Mater Dei worthy of the hype

With a No. 1 national ranking and five athletes who have either signed National Letters of Intent to or have verbally committed with Division I schools, the Santa Ana Mater Dei boys basketball team have become the high school basketball version of The Beatles, employing an army of passionate Monarch fans and drumming up interest at every venue they play at.

The Monarchs made a stop in the IE Friday, heading to Upland High School to play the Highlanders in a Division I-AA second round game. The result wasn’t surprising, as Mater Dei rolled 85-52 against a game Upland team who, while brilliant in spurts, couldn’t quite keep up.

I sat courtside at that game and saw Upland senior post Zach Robbins, junior guard Chris Powell and freshman guard Myles Pearson hold their own against the Monarchs. But as curiousity would have it, I also watched the four Mater Dei Division I guys closely – the fifth, 6-foot-8 forward Andy Brown, who signed with Stanford, didn’t play due to injury – and formulated this analysis.

So Etiwanda, who will almost certainly play Mater Dei in the D1-AA semifinals Friday if it defeats Lynwood tonight, take note.

Tyler Lamb, junior forward: Lamb is the one that most of us are familiar with, as he starred at Colony for the first two years of his career. At 6-foot-5 with quick-twitch athleticism and a smooth perimeter jumper, the UCLA verbal commit is an almost impossible one-on-one matchup at this level.

But the thing I like about Lamb is his unselfishness. With the 6-10 twins David Wear and Travis Wear, Lamb doesn’t have to be “The Man”. And quite frankly, he plays like he cares less about being the man. He’s a jack of all trades, as he can guard the perimeter, poke out the occasional steal and rebound well in the post. But he can make the jaw-dropping athletic play, as he serving a dipsy-doo layup and a tomahawk layup against the Highlanders. He’ll score more next year, but is content to be a glue guy this season.

David and Travis Wear, senior forwards: I glumped the Wear brothers together because they are twins and I am lazy. However, the McDonald’s All-Americans showed a great deal of physicality and fluidity on the interior. Despite their heights, David and Travis were very arely out of control, showing good footwork while setting up in the post and on the spin move, which resulted in 12-foot jump shot opportunities and layup opportunities at the rim. David Wear also showed athleticism, being on the receiving end of an alley-oop pass from Lamb. They really didn’t shoot outside of 12 feet, but they really didn’t have to against Upland/

The brothers, who signed with North Carolina, also showed a great deal of maturity on the court. Whenever either of the twins were called for a foul (usually while defending Robbins), they would both quietly put their hands up acknowledging the foul and, on a couple occasions, even told the whistling referees “Good call.” In a sport where whining has become more and more commonplace, that was refreshing to see.

Gary Franklin, junior guard: This was the guy that stood out to me more than anyone. Franklin, a USC verbal commit, had his way against the smaller Upland guards, creating offense pretty much at will. He’s got good size at 6-3 and elite speed, as he blew by pretty much everyone on the court en route to 24 points. He also showed very good court vision, feeding the Wears in good position in the post and finding perimeter shooters for open 3-point attempts.

My only criticism really is that there seems to be a shot-put motion to his shot, especially from long range. That motion doesn’t seem to have any negative effect though, as he nailed four of seven 3-pointers.

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Basketball score roundup

This is what we got so far. Feel free to let me know of others

Division I-AA
Mater Dei 75, San Clemente 48
Upland 53, Silverado 49
Etiwanda 78, Lakewood 37
Dana Hills 66, Santa Ana 53
Lynwood 73, Palmdale 60
Hesperia 69, Corona Santiago 63
Long Beach Poly 59, Montebello 36
Pasadena 72, Vista Murrieta 63
Colony 67, Diamond Bar 49
Redlands 94, Arroyo Valley 25

Division I-A
Capistrano Valley 57, Crescenta Valley 55
El Toro 46, La Quinta 34
Tesoro 66, Great Oak 40
Cajon 73, Corona 41
Chino Hills 69, Riverside Poly 56
Los Osos 66, Whittier California 43

Division II-AA
Burbank Burroughs 58, Vista del Lago 48
Huntington Beach Edison 54, Alta Loma 39
Marina 57, Righetti 49
Patriot 68, Valley View 58
Huntington Beach 70, El Dorado 52
West Ranch 73, Serrano 46
Placentia Valencia 53, Fountain Valley 50
Leuzinger 86, Servite 38
San Bernardino 63, Whittier La Serna 62

Division II-A
Loara 87, Hemet 64
Summit 74, Keppel 38
Mayfair 64, Camarillo 39
Jurupa Valley 59, Cypress 42
Damien 59, Baldwin Park 49
La Habra 61, Dos Pueblos 56
Don Lugo 72, Palos Verdes Peninsula 70 (OT)
Yucaipa 82, Mira Costa 72

Division III-AA
Anaheim Canyon 69, Culver City 51
Savanna 65, Norco 64
Palm Springs 44, Elsinore 35
La Canada 68, Santa Maria 41
Santa Margarita 47, Arlington 39
Western 59, Beckman 56
North Torrance 102, Moorpark 56
Woodbridge 46, Garden Grove 44
Campbell Hall 72, Antelope Valley

Division III-A
Diamond Ranch 74, Magnolia 38
Fullerton 54, Rosamond 38
Palm Desert 57, Sierra Vista 49
Foothill 61, Oak Park 34
Twentynine Palms 70, Mountain View 42
Brea Olinda 59, Barstow 58
Harvard-Westlake 88, Gabrielino 45
Garden Grove Pacifica 66, Temple City 60
Bonita 51, Corona del Mar 38
Charter Oak 62, Segerstrom 55
Irvine 70, Westminster La Quinta 66 (OT)
Sonora 59, El Modena 52

Division IV-AA
Tustin 46, Pioneer 25
Northview 74, Ridgecrest Burroughs 46
JSerra 57, Rosemead 49
Inglewood 69, Bosco Tech 16
Ontario Christian 59, Yucca Valley 55
Compton Centennial 68, Gladstone 41
South El Monte 56, Covina 37

Division IV-A
Orange Lutheran 85, Rim of the World 37
Montclair Prep 66, Big Bear 56
Oaks Christian 75, Morro Bay 62
Banning 51, Fairmont Prep 43
Laguna Beach 56, El Segundo 43
Crespi 72, Nordhoff 35
Cathedral 75, Whitney 39
Price 73, Whittier Christian 45

DIVISION V-AA
Cantwell-Sacred Heart 71, Calvary Murrieta 62
St. Monica 51, Milken 46
Woodcrest Christian 69, Paraclete 55
Santa Ana Calvary Chapel 78, Excelsior Education Center 34
St. Anthony 64, Academy for Academic Excellence 53

Division V-A
Yeshiva 78, La Sierra Academy 70
St. Margarets 54, Avalon 39
Aquinas 74, San Gabriel Academy 61
Pilibos 41, Thacher 38
Brethren Christian 52, Saddleback Valley Christian 36
Bloomington Christian 84, L.A. Wildwood 80
La Verne Lutheran 84, Anza Hamilton 29

DIVISION VI-AA
Bermuda Dunes Desert Christian 67. Lucerne Valley 26
Rolling Hills Prep 66, Le Lycee 40
Rio Hondo Prep 73, California Military 52
Laguna Blanca 60, Orangewood Academy 57
Hesperia Christian 57, Desert Chapel 31
Santa Clarita Christian 72, Twin Pines 53
Capistrano Valley Christian 78, West Shores 24
Eastside Christian 64, San Fernando Valley Academy 59
Wildomar Cornerstone Christian 52, Westview 46
Tarbut V’Torah 82, Noli Indian 44

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Hudson gets first offer

Redlands East Valley defensive end Andrew Hudson, a first-team all-CIF and second-team all-County selection as a junior last season, has picked up an offer from Fresno State according to an article released today by Rivals.com. That article can be accessed here, with a Rivals. subscription likely being needed.

Hudson, who will be competing at 215 pounds at the CIF-SS Southern Division Individual Wrestling Tournament at Temecula Chaparral, had 70 tackles, nine sacks and a fumble recovery for the Wildcats last season. Along with the Fresno State offer, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Hudson is getting quite a bit of Pac-10 love from schools such as UCLA, USC, Oregon, Oregon State and Washington.

Hudson is one of two potentially elite senior recruits that REV will have next season, joining dual-threat quarterback Tyler Shreve.

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Division V, Division VI brackets

Loma Linda Academy is the only local team in the Division V-AA playoffs and will play at No. 2 seed Morningside Wednesday. Division V-A sees No. 2 La Verne Lutheran host Hamilton, No. 5 Aquinas host San Gabriel Academy, No. 9 Arrowhead Christian host Webb and No. 15 Bloomington Christian host Wildwood.

In Division VI-AA, No. 4 Hesperia Christian hosts Desert Chapel while Lucerne Valley plays at No. 1 Desert Christian. Lake Arrowhead Christian plays at No. 4 Lee Vining Friday in the first round of the Division VI-A playoffs.

On the girls side, Loma Linda Academy notched the No. 11 seed in D5-AA and hosts Mary Star of the Sea Thursday. Other games of note are Arrowhead Christian at No. 1 St. Joseph and No. 9 St. Monica at Ontario Christian. In Division V-A, Aquinas received the No. 13 seed and will host West Shores.

Packinghouse Christian received the No. 1 seed in Division VI-A and hosts the winner of Baker Valley-Bethel Baptist wild-card game Saturday. No. 8 Lake Arrowhead Christian hosts Waverly as well. In Division VI-AA, No. 2 Hesperia Christian gets a bye and plays the winner of the Glendale Adventist Academy-Thacher game Saturday. Other games of note include The Grove at No. 10 Ribet Academy, La Verne Lutheran at No. 11 LA Adventist, Redlands Adventist at No. 12 Highland Hall, Apple Valley Christian at No. 5 Lone Pine, No. 9 Hillcrest Christian at Victor Valley Christian and Boron at No. 16 Trona.

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Division IV-AA, Division IV-A pairings

Rim of the World gets a tough draw in the first round of the Division IV-A playoffs, as it plays at No. 1 Orange Lutheran Wednesday. Big Bear is set up to play the winner of that game in the second round if the Bears win at home against No. 16 Montclair Prep.

Division IV-AA sees Yucca Valley play at No. 14 Ontario Christian and San Dimas play at No. 10 Bishop Amat.

On the girls side, Twentynine Palms grabbed the No. 8 seed in Division IV-A and will host Flintridge Sacred Heart Thursday. Big Bear also plays at Los Angeles Baptist in that division. Yucca Valley was named the No. 8 seed in D4-AA and hosts Ridgecrest Burroughs, while San Dimas hosts No. 13 Calabasas.

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Division III-A, III-AA pairings

Diamond Ranch grabbed the top seed in the D3-A playoffs, where it will host Anaheim Magnolia Wednesday. Miramonte League rival Bonita grabbed the No. 6 seed and hosts Corona del Mar.

Other locals in the D3A bracket are No. 12 Twentynine Palms, which hosts Mountain View, Barstow, which hosts No. 13 Brea Olinda, and Apple Valley, which hosts No. 7 Cerritos. Granite Hills is the only local team the DIII-AA. The Cougars will host No. 9 Riverside Ramona.

The D3-AA bracket on the girls side sees two local seeds, as No. 4 Diamond Ranch has a bye and will play the Loara-Segestrom winner Saturday, while No. 11 San Bernardino will host Beaumont Thursday.

Barstow received the No. 7 seed and will host Heritage Thursday, while No. 12 Bonita will host Beckman.

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Division II-A pairings

The Summit girls basketball team received the No. 2 seed in the D2-A playoffs, only behind Mater Dei. The SkyHawks will host Lakeside on Thursday. Don Lugo also received a seed, as the No. 13 Conquistadores will host Riverside Patriot.

Other games of note are Alta Loma at No. 4 Norco and Eisenhower at No. 15 Jurupa Valley.

On the boys side, Eisenhower grabbed the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in the process. Ike won’t get its playoffs started until Friday, where it will play the winner of Westlake and No. 16 Santa Barbara.

Other seeded locals are No. 8 Summit, which hosts Mark Keppel, No. 10 Ayala, which plays at San Jacinto, No. 13 Damien, which plays at Baldwin Park, and No. 15 Yucaipa, which hosts Mira Costa. Don Lugo also hosts No. 14 Peninsula.

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Division II-AA pairings

Nothing too crazy on the boys side, as there aren’t any local teams seeded. However, San Bernardino was included in the bracket as an at-large team and will play at No. 14 La Serna Wednesday. Alta Loma, behind star junior J.J. O’Brien, plays at No. 9 Huntington Beach Edison.

Other games of local interest include Ontario at No. 3 Glendora and No. 10 West Ranch at Serrano.

On the girls side, Sultana notched itself the No. 14 seed and will host Temecula Valley Thursday. Other games of note are Serrano at No. 15 Anaheim Katella, No. 6 Huntington Beach at Kaiser and Ontario at No. 4 Moreno Valley Vista del Lago.

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Division I-A pairings

The Cajon boys basketball team didn’t get a No. 2 seed like their female counterparts did, but the Cowboys weren’t far off, as they were named the No. 4 seed in the Division I-A pairings released moments ago. Cajon hosts Corona Wednesday.

Chino Hills was the next seeded local team, grabbing the No. 8 seed. The Huskies will host Riverside Poly and could eventually be placed against No. 1 Murrieta Valley in the third round next week. Los Osos was made the No. 12 seed and hosts Whittier California, while other local games include Rancho Cucamonga at No. 7 Hemet West Valley and No. 14 Perris at San Gorgonio.

On the girls side, Colony was named the No. 1 seed, one of two County teams among the top 4 seeds. The Titans host Capistrano Valley Thursday while No. 4 Ayala hosts Fontana.

Other local seeds are No. 8 Rancho Cucamonga, which hosts Riverside King, and No. 10 Chino Hills, which hosts Yucaipa. San Gorgonio will play at No. 12 Murrieta Valley while Chino plays at No. 3 Moreno Valley Canyon Springs.

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Division I-AA pairings released

Today is basketball pairings day, and the first of those pairings was released moments ago with Division I-AA boys and girls. Starting with the ladies, Cajon grabbed the No. 2 seed behind No. 1 Long Beach Poly, which was expected. The Cowgirls will start off hosting Redondo Union, the third-place team out of the Bay League, on Thursday.

Other seeded local girls teams are No. 5 Etiwanda, which hosts Diamond Bar, No. 12 Silverado, which hosts Downey Warren, No. 13 Rialto, which hosts Riverside La Sierra, and No. 15 Redlands, which plays at Dana Hills. Other games of note are No. 14 Vista Murrieta at Los Osos, Hesperia at No. 9 Palmdale Knight and Redlands East Valley at No. 11 Oxnard Pacifica.

On the boys side, Etiwanda leads the locals as a No. 5 seed. The Baseline League champs will host Lakewood Wednesday. Other seeded County teams are No. 7 Colony, which hosts Diamond Bar, No. 10 Redlands, which hosts Arroyo Valley, and No. 16 Upland, which plays at Desert Sky champion Silverado. The Upland-Silverado winner will almost certainly get the unenviable task of playing No. 1-seed Santa Ana Mater Dei in the second round Friday. Miller also has a tough matchup coming up, as it’ll host No. 3 Compton Dominguez. Hesperia also hosts Corona Santiago.

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