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  • Villa Park's Lamont Tyler puts up a shot against Martin...

    Villa Park's Lamont Tyler puts up a shot against Martin Luther King's Bradley Kleven in a CIF-SS Division 1A championship game at Honda Center on Saturday.

  • Villa Park's CJ Thomas drives to the basket for a...

    Villa Park's CJ Thomas drives to the basket for a shot in a CIF-SS Division 1A championship game against Martin Luther King at Honda Center on Saturday.

  • Villa Park players and head coach Kevin Reynolds pose with...

    Villa Park players and head coach Kevin Reynolds pose with their second place plaque after a CIF-SS Division 1A championship game against Martin Luther King at Honda Center on Saturday.

  • Villa Park's CJ Thomas puts up a shot against Martin...

    Villa Park's CJ Thomas puts up a shot against Martin Luther King's Bradley Kleven in a CIF-SS Division 1A championship game at Honda Center on Saturday.

  • Villa Park's Kevin Olsen dribbles the ball in a CIF-SS...

    Villa Park's Kevin Olsen dribbles the ball in a CIF-SS Division 1A championship game against Martin Luther King at Honda Center on Saturday.

  • Villa Park's Luke Selway in a CIF-SS Division 1A championship...

    Villa Park's Luke Selway in a CIF-SS Division 1A championship game at Honda Center on Saturday.

  • Villa Park's Lamont Tyler blocks against Martin Luther King's Bradley...

    Villa Park's Lamont Tyler blocks against Martin Luther King's Bradley Kleven in a CIF-SS Division 1A championship game at Honda Center on Saturday.

  • Villa Park's Luke Selway, right, puts up a shot against...

    Villa Park's Luke Selway, right, puts up a shot against Martin Luther King's Matthew Mitchell in a CIF-SS Division 1A championship game at Honda Center on Saturday.

  • Villa Park's Jason Askins, right, blocks the passing lanes from...

    Villa Park's Jason Askins, right, blocks the passing lanes from Martin Luther King's Chris Lott in a CIF-SS Division 1A championship game at Honda Center on Saturday.

  • Villa Park's Caleb Banuelos, right, releases a shot against Martin...

    Villa Park's Caleb Banuelos, right, releases a shot against Martin Luther King's Chris Lott in a CIF-SS Division 1A championship game at Honda Center on Saturday.

  • Villa Park fans cheer for their team in a CIF-SS...

    Villa Park fans cheer for their team in a CIF-SS Division 1A championship game against Martin Luther King at Honda Center on Saturday.

  • Villa Park's CJ Thomas, center, tries to put up a...

    Villa Park's CJ Thomas, center, tries to put up a shot with pressure from Martin Luther King's Matthew Mitchell, left, and Maurice Jones in a CIF-SS Division 1A championship game at Honda Center on Saturday.

  • Villa Park players walk off the court after losing to...

    Villa Park players walk off the court after losing to Martin Luther King in a CIF-SS Division 1A championship game at Honda Center on Saturday.

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Dan Albano. Sports HS Reporter.

// MORE INFORMATION: Staff Mug Shot taken August 26, 2010 : by KATE LUCAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER.

ANAHEIM Villa Park boys basketball coach Kevin Reynolds slapped hands with Lamont Tyler as the center walked slowly toward the Spartans’ bench after the CIF-SS Division 1A final on Saturday.

The 6-foot-10 senior with the shooting guard’s touch scored a game-high 26 points, but it wasn’t enough to help Villa Park pull off another upset and claim its first section crown.

Fourth-seeded M.L. King of Riverside used long-range shooting and offensive rebounding to defeat No. 7 Villa Park, 61-46, at Honda Center.

The Wolves (24-8) made seven 3-pointers before the Spartans (21-11) made one and also outrebounded Villa Park, 37-26. King’s advantage on the offensive boards was telling: 14-7.

“I didn’t think we played in character,” Reynolds said. “They just seemed like they did a better job rebounding the ball and getting second opportunities.”

The steady flow of passes to Tyler in the post was vintage Villa Park, which knocked off No. 2-seeded Alemany and No. 3 Temecula Valley earlier in the playoffs. But the Spartans couldn’t diversify their attack beyond Tyler in falling in the finals for a second consecutive season. Luke Selway was the only other player to score in double-figures with 12 points.

M.L. King coach Tim Sweeney said the Wolves’ plan was to accept a strong output from Tyler but focus on his supporting cast. For the most part, M.L. King didn’t double Tyler.

“We had double-teamed a lot of big guys this year,” Sweeney said. “We just felt that he (Tyler) is such a great passer that if you really tried to get in there and double him, he’ll find that guy on the outside. … It gives them a real flow in the game, and they’ve really been shooting the ball well.”

Tyler made 12 of 22 shots from the floor (54 percent) but the rest of the Spartans made 9 of 27 field goals (33 percent).

King used 3-point shooting to pull away late in the third period. Villa Park drew within, 32-29, on a basket by CJ Thomas with 2:15 left in the third but the Wolves closed the quarter with a 9-0 run.

Freshman Matthew Mitchell sank a 3-pointer from the corner and then capped a fast break with a layup off a spin move. Mitchell was fouled on the play and added the free throw. Maurice Jones then made a 3-point from the top of the arc for a 41-29 lead with 15 seconds left in the third.

Jones scored all 17 of his team-high 17 points in the second half while Chris Lott (15) and Mitchell (11) also reached double-figures.

While Reynolds said Jones and Mitchell were hard to hand, especially on the boards, he praised his team for its postseason run.

“I can’t express how proud I am of the group and Villa Park basketball,” he said. “As we were working over here (to the postgame interview room) I told both these guys (Selway) and (Tyler) how blessed are you that you get to play in two CIF finals in your four years of high school basketball. There are a lot of people that don’t get to do that.”

Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com