Mater Dei-Westchester preview capsule

CIF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONALS

BOYS DIVISION 1 FINAL

MATER DEI (32-1) VS. WESTCHESTER OF LOS ANGELES (30-3)

Site, time: USC's Galen Center, Saturday, 8 p.m.

Tickets: $10-$45

Parking: $10

How they got there
No. 1-seeded Mater Dei: CIF-Southern Section 1-AA champion, in the Regionals defeated Buchanan of Clovis, 90-65, in the first round; Rancho Verde of Moreno Valley, 88-48, in the second round; and Taft of Woodland Hills, 75-73, in the semifinals.
No. 2-seeded Westchester: Los Angeles City Section Division 1 champion, in the Regionals defeated Colony of Ontario, 77-42, in the first round; Santa Monica, 73-64, in the second round; and Long Beach Poly, 67-64, in the semifinals.

Probable starters
Mater Dei: Gary Franklin (6-3, Sr., G, 17 ppg); Max Hooper (6-6, Sr., F, 9 ppg); Keala King (6-6, Sr., F, 16 ppg); Tyler Lamb (6-5, Sr., G, 19 ppg); Katin Reinhardt (6-5, So. G, 9 ppg).
Westchester: Kareem Jamar (6-4, Sr., G, 13 ppg); Jordin Mayes (6-2, Sr., G, 19 ppg); Reggie Murphy (6-9, Sr., F, 9 ppg); Dwayne Polee (6-6, Sr., F, 20 ppg); Menas Stephens (6-4, Sr., G, 6 ppg).

Click here for a story taking a closer look at Mater Dei's Gary Franklin.

Outlook: Mater Dei is No. 1 and Westchester is No. 2 in Cal Hi Sports' state rankings. Mater Dei takes a 26-game winning streak into this game.

Reinhardt entered the starting lineup last month when starting point guard Tommy Stangl suffered a fractured foot, which moved Franklin to point guard although King sometimes brings the ball up court. Franklin signed with Cal, King with Arizona State and Lamb with UCLA.

Mater Dei has won the most Southern California Regionals championship games, with 11, and is 11-6 in Regionals finals. Westchester's Comets won the state Division 1 championship last year. Westchester is 5-1 in Regionals championship games.

The Comets' Mayes committed to Arizona, and Jamar to Montana. Polee is son of former UNLV and Pepperdine star Dwayne Polee. The younger Polee committed to USC before playing a high school game, but since has re-entered the recruiting process. King said controlling Polee is a key for the Monarchs. "We have to keep Dwayne off of the boards," King said. "He's a leaper."

Mater Dei coach Gary McKnight, in his 26th season with the Monarchs, said the Comets present other challenges, too. "They're very athletic," McKnight said. "They've got good size. That group has been together for four years, so they've been groomed for this."

This will be Westchester's third game as many weeks at Galen Center, which McKnight said could be an advantage for Westchester, which has won 14 in a row and beat Taft by 10 points in the L.A. City Section final (Mater Dei beat Taft by two in the Regionals semifinals).

Westchester coach Ed Azzam, in his 31st season with the Comets, said this is one of the top teams he has coached there. "I don't know if it's our best team in terms of individual talent," Azzam said, "but it's one of our better teams in the way this team plays together so well."