Mater Dei bounces back from first defeat of season with win over Bartow
Mater Dei (Calif.) bounced back from its first defeat of the season with a 62-53 victory over Bartow (Fla.) on Wednesday at the Beach Ball Classic at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.
The Monarchs (13-1) got 17 points off the bench from 6-7 junior Justice Sueing and 14 points from sophomore guard Spencer Freedman to advance to the fifth-place game against Moeller (Ohio) at 3:30 p.m. Thursday.
“It was very tough, playing the 8:45 game [Tuesday] night and it started at 9:30,” Mater Dei coach Gary McKnight said. “We’re getting to the hotel at 11:30 and at quarter of 12 the kids are eating pizza. They were tired and a little dead on their feet. That’s what happens when you come to a tournament. If you don’t win you play the 1:30 game.”
Bartow (6-7) got 15 points and seven rebounds from Justin Serrano and 15 points and eight rebounds from 6-10 senior and North Carolina commitment Tony Bradley, and led by a point at halftime.
Mater Dei got its second wind in the second half and opened up a 15-point lead midway through the half before it was cut to five points with 3 minutes remaining. “I thought in the second half we had a good spurt until the last three or four minutes,”
Had the Monarchs lost to Bartow, the team that traveled the farthest distance to this year’s Beach Ball would have had their tournament end on Wednesday.
“It’s always nice to get a win here, and it’s always nice to get four games, too,” McKnight said. “That’s the biggest thing. I don’t like coming to a tournament where I only get three games. It’s too far to travel not to get four games.”
▪ BARTOW (53): Timothy Jordan 11, Christopher Butler 4, Justin Serrano 15, McKinley Harvin 6, Tony Bradley 15, William Craig 2.
▪ MATER DEI (62): Spencer Freedman 14, Reagan Lundeen 8, M.J. Cage 6, Harrison Butler 5, Justice Sueing 17, Matthew Weyand 3, Michael Wang 8, Luke Williams 1.
▪ Halftime: Bartow 33-32. 3-point goals: Bartow 5 (Jordan 3, Harvin 2); Mater Dei 7 (Freedman 4, Sueing 2, Weyand). Team fouls: Bartow: 16. Mater Dei 10: . Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: None.
▪ Records: Bartow 6-7, Mater Dei 13-1.
▪ Moeller (Ohio) 59, St. Francis (Ga.) 42 | After a physical loss to national power Montverde (Fla.) less than 20 hours before, the Knights fell to the Crusaders in a consolation bracket matchup at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.
Moeller, however, had two days off since a loss to Seton Hall Prep (N.J.) in the quarterfinals, and was well rested. The Crusaders had three starters score in a double figures as Sam McCracken led the way with 15 points, and Keegan McDowell and Trey McBride scored 12 each.
Moeller (8-1) got out to a 30-13 lead at halftime and never looked back. The Crusaders take on Mater Dei (Calif.) in the fifth place game Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.
Wallace Tucker scored 11 points and Kobi Simmons had 10 for St. Francis, which fell to 1-2 in tournament play and 8-5 overall.
▪ MOELLER (59): Keegan McDowell 12, Nate Georgeton 7, Sam McCracken 15, Trey McBride 12, Isaiah Payton 3, Sam Hansen 1, Caleb Canter 2, Gavin Jung 2, Ben Reutelshofer 2, Miles McBride 3.
▪ ST. FRANCIS (42): Kobi Simmons 10, Anthony Showell 5, Chance Anderson 2, Noah Christy 1, Wallace Tucker 11, Dylin Hardeman 5, Carson White 2, Jordan Ferguson 3, Drew Smith 3.
▪ Halftime: Moeller 30-13. 3-point goals: Moeller 5 (McDowell 4, Georgeton 1), St. Francis 4 (Simmons 1, Showell 1, Tucker 1, Hardeman 1). Team fouls: Moeller 9, St. Francis 17. Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: None.
▪ Records: Moeller 8-1, St. Francis 8-5.
▪ Mullins 83, Poca 69 | While Dots junior Elijah Cuffee had quite the game with 30 points, Auctioneers junior Jalek Felton stole the show as he broke the Beach Ball Classic single game record for points (55) and tied the record for 3-pointers (9) in Mullins’ win over Poca.
Felton also had eight assists and three rebounds, and Fabian Carroll chipped in 13 points for the Auctioneers (3-6), who will play the Mustang (Okla.) in the consolation championship Thursday at 1:45 p.m.
Junior Luke Frampton added 19 for the Dots (5-1), who finished the tournament with a 1-2 record.
▪ POCA (69): Elijah Cuffee 30, Austin Henrich 8, Luke Frampton 19, Kaden Meeks 5, Shawn Arthur 5, Jaycob Phillips 2.
▪ MULLINS (83): Fabian Carroll 13, Jalek Felton 55, Nizohn Powell 5, Shamar Foxworth 4, Javarius Smith 6.
▪ Halftime: Mullins 36-30. 3-point goals: Mullins 12 (Felton 9, Carroll 2, Powell 1), Poca 6 (Cuffee 3, Frampton 2, Meeks 1). Team fouls: Poca 12, Mullins 17. Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: None.
▪ Records: Poca 5-2, Mullins 3-6.
▪ St. James 53, Socastee 47 | Jackson Hurston hit five 3-pointers and put up a game-high 25 points, Zach Werba scored nine, and the Sharks took down the Braves in a consolation bracket game at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.
Socastee (5-6) outrebounded St. James 33-21, and the Braves outscored the Sharks 32-18 in points inside the paint. While Socastee also outshot St. James by a narrow margin, the Sharks drilled nine 3-pointers.
It was the Beach Ball Classic finale for both teams. St. James (4-6) finished 1-2 in the Beach Ball Classic as it had lost its previous two games. Socastee, meanwhile, fell to 0-3 in Beach Ball Classic tournament play.
▪ ST. JAMES (53): Zach Werba 9, Jackson Hurston 25, Jordan Fields 3, Jordan Furlough 1, William Young 3, Mabry Godbold 2, Cameron Williams 6, Cole Gallagher 4.
▪ SOCASTEE (47): Marcus Hemingway 9, Nijaye Foster 5, Kendrell Generette 7, Jason Cudd 23, Tyler Rainer 1, Aeneas Green 2.
▪ Halftime: St. James 23-21. 3-point goals: St. James 8 (Hurston 5, Williams 2, Young 1), Socastee 1 (Foster 1). Team fouls: St. James 18, Socastee 13. Fouled out: Furlough (St. James), Foster (Socastee). Technical fouls: None.
▪ Records: St. James 4-6, Socastee 5-6.
▪ Mustang (Okla.) 73, St. Edward (Ohio) 64 | Curtis Haywood had 25 points, Jakolby Long scored 17, and the Broncos took down the Eagles to advance to the consolation championship Thursday against Mullins at 1:45 p.m.
▪ ST. EDWARD (64): Jack Sullivan 4, Thomas Schmock 15, Daniel Chambers 11, Kelvin Calhoun 11, Sean Flannery 14, Matthew Gonzalez 6, Carl Jones 1, William Henry 2.
▪ MUSTANG (73): Curtis Haywood 25, Jakolby Long 17, Kejuan Fraizer 9, Bryce Roberts 2, York Benjamin 7, Karl Madison 2, DeAryus Colbert 5, Chandler Garrett 6.
▪ Halftime: Mustang 35-20. 3-point goals: St. Edward 5 (Schmock 5, Sullivan 1, Chambers 1), Mustang 3 (Haywood 1, Long 1, Colbert 1). Team fouls: St. Edward 23, Mustang 21. Fouled out: Gonzalez (St. Edward). Technical fouls: None.
▪ Records: St. Edward 4-3, Mustang 4-2.
This story was originally published December 30, 2015 at 10:33 PM with the headline "Mater Dei bounces back from first defeat of season with win over Bartow."