CIF-Southern Section Open Division championship game.
In this week’s CalHiSports.com California top 20, Mater Dei is No. 2, behind Bishop Montgomery, and Westchester is No. 10.
Among Westchester’s top players are senior guards Harold Moore and Chris Simmons.
Mater Dei’s lineup features Cal-signed forward Justice Sueing, junior point guard Spencer Freedman and junior center Bol Bol.
