Mater Dei attack too much for St. John Bosco

BELLFLOWER — Friday night’s meeting between Mater Dei and St. John Bosco pitted two Catholic school powers unbeaten in the Trinity League.

And it was raining threes, hallelujah.

All-County guard Katin Reinhardt made five 3-pointers in the first quarter as Mater Dei strengthened its case as the top-ranked team in the state with an 86-71 victory against the Braves.

“Every year there’s some team everyone in Orange County and L.A. thinks can beat Mater Dei,” Reinhardt said. “You got to come out and beat us before you can start talking.”

The flu didn't quiet the Monarchs.

Reinhardt and forward Xavier Johnson each battled a stomach virus all week, but they were at their best in a first quarter in which the Monarchs built a commanding 32-11 lead.

With 40 seconds remaining and Mater Dei coach Gary McKnight yelling, “One shot!” Reinhardt received an inbound pass in the corner and immediately threw up a 3-pointer - and made it.

“I felt it,” Reinhardt said. “He doesn’t get mad when I have an open shot and knock it down. If I would have missed it I would have been pulled out.”

A St. John Bosco miss allowed Reinhardt to run the clock down before beating the buzzer with another 3-pointer, this one from NBA range. It was Mater Dei’s eighth 3-pointer of the first quarter.

“Katin is at a different level at times,” McKnight said.

Mater Dei (19-2, 6-0), which all season has traveled throughout the country and played just three home games, looked right at home in front of a capacity crowd of 1,310 at St. John Bosco High — the gym was already full nearly two hours before tipoff.

“The biggest difference was this environment is normal for them,” Braves coach Derrick Taylor said of Mater Dei. “For us it was stage fright.”

St. John Bosco (16-5, 5-1) slowly chipped away at the huge deficit, cutting it to nine in the third quarter. Reinhardt responded with his sixth 3-pointer and Mater Dei maintained a double-digit lead.

Reinhardt finished with 22 points, including 17 in the first quarter. Xavier Johnson had 23 points and 10 rebounds and forward Stanley Johnson had 14 points and 7 rebounds.

Mater Dei, which connected on 12 3-pointers, also got big contributions from guards Eli Stalzer, Elijah Brown and Jordan Strawberry.

“They’re really good,” Taylor repeated afterward. “They’re really good. … Katin gets going. After that Stanley and Xavier clean up everything. You don’t realize how big and athletic they are. And they’re tough.”

St. John Bosco guard Isaac Hamilton scored 30 points and his brother Daniel had 15.

“Our league is getting like the ACC,” McKnight joked. “There are a lot of good teams, it’s a tough win on the road. You take it.”