SANTA ANA – The only question was if there would be a letdown.
Coming off a big win against nationally ranked Fairfax of Los Angeles, the Mater Dei boys basketball team put those thoughts to bed in a dominant win over St. John Bosco. Led by Rex Pflueger’s 23 points, the top-ranked Monarchs blew out the Braves, 72-58, Tuesday night at Mater Dei High to capture the Trinity League title outright.
“Beating Orange Lutheran last Wednesday and then the big win against Fairfax (ranked No. 5 in the nation by MaxPreps.com), I was worried about a letdown,” Monarchs coach Gary McKnight said. “In the second half, the kids really answered, came out on fire, and got a commanding lead.”
Mater Dei (23-3, 9-0) had seen a 20-4 first-quarter advantage shrink to 10 over the visiting Braves (16-9, 5-4) entering the break.
Pflueger was the one to rally the troops. The senior guard was perfect from the field while putting up 17 of the Monarchs’ 27 points in the third quarter. Mater Dei extended its edge to 60-30 at the end of the period.
“Our coach just told us that we have to play hard, play fast, and get this over in the third quarter,” said Pflueger, who has signed with Notre Dame. “My teammates did a great job of finding me. They saw that I was hot.”
Mater Dei clinched at least a share of their 27th straight league championship in defeating Orange Lutheran last week.
“None of these kids were alive when (the league streak) started,” McKnight said with a chuckle. “It’s been a long streak and a streak that a lot of players and ex-players have taken pride in.”
Mater Dei’s fast start was spearheaded by their coveted junior center, MJ Cage. He had eight points in the first quarter, finishing with 16 to go with eight rebounds and three blocks.
Cage is one of the top post recruits in the class of 2016. He recently named Arizona, San Diego State, Kentucky, UCLA, USC and Washington among the schools that he is considering.
La’vette Parker had nine points, and Bailey Stout added six assists for the Monarchs.
