Mater Dei proves too much for Myrtle Beach

The Mater Dei (Calif.) boys basketball team got a chance to tour the historic city of Charleston before making its way to Myrtle Beach for the Beach Ball Classic.

Now, the Monarchs have made their first step on their voyage through the prestigious tournament’s field.

Mater Dei – No. 3 in the USA Today National Super 25 computer rankings – had all 18 of its dressed players take the floor Monday as the Monarchs took down the Myrtle Beach Seahawks 81-44 in the first round at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.

“We hadn’t played in eight days and we got a chance to get everybody in,” Mater Dei coach Gary McKnight said. “We had way too many turnovers; [Myrtle Beach] did a great job of pressing. They never gave up and [outscored] us in the second half. Hopefully it will be a great learning experience for Myrtle Beach and hopefully they win some games because of it.”

Mater Dei (12-0) never trailed in the contest and opened on a 35-6 run before taking a 38-point lead into halftime. Monarch sophomore Michael Wang had a team-high 14 points, while Miles Brookins, MJ Cage and Justice Sueing had 10 points apiece, and Spencer Freedman – the tournament’s 3-point contest winner – had seven points, three rebounds and five assists.

McKnight was glad to get all of his players some minutes.

“We’re 10 strong,” he said. “Cage and Freedman are our two players that are featured players, and [Bailey] Stout, [Matt] Weyand and Cage didn’t play much in the last tournament due to injuries, so it was good getting them back.”

With the way the tournament was scheduled, some teams must play four games in four straight days and Mater Dei is one of them. The Monarchs are back on the hardwood Tuesday as they meet St. John’s College Prep (D.C.) in the quarterfinals at 8:45 p.m.

“That’s great,” McKnight said of playing four days in a row. “We flew in Saturday and stayed in Charleston, went on a great tour Sunday and saw a lot of old houses. Then we drove up here yesterday and it worked out great.”

JaQuan Chestnut had 14 points to pace Myrtle Beach (3-6), which outscored Mater Dei 33-32 in the second half. Seahawks 6-5 junior Bryce Schneider was just eager to get after it against one of the top teams in the nation.

“It was fun. We get out and we get to play some of the best competition in the country and it’s a great opportunity,” said Schneider, who had 10 points. “I’m happy for our team and how we played. We came out in the second half playing well and we won the second half. For a team that’s 3-6, I’m proud of these guys. We came a long way from where we were.”

Meanwhile, McKnight said his team better be prepared for a tough challenge Tuesday if it would like to continue its journey through the winner’s bracket.

“Tomorrow, they better come ready to play or else we’ll be trying to figure out how to win the 11 [a.m.] game,” McKnight said, referring to the early start time for consolation bracket games.

This story was originally published December 28, 2015 at 11:59 PM with the headline "Mater Dei proves too much for Myrtle Beach."