CHINO HILLS – It didn’t take long. Twenty-three seconds, to be exact.
Lonzo Ball made a deep 3-pointer and his brother LaMelo Ball made a deeper 3-pointer in the first 23 seconds of the game.
Mater Dei was out of the game that fast as the Monarchs were shredded Friday in a 102-54 loss to Chino Hills in a CIF-SS Open Division semifinals playoff game at Ayala High’s packed gym.
Chino Hills (30-0) quickly lived up to its No. 1-in-the-nation ranking. The Huskies jumped to a 12-0 lead, had a 33-6 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 56-25 lead at halftime.
They scored in triple figures for the 16th time this season and for the fourth time in as many playoff games. Chino Hills will play Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth (26-3) in the championship game next Saturday at Honda Center. The specific time of that game and other CIF-SS basketball finals will be announced Monday.
The season is not over for the Monarchs (27-4). They will play in the CIF Southern California Regionals, the qualifying tournament for the CIF State championships, that begin March 9.
Mater Dei has played in many games in which there was a running clock; a running clock is in effect when the margin reaches 40 points in the fourth quarter as it was Friday at Ayala.
But never in Monarchs coach Gary McKnight’s 34 seasons has Mater Dei been on the bad side of a running clock.
It might be the most one-sided big game in Mater Dei history, perhaps the most one-sided since Mater Dei beat Nogales by 50 points in the CIF-SS Division 1A championship game in 1995.
“That one was a lot more fun,” McKnight said.
LiAngelo Ball, a 6-foot-6 junior committed to UCLA, led the Huskies with 34 points, including five 3-pointers. His brother Lonzo Ball, a senior who has signed with UCLA, scored 25 with eight assists and seven rebounds. The freshman Ball brother, LaMelo, scored 10 with six assists, including a couple of spectacular lobs to Lonzo and to junior Elizjah Scott, who scored 23 points.
Chino Hills made 9 of 28 3-point shots. The Huskies were 6 for 19 behind the arc in the first half.
“When they’re hitting their shots, they’re awful tough,” McKnight said.
Mater Dei had 31 turnovers, including 10 in the disastrous first quarter. They shot 42 percent the field and were 3 for 15 on 3-pointers.
MJ Cage, a 6-10 senior who signed with Oregon, led Mater Dei with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomores Spencer Freedman and Michael Wang scored 10 points apiece for the Monarchs.
Was it the Huskies’ best performance of the season?
“It’s hard not to say that,” Chino Hills coach Steve Baik said. “If things click for us, we can overwhelm teams.”
Sometimes that doesn’t take long.
Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com
