St. John’s muscles way past Mater Dei, into semifinals

Some teams might be intimidated playing a national power like Mater Dei (Calif.).

But intimidation is not part of the St. John’s College Prep (D.C.) Cadets’ vocabulary.

Playing in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, perhaps the toughest league in the country, always has St. John’s prepared for top competition. On Tuesday, the Cadets took down the Monarchs, 54-43, in the quarterfinals of the Beach Ball Classic at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.

“Yes, [it prepared us],” St. John’s coach Sean McAloon said of playing in the WCAC. “It’s a day in, day out constant struggle in our conference. These kids are built for games and teams like that just based on where we live.”

Early on, a Jeffrey Dowtin Jr. 3-pointer started a 10-2 run for the Cadets as they took a 19-8 lead in the game’s opening six minutes. Then, Mater Dei switched up its man-to-man defense into a triangle-and-two to try and stop star guard Anthony Cowan Jr., a Maryland signee, and Dowtin Jr., a Rhode Island committment.

It didn’t work.

With a hefty advantage and no shot clock, McAloon opted for his team to hold the ball until the Monarchs switched out of the defense. Mater Dei coach Gary McKnight obliged, but the damage was already done.

“When he went to the triangle-and-two, we had a 10 point lead. So we figured if they’re going to stick with that, we’ll just run the clock,” McAloon said. “I don’t like doing it, and we have a shot clock where we are. But when in Rome, we’re going to do what we have to.”

Said McKnight: “[Cowan Jr.] is just a heck of a player and causes a lot of problems. We tried to stop their guards and penetration, but they outplayed us. They played harder than us; we had some guys that just didn’t play hard.”

Cowan Jr. finished with 16 points, Kylia Sykes scored 18 and Dowtin added eight for the Cadets, who outrebounded the Monarchs 25-20 and outscored them 28-14 inside the paint despite a major size difference. St. John’s also shot 55.3 percent, while Mater Dei was 14-for-40 (35 percent) from the field.

“That’s a powerful team that is going to win a lot of games,” McAloon said of Mater Dei. “I’m just proud of the way the kids executed; we did a heck of a job offensively and that’s a good defensive team. On defense, we had a size disadvantage but we just figured it out. I’m proud of the way the kids played.”

Junior sharpshooter Spencer Freedman – the Beach Ball Classic 3-point contest winner – paced Mater Dei with 12 points on four 3-pointers, and MJ Cage scored nine. The Monarchs are back in action Wednesday as they take on Bartow (Fla.) in a consolation bracket game at 1:45 p.m.

“When you come here, getting by the second and third round is not easy; there’s a lot of good teams and that’s why you come,” McKnight said. “Hopefully we can win the last [games].”

After playing two grueling games in as many days, St. John’s is back on the hardwood for a third straight day Wednesday. The Cadets play Shadow Mountain (Ariz.), which features 6-3 point guard Michael Bibby, son of former NBA player Mike Bibby, in the semifinals at 8:45 p.m.

“Shadow Mountain is strong, athletic and they can shoot the ball well,” McAloon said. “We need to get some rest.”

This story was originally published December 30, 2015 at 12:35 AM with the headline "St. John’s muscles way past Mater Dei, into semifinals."