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  • Mater Dei's Stanley Johnson celebrates forcing Bishop Mency to lose...

    Mater Dei's Stanley Johnson celebrates forcing Bishop Mency to lose the ball out of bounds in the first half of the CIF-SS Open Division boys basketball championship game Saturday at Honda Center.

  • Mater Dei are the CIF-SS Open Division boys basketball champions...

    Mater Dei are the CIF-SS Open Division boys basketball champions after defeating Chino Hills Saturday at Honda Center.

  • Mater Dei fans cheer for their team during the final...

    Mater Dei fans cheer for their team during the final minutes of the CIF-SS Open Division boys basketball championship game against Chino Hills on Saturday at the Honda Center.

  • Mater Dei's Stanley Johnson greets his head coach Gary McKnight...

    Mater Dei's Stanley Johnson greets his head coach Gary McKnight and three-week-old grandchild Brooklyn Hennessey McKnight after defeating Chino Hills in the CIF-SS Open Division boys basketball championship game Saturday at Honda Center.

  • Mater Dei's Gary McKnight walks around with his grandchild, Brooklyn...

    Mater Dei's Gary McKnight walks around with his grandchild, Brooklyn Hennessey Knight, after his team defeated Chino Hills in the CIF-SS Open Division boys basketball championship game Saturday at Honda Center.

  • Mater Dei's bench is pumped as late game possession call...

    Mater Dei's bench is pumped as late game possession call goes their way against Chino Hills in the CIF-SS Open Division boys basketball championship game Saturday at Honda Center.

  • Mater Dei's MJ Cage, facing, puts up two points against...

    Mater Dei's MJ Cage, facing, puts up two points against Chino Hills in the CIF-SS Open Division boys basketball championship game Saturday at Honda Center.

  • Mater Dei fans cheer for their team as they beat...

    Mater Dei fans cheer for their team as they beat Chino Hills during the CIF-SS Open Division boys basketball championship game Saturday at the Honda Center.

  • A Mater Dei cheerleader keeps her eye on the scoreboard...

    A Mater Dei cheerleader keeps her eye on the scoreboard during the CIF-SS Open Division boys basketball championship game against Chino Hills on Saturday at Honda Center.

  • Mater Dei fans wave their arms during a free-throw attempt...

    Mater Dei fans wave their arms during a free-throw attempt in the CIF-SS Open Division boys basketball championship game against Chino Hills on Saturday at Honda Center.

  • Mater Dei's Stanley Johnson yells in celebration after he is...

    Mater Dei's Stanley Johnson yells in celebration after he is fouled near the end of the game against Chino Hills in the CIF-SS Open Division boys basketball championship game Saturday at Honda Center.

  • Mater Dei fans cheer for their team as they beat...

    Mater Dei fans cheer for their team as they beat Chino Hills during the CIF-SS Open Division boys basketball championship game Saturday at the Honda Center.

  • Mater Dei celebrates defeating Chino Hills in the CIF-SS Open...

    Mater Dei celebrates defeating Chino Hills in the CIF-SS Open Division boys basketball championship game Saturday at Honda Center.

  • Mater Dei's Stanley Johnson drives to the basket pushing away...

    Mater Dei's Stanley Johnson drives to the basket pushing away Chino Hills' Nmamdi Okongwu during the CIF-SS Open Division boys basketball championship game Saturday at Honda Center.

  • Mater Dei starting line up hits the floor to face...

    Mater Dei starting line up hits the floor to face Chino Hills in the CIF-SS Open Division boys basketball championship game Saturday at Honda Center.

  • Stanley Johnson puts in two of his 13 first half...

    Stanley Johnson puts in two of his 13 first half points, half his team's points in the half, in the CIF-SS Open Division boys basketball championship game Saturday at Honda Center.

  • Mater Dei's Stanley Johnson reacts to a call by the...

    Mater Dei's Stanley Johnson reacts to a call by the referee in the third quarter of the CIF-SS Open Division boys basketball championship game against Chino Hills on Saturday at Honda Center.

  • Stanley Johnson grabs an offensive rebound before putting it back...

    Stanley Johnson grabs an offensive rebound before putting it back up for a score in the CIF-SS Open Division boys basketball championship game Saturday at Honda Center.

  • Mater Dei's Stanley Johnson drains the decisive free throw with...

    Mater Dei's Stanley Johnson drains the decisive free throw with just 4.6 seconds left in their 48-44 victory over Chino Hills in the CIF-SS Open Division boys basketball championship game Saturday at Honda Center.

  • Mater Dei's La'Vette Parker, right, is fouled as he drives...

    Mater Dei's La'Vette Parker, right, is fouled as he drives to the basket by Chino Hills' Bishop Mency in the CIF-SS Open Division boys basketball championship game Saturday at Honda Center.

  • Mater Dei's Charles Pflueger drives for a basket against Chino...

    Mater Dei's Charles Pflueger drives for a basket against Chino Hills in the CIF-SS Open Division boys basketball championship game Saturday at Honda Center.

  • Mater Dei's Isaiah Juarez, left, and Stanley Johnson pump up...

    Mater Dei's Isaiah Juarez, left, and Stanley Johnson pump up their fans as victory seems apparent in the fourth quarter against Chino Hills in the CIF-SS Open Division boys basketball championship game Saturday at Honda Center.

  • Mater Dei's Stanley Johnson puts up a shot during the...

    Mater Dei's Stanley Johnson puts up a shot during the CIF-SS Open Division boys basketball championship game against Chino Hills on Saturday at Honda Center.

  • Mater Dei's Stanley Johnson floats to the basket for a...

    Mater Dei's Stanley Johnson floats to the basket for a score in the CIF-SS Open Division boys basketball championship game Saturday at Honda Center.

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ANAHEIM – Only three players were able to make baskets for Mater Dei.

Fortunately for the Monarchs, one of them was Stanley Johnson.

Johnson scored 28 points, more than half of his team’s total, as Mater Dei beat Chino Hills, 48-44, in the CIF-Southern Section Open Division boys basketball championship game Saturday at Honda Center.

Mater Dei (31-0) won its 22nd CIF-SS boys basketball championship in Coach Gary McKnight’s 32nd season coaching the Monarchs. They begin playing in the state tournament next week in quest of a fourth consecutive state championship. No team has won four straight CIF boys basketball state titles.

The total of 48 points is Mater Dei’s second-lowest in a CIF-SS finals win. They scored 46 when they beat Glendora in a section championship game in 1999.

Mater Dei made 14 of its 44 shots, for 32 percent. The Monarchs were 1 for 14 on 3-pointers.

But that 3-pointer made was a huge one.

Chino Hills had a 40-38 lead midway through the fourth quarter. With the shot clock about to expire, Johnson launched a deep, high-arcing 3-pointer that went in and gave Monarchs a brief lead.

Chino Hills coach Steve Baik considered it the turning point of the game.

“Not only was it three points,” Baik said, “but it also changed the whole momentum. Had he missed that, we would have had momentum. Yeah, that was a big shot.”

Baik indicated that similarly large was Mater Dei’s free-throw advantage. The Monarchs shot 25 free throws and made 19 of them. Chino Hills took 13 free throws and made eight.

“Some calls that were not called and some were called for a certain team’s benefit,” Baik said.

Mater Dei benefitted from Johnson’s accuracy at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter. He was 6 for 6 on foul shots in the quarter. With Chino Hills ahead, 42-41, with 1:19 left, Johnson made two free throws to give the Monarchs a 43-42 lead.

Nineteen seconds later, Chino Hills’ Kenneth Cyprian made a layup thanks to a great backdoor pass from Lonzo Ball and the Huskies were back on top, 44-43. Johnson was fouled again with 41 seconds to go and again made two free throws to give the Monarchs a 45-44 lead.

Rex Pflueger’s free throw with 12 seconds to go made it 46-44. At the other end, Cyprian was fouled but, in the one-and-one situation, missed the first free throw. The rebound was tied up for a jump ball and the possession arrow gave the ball to Chino Hills with nine seconds left.

Ball missed a baseline 3-pointer, Johnson got the rebound and was fouled with four seconds to go. He made two free throws to clinch the Mater Dei win.

Johnson had a game-high 15 rebounds. Mater Dei 6-foot-10 sophomore MJ Cage had eight rebounds and five blocked shots.

As poor as Mater Dei’s shooting was, Chino Hills’ was worse. The Huskies made only 16 of 61 shots, for 26 percent.

Why the lousy shooting?

“I hope on their part it was because we played great defense,” McKnight said.

Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com