The St John Bosco Braves under coach Chris Madigan traveled to Irvine Friday night to take on Gary McKnight's Mater Dei Monarchs in a battle for share of first place in Serra League play. Both teams came into the game in a three-way tie for first place with Santa Margarita, all with records of 2-1. The Braves season record coming in to the game was 14-7 while the Monarchs, ranked 25th in the nation this week in USA Today, came in with a record of 18-3.

The leading scorers for both teams are probably the best two Sophs in Southern California: 6'7" Taylor King for the Monarchs and 6'5" Daniel Hackett of the Braves. They both lived up to their clippings in tonight's game that was notable for the fact that the Monarchs survived the worst quarter in coach McKnight's 23-year career with the team. They came back from that 11-3 deficit at the end of the first period where the only bucket of the quarter for Mater Dei was a length of the floor drive by Mike Gerrity 6' sr g for a layup at the 3:30 mark. King made one of two free throws with 1:22 remaining.

Meanwhile, Hackett got the first two points of the game nearly two minutes into the game as the Monarchs had 3 turnovers and only one shot attempt in that time as Hackett was fouled by the Monarchs big center 7" Alex Jacobson and made the two free throws. Hackett then scored two more on driving layin to make it 4-0 at the 5:30 mark and then hit a three pointer from the top of the key to make it 7-0 with 4:35 to play. Gus Fernandez 5'10" Sr G made a basket from a drive into the paint to make it 9-0 at the midway point of first quarter.

Part of the Monarchs problems were caused by the good defense of the Braves but more could be blamed on careless ball handling as they committed many unforced turnovers among the 9 they had by the end of the first period. After Gerrity's drive that put the Monarchs on the board at the 3:30 mark and Kings free throw with 1:22 left, Hackett made another nice drive thru the lane and layed it in for 11-3 Braves lead. Hackett had 9 of those as the first period came to a merciful end for the Monarchs.

Hackett came right out at start of second period and hit a 12 ft jumper to stretch the Braves lead to double digits. That bucket put him in double figures with 11 before King had hit his first FG of the night. Kamyron Brown 6'2" Soph PG hit a 10 ft bank shot for Monarchs' first bucket of the second period at the 7:30 mark and that was the start of a 9-0 run for the Monarchs. King scored on a nice right handed hook shot from about 12 ft and then Gerrity was fouled on drive to basket and converted both free throws. Danny Campbell completed the run with a 3 pointer from the left wing at the 5:25 mark and the Monarchs were within 1 at 13-12.

Kyle Brown fouled Hackett on drive into the lane but he missed both free throws. A long rebound went to the Braves and Kertd Elisaldez launched and made a 3 pointer from the left wing and gave the Braves a 16-12 lead. With 4:24 to play an inbound pass under their own basket the ball was thrown over Gerrity's head in backcourt and he ran it down in coffin corner before it went out of bounds. He then dribbled the length of the floor and layed it in and was fouled and completed the three point play to pull the Monarchs back to within one at 16-15.

That was the start of another 9 point run for the Monarchs as King hit a looping three pointer from the right corner on an assist by Kamyron Brown. Kamyron hit one of two free throws and King hit a pair of free throws. The Monarchs had their largest lead of the game at 21-16.Hackett broke the run when he was fouled by Tyler Bayer and made both free throws to make it 21-18 with 1:09 to play in the first half. Campbell made a nice bank from 10 ft for the Monarchs to make it 23-18 with 49 seconds left and then Hackett made a drive to the bucket and scored for the Braves. The bucket gave him 15 points in the first half. There were 25 seconds left on the clock and the Monarchs should have held the ball for last shot but someone forgot to tell King as he launched an ill advised three pointer from beyond NBA range but it hit nothing but net and Monarchs led 26-20. The Braves had time for another shot but a three-point attempt by Fernandez just missed and Monarchs took 26-20 lead into the lockerroom at halftime.

King opened the second half scoring inside on an assist from Ka Brown and was fouled by Roberto Perez 6'3" fwd but missed the free throw and Monarchs led 28-20. At the other end, Hackett made a beautiful up and under shot with a great move and you can hang a star on that one and it was 28-22. Kamyron Brown took an outside shot and missed but the big Monarch center Jacobson flew thru the lane and made a sensational tip in to put the Monarchs up 30-22. The semi comfortable lead was gone in seconds as Fernandez hit two threes on consecutive possessions, the first a high arching shot over the outstretched hands of King from the right corner and the next one an open three pointer from the right wing.

The Monarch lead was down to 2 at 30-28 but Gerrity came back to score in the paint and KA Brown hit a wide open King on the right wing and Taylor bombed in a three pointer and it was back to 7 point lead at 35-28. Hackett scored on a goaltending call on King to make it 35-30 and Braves had a chance to cut into more of the lead but Fernandez missed a pair of free throws. Steve Tarin

6'6" Monarch reserve center, who had replaced Jacobson at the 5:58 mark when Alex had been hit in stomach and had to leave the game, hit a turnaround jumper and gave the Monarchs a 37-30 lead. Fernandez was fouled by Campbell and made one of two free throws but Tarin came back with another bucket with 26 seconds left to make it 39-31. Hackett came back and scored again to make it 39-33 at the end of the period as each team scored l3 in the quarter.

Fernandez opened the 4th quarter scoring with a stop and pop 16 footer at the 7:31 mark but King came down to other end and hit a 15 ft jumper to make it 41-35. Kyle Brown was fouled by Elisaldez and converted both free throws to make it 43-35. Another nice move and bucket by Hackett made it 43-37. King made a nice save on bad pass into the post and was able to convert it into a nice reverse layup and was fouled by Rommell Delacruz and converted the free throw to give the Monarchs their first double digit lead of the night at 48-37.

But it didn't last long as Fernandez drove the lane and made a high arching shot and was fouled by Campbell and converted the three point play to make it 48-40. A beautiful pass by Gerrity and an athletic basket by KY Brown got the Monarchs back to double digit lead at the midway mark of final quarter and this time the Monarchs kept them at bay and increased the margin of lead when Gerrity made another of his patented length of the floor dribble drives to make it 52-40. Another bucket by Hackett cut it to 10 after a Jacobson putback off a miss by Kamyron Brown. Ky Brown made a bucket to make it 56 -42 and Hackett made a length of the floor drive to make it 56-44.

Then on the flashiest play of the night, Gerrity on a stutter step drive made a wrap around pass to Kyle Brown and Brown made a nice flashy basket also. Fernandez hit a jumper with his foot on three point line to make it 58-46. Kamyron Brown was fouled and made the first of two free throws but missed the second and his brother Kyle swooped in and got the rebound and put it back in for 61-46 lead. After a miss by Hackett, King was fouled and his two free throws gave him 27 points for the night as the game ended with the final score of 63-46.

The Monarchs hit 15-28 FG in second half to bring their percentage for the game to 23-48 for 47.9% including 4-12 from 3-point land. They were 13-19 from foul line for 68.4%. The Braves were 11/25 in second half to end at 18/45 for 40% and were 6/11 from the line for 54.5%. The Monarchs ended up with a 36-23 edge on the boards with King having a game high 9 for Mater Dei and Hackett had 7 to lead the Braves. King had 27 points on 9-13 from field including 3-5 from three point range and was 6-8 from free throw line, he had two turnovers and 1 steal. Hackett had 27 points on 11-20 from field and 4-6 from the line, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 turnovers, 1 block and 4 steals.

The Monarchs are now 19-3 on the season and a win down at the Coaches shootout in Carlsbad on Saturday night where they face La Costa Canyon would be Gary McKnight's 23rd consecutive season of having his Monarchs win at least 20 games. The Braves record falls to 14-8 and they fall out of first place tie in Serra league. Mater Dei has no scheduled league games next week but is playing in the Nike Extravaganza in Anaheim convention center where they will meet Brentwood Academy of Tennessee.

Mater Dei 3 23 13 24-63

SJBosco 11 9 13 13-46

Mater Dei - King 27, Gerrity 11, Ky Brown 8, Campbell 5, Ka Brown 4, Tarin 4, Jacobson 4—63.

St. John Bosco - Hackett 27, Fernandez 11, Elisaldez 8—46.

Virgil Buensuceso scored 7 of his game-high 25 points in the final 1:06 to help host Eagle Rock (10-8, 7-1) stay in first place in the City Section Northern League with a 70-64 win over LA Wilson (13-11, 5-3) Friday afternoon. Though Eagle Rock led most of the game, they held just a 1-point lead until Buensuceso's jumper with just under 3 minutes left made it 62-59. And Buensuceso made 7 of 8 free throws in the final 1:06 to allow the Eagles to hold onto their lead and secure the win.

It was a close game throughout with neither team leading by more than 7 points the entire game. After Eagle Rock's Deonte Black opened the game's scoring, Wilson jumped out to a 20-15 first-quarter lead on the strength of 10 points from Christopher Govan. But Eagle Rock rallied quickly, tying the game at 20 early in the second quarter on a basket by Buensuceso. And the Eagles, relying on the inside strength of Black and Jesus Chavvia, took a 35-28 lead before Jonathan Linares made a three just before the buzzer to make it 35-31 Eagles at halftime. Black scored 14 and Chavarria added 13 in the first half for Eagle Rock.

In the third quarter, Wilson rallied to take a 39-38 lead on a three by Rudy Hernandez. But the lead was short-lived as Eagle Rock then went on a 10-2 run to go ahead 48-41. A putback basket in the quarter's final seconds by Abraham Venegas allowed Wilson to close the margin to 5 at 51-46 entering the final period.

Early in the fourth quarter, Wilson cut the margin to 2 on a pair of free throws by Marcus Rangel and a 3-pointer by Hernandez and trailed 51-48. Following a baseline jumper by Buensuceso, Hernandez knocked down another three to cut the Eagles' lead to 2 at 53-51. Eagle Rock pushed their lead back out to 5 after a basket by Buensuceso and a three by Andrew Gupilan, but then Rangel scored for Wilson on a feed from Venegas to make it 58-55. And following a pair of free throws by Black made it 60-55, Wilson cut the lead to a point on a short jumper by Venegas and a steal and bucket by Brandon Tucker. At that point, it was 60-59 with 3:15 left on the clock.

But that would be as close as Wilson would get. The only scoring in the next 2:09 was a jumper by Buensuceso that made it 62-59 Eagles. As the clock ticked down, Wilson had to start fouling, and that just allowed Buensuceso to pad his scoring total, making 7 of 8 free throws in the final seconds. Despite a three by Govan and a putback basket by Darrold Brown, Wilson was never able to get closer than 4 points the rest of the way, and when they were that close, Eagle Rock had the ball.

For Eagle Rock, Buensuceso had a huge overall game with 25 points and 9 assists (both game-highs) and 7 rebounds. Black had a strong game inside with 21 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Chavarria also had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Overall, the Eagles outrebounded Wilson (whose tallest starter is just 6-2) 49-24.

Govan led Wilson with 16 points including 3 threes, and grabbed a team-high 5 rebounds. Venegas finished with 11 points and a team-best 6 assists. Hernandez and Rangel each scored 10 points. Tucker added 9 points plus 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals.

Friday, January 28, 2005 – 4 pm

At Eagle Rock HS

LA City Section – Northern League

12-Christopher Govan, PF – 6/12 fg, 1/ 2 ft, 5 reb, 2 stl, 16 pts

21-Marcus Rangel, SG – 2/7 fg, 6/6 ft, 3 reb, 2 stl, 10 pts

23-Abraham Venegas, C – 5/17 fg, 3 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl, 11 pts

33-Brandon Tucker, PG – 4/11 fg, 1/ 2 ft, 4 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl, 9 pts

35-Rudy Hernandez, SF – 4/15 fg, 4 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 10 pts

42-Caesar Robles, C – 1 reb, 0 pts

52-Sam Bendimez, C – 0 pts

10-Darrold Brown, G – 1/1 fg, 1 reb, 2 pts

24-Jesus Carrillo, G – 1/ 2 fg, 1 ast, 3 pts

32-Gabriel Ceballos, F – 0/1 fg, 1 reb, 1 stl, 0 pts

45-Jonathan Linares, F – 1/3 fg, 3 pts

Team rebounds: 2

Totals: 24/69 fg (.345), 8/10 ft (.800), 24 reb, 14 ast, 1 blk, 13 stl, 64 pts

3-pt fg (8): Govan 3, Hernandez 2, Venegas, Carrillo, Linares

Fouled Out: Rangel 0:37 left

Turnovers (9): Govan 4, Venegas 2, Tucker 2, Hernandez

21-Virgil Buensuceso, PG – 8/14 fg, 9/12 ft, 7 reb, 9 ast, 25 pts

25-Garry Allen, SG – 2/5 fg, 3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 4 pts

31-Carlos Carmona, SF – 1/ 2 fg, 4 reb, 2 pts

35-Jesus Chavarria, PF – 6/9 fg, 1/ 2 ft, 12 reb, 2 stl, 13 pts

55-Deonte Black, C – 7/13 fg, 7/9 ft, 15 reb, 1 ast, 3 blk, 21 pts

11-Andrew Gupilan, G – 1/3 fg, 3 pts

51-Dennis Boyd, F – 1/5 fg, 5 reb, 2 pts

Team rebounds: 3

Totals: 26/51 fg (.510), 17/23 ft (.739), 49 reb, 11 ast, 3 blk, 4 stl, 70 pts

3-pt fg (1): Gupilan

Turnovers (23): Buensuceso 11, Chavarria 4, Guplian 4, Black 2, Allen, Boyd

Wilson 20-11-15-18=64

Eagle Rock 15-20-16-19=70

Updated Records:

Eagle Rock 10-8, 7-1 in league; Wilson 13-11, 5-3 in league

Montclair Prep beat Brentwood 75-71 in overtime Friday night in a great Olympic League game. 6'7 freshman Jin Soo Kim from South Korea scored 22 points including four in overtime for the Mounties who stayed undefeated in league play. Junior guard Craig Partovich scored 17 points, right on his season average and buried two free throws with six seconds remaining for the win.

Montclair Prep was down 28-13 in the first half, playing without senior starting point guard Marlon Yates (benched for entire first half). The Mounties battled back to within five at halftime and then took a 46-42 lead in the third quarter. At that point the run was 33-14 for Montclair Prep. From then on, it was see saw the rest of the way. 6'8 junior forward Andreas Schreiber from Sweden hit a crucial three pointer at the end of the third quarter to give Brentwood a 51-48 lead going into the final stanza.

That capped a 9-2 run for Brentwood. Montclair Prep led 63-59 after Partovich buried a three pointer and looked in control from there. But Brentwood came right back and took the lead thank to a three point play from Ben Kussman. Montclair Prep led 67-66 when Yates fouled Maleek Royster with 13.6 seconds remaining. Royster missed the first free throw but hit the second one to tie the game. Partovich then raced the length of the court and his shot from the right of the free throw lane was partially blocked and overtime was next.

Kussman scored a game high 30 points, while Adam Howland had 17 and Schreiber 16. Kim had 22 points for Montclair Prep, while Partovich had 17 and Bobby Webb and Kevin Bass each had 10. And to think, this will all happen again Wednesday night at Brentwood at 7:00 pm. Montclair Prep improved to 16-5 and 4-0. Brentwood dropped to 14-7 and 2-2.