TOUGH D: Santa Margarita's Klay Thompson found himself being shadowed by a Mater Dei defender, usually Jamaal Trice, during Friday's game, and he wound with 15 points in the Eagles' loss. ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER Mater Dei-Santa Margarita RemasteredClick on this link to check out Adam Maya's complete blog from Friday night's game |
"Courtside Chaos" ... from the big battle
Adam Maya reports on the action, on and off the court, around the county on Friday night.
Checking out the No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown ...
Mater Dei 74, Santa Margarita 61
The halftime score was Mater Dei 35, Santa Margarita 32. The game was arguably closer than that through two quarters.
“You can’t be even with them the whole game,” Mater Dei’s Jamaal Trice said. “You don’t want to be even with them at the end. That’s the mentality we have.”
It makes sense. The Monarchs are not accustomed to close games and being tight with teams down the stretch. They have already won most games by the time the fourth quarter hits.
Coming in, they knew this wouldn’t be the case against the Eagles. Trice said the coaches reminded them of that at halftime, and that they had to win the third quarter. They did, and it ended up being the difference.
A star shines bright
A star was not born Friday night. And it was not born two nights ago when sophomore Gary Franklin poured in 30 points on eight 3-pointers against JSerra.
The sophomore guard has been playing like this most the season, although he has hit another gear since being inserted into the starting lineup two weeks ago.
Franklin seems willing to take any shot, and his rabbit-speed delivery affords many opportunities. He reminds me of the Chicago Bulls’ Ben Gordon. Franklin’s game-high 21 points on Friday gave him double figures in scoring in 11 of 17 games.
Klay Thompson vs. Jamaal Trice
On one end, Santa Margarita's Klay Thompson had his hands full with Franklin. He faced an equally difficult challenge on offense, guarded by the 6-5 Jamaal Trice, who was able to stay with Thompson step for step and contest his jumpers.
Thompson was able to get his shot off, but he always had to work for it. One sign of his maturity, though, came in the second quarter when he beat a Mater Dei defender in transition and, instead of penetrating and likely being met by a couple more defenders, pulled up and made a 15-foot jumper.
In the game-changing third quarter, Thompson scored just two points. He finished with 15 points on 7-of-18 shooting and 1 of 5 from behind the arc.
Something to talk about
With his brother sidelined by a muscle tear, David Wear came in knowing he was that much more responsible for Mater Dei’s success. He established himself early against Santa Margarita and did not let up in the first half, displaying more tenacity than usual.
He beat Santa Margarita's frontcourt continuously, both inside and outside, with his athleticism and agility. Wear finished with 21 points and showed off a beautiful left-handed jump hook in the first quarter, a move that is nearly unguardable. If he were to make that a regular part of his game, watch out.
Nemeses or arch-enemies?
Despite some encouragement form the Mater Dei student section (and an overall semi-raucous crowd), the players showed no hostility toward each other. They certainly did not treat each other as enemies, as they each demonstrated a lot of sportsmanship.
But let’s face it, they know they are the top two teams in the county. You wonder what tension might develop if there is a third meeting in the playoffs. I believe the second game at Santa Margarita, on Jan. 30, will be tighter than this one.
Sideline chatter
After the game I heard two conversations from Monarch fans: a) They were nervous, and b) How can any team defend Mater Dei? I didn’t understand the nervousness, although that might be because I’m not attached. Still, I never saw Mater Dei losing this game in the second half. There were seven lead changes in a competitive first half, but once Mater Dei won the opening minutes of the third quarter, Santa Margarita never fully recovered.
Quick hits from around O.C.
• St. John Bosco beat JSerra, 68-62, on Friday night. This is the same team that lost to Orange Lutheran two days ago. I didn’t think the Trinity League would be like this.
• Servite beat Orange Lutheran, 60-57. The Friars are dangerous.
• Villa Park beat Brea Olinda, 65-56. At least one of my five predictions for the week was right.
• Loara beat Valencia, 61-53. Don’t forget, Valencia beat Pacifica by a point earlier this week, and Loara lost to Katella. It’s like Empire League football all over again.
• Capistrano Valley beat Tesoro, 62-57. Tesoro still might be a top-10 team.
Contact the writer: amaya@ocregister.com
| Maya is only half correct. There was plenty of encouragement for hostility from the Santa Margarita student section, which is no different from football games. But then, you only hear that for which you are listening. |
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| Bob Kowalski - Jan 12, 2008 09:28:05 AM | Remove Comment |
