My Mater Dei-Santa Margarita blog in its entirety...

It's not gonna last

I'm paranoid right now. I'm looking over my shoulder at nearly every person who walks by me on press row. A seat was not reserved for me, so right now I'm actually in the seat of one of Mater coach Gary McKnight's peeps. And you know they're going to show up.

It was quite an adventure just to gt in here, as usual. I don't care to go through the whole story, but let's put it this way: right now at the Mater Dei gym some people think I work with Steve Fryer, some people think I work for Steve Fryer, and some people think I am Steve Fryer.

The JV game has just ended and both teams have begun warmups. It's exciting. No, really. I actually enjoy warmups. And I really enjoy warmups between two great teams. It's our first chance to find out if the two are nemeses, or arch-enemies. There is a difference, as I learned from Chuck Klosterman. Basically, it comes down to who hates who.

Welcome to the Jungle

First we heard Long Beach Press Telegram's Frank Burlison's favorite Van Halen song, then we got everyone's favorite Guns N Roses track. Everyone, that is, except Eric Gagne. I have a feeling he could go without hearing "Welcome to the Jungle" ever again.

And we're tipping off...

We're a few minutes in and Santa Margarita's Klay Thompson has not been close on his two three-point attempts. But he's already picked up two rebounds and blocked a shot. It's great to see he's not Vince Carter. Right now he's guarding Gary Franklin, who you might have heard made 8 of 10 3-pointers Wednesday. This will force the Eagles to have less of a presence inside, which David Wear has already taken advantage of with five points.

Franklin just hit a three.

MD 9, SM 9

Mid 1Q

Where there's a Wear...

How did David Wear respond in the first quarter without twin brother Travis, who is out because of a muscle tear?

He had nine points and four rebounds. Two of those points came on a sweet, left-handed jump hook, prompting Fryer to deliver a three-minute spiel on the art of that particular shot.

Some first quarter stats:

• SM shot 4-11, 3-7 in threes--1 turnover
• MD shot 6-14, 1-3 in threes--2 turnovers

MD 15, SM 14

End of 1Q

Back and forth

Santa Margarita goes ahead. Then Mater Dei. Then Santa Margarita. Then Mater Dei again. So the lead is changing. One thing that is not is the players on the court. I tink we're going to see the same 12 people the entire game.

Andy Brown pumped his fist and clapped after busting a 3 in the corner. I like that. Show some emotion, young men.

Franklin gets to the basket but is swatted by Thompson. Those two have been going at it. Franklin is not defebding Thompson, though. That privilege has been granted to Jamaal Trice, who's doing a fine job staying in front of the Eagles' leading scorer.

David Wear knocks down a ridiculous fallaway jumper. How do you defend that?

On the final possession of the half Thompson finally gets past Trice, jumps toward the basket, hangs in the air as another Monarch defender comes to help, and drops in a layup off the glass just before the buzzer. Sweet.

My 11 oz. bag of M&M's are not surviving this game.

MD 35, SM 32

Halftime

The third quarter (sort of)

Steve, the Monarchs' head of security, did his best to accomodate me throughout the night, but it didn't work out. There were just too many Mater Dei VIPs here and, when another one showed up during halftime, I had to move. Fryer, seeing I did not have a space to park my laptop, got up and handed over his seat. He is now perched against the wall. I'm fortunate (and spoiled).

The second half began with consecutive field goals by Mater Dei and a Santa Margarita turnover. Franklin busted another 3 and the Eagles were quickly trailing in double digits. I can't really say too much else because of what I described above. That took a minute to sort out.

MD 54, SM 43

End of 3Q

Down the stretch

Santa Margarita, almost one point at a time, has crawled back into this game. Jaime Serna tips in a Thompson missed jumper has cut the Monarch lead to five.

And then Andy Brown hits a 3 from the top of the key. With less than five minutes left in the fourth, that was huge.

My hearing is somewhere between horrible and atrocious, but I think the Mater Dei student section is yelling "We-can't-hear-you!" This one is not over, though. Not yet.

Brown hits another three from the same spot. Now it's over.

MD 63, SM 54

Late 4Q

And the Mater Dei student section sang on

Brown makes ANOTHER three. This is getting absurd.

After a questionable foul called on Thompson, his fourth, he throws his fist in defiance and nearly takes out one the Monarch cheerleaders. That would have been bad news for all involved.

"Beat-the-traffic!" OK, this time I know I can make out what the Mater Dei student section is chanting. They followed that up with "Drive-home-safely!" That's considerate.

It's weird because I'm sitting next to this guy and he's rooting for MD like it's a pro team. I thought it was just a college team.

Both teams have unloaded the bench. Mater Dei's John Swift just hit a high-arching jumper in the final seconds. I can appreciate that.

This was a good game, certainly. But the next one will be better.

MD 74, SM 61

Final

Adam Maya/the new and "untouchable" OCVarsity

amaya@ocregister.com

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