RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA – It’s a question that has been tossed around since the start of the boys basketball season.
Who is the best player in Orange County?
Mater Dei shooting guard Rex Pflueger made a compelling case for himself Wednesday night in a Trinity League game against Santa Margarita.
Playing in a raucous environment without teammates MJ Cage and La’vette Parker, Pflueger scored a game-high 27 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and collected three steals to lead the top-ranked Monarchs past No. 3 Santa Margarita, 73-69, in an exhilarating matchup at Santa Margarita High.
“Game in and game out, he just does great things for us,” Mater Dei coach Gary McKnight said of the Notre Dame-bound senior. “He’s ranked as one of the top players in the state, and I’m just very proud of him.”
While Parker missed his fifth consecutive game with a thumb injury, the Monarchs also had to take the court without their dominant big man, Cage, who did not travel with the team Wednesday because of an illness.
In the first half, it didn’t seem to matter who was on the court for Mater Dei (14-3, 2-0) as the Eagles (10-2, 1-1) came out on fire, making 57 percent of their shots from the field and going 5-for-10 on 3-pointers.
Behind Kaden Rasheed’s 10 first-half points, the Eagles led by 13 points in the second quarter and took a 41-30 lead into halftime.
“They couldn’t miss,” Pflueger said of the Eagles’ first-half shooting. “But just being Mater Dei, we never count ourselves out of any situation. Whether we’re up by 25 or down by 25, we’re still going to play the same way.
“I’m just so happy my team came out in the second half with that intensity.”
The Monarchs pressed for much of the second half, frustrating the Santa Margarita backcourt the final 16 minutes. The Eagles turned the ball over 23 times overall, and they hit only 1 of 9 shots from 3-point range in the second half.
Mater Dei trailed, 55-50, going into the fourth. The Monarchs grabbed their first lead of the night on a 3-pointer by Bailey Stout at the 5:51 mark, making the score 59-57.
Pflueger scored 11 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter.
“You kind of just switch into another gear,” Pflueger said. “When you’re down, you have to find a way to claw your way back.”
Contact the writer: kconnolly@ocregister.com
