Mater Dei 66, Orange Lutheran 58: Four Takeaways

<p>ORANGE — You can’t count on two hands the number of years the Trinity League championship has gone through the Mater Dei boys basketball program, but what some league opponents can take solace in is the fact that this year’s Monarchs team - while still very good - isn’t the powerhouse of we’ve come to expect.</p> <p>Orange Lutheran got the first crack at Mater Dei in last week’s Trinity League opener and gave a valiant effort, but didn’t have enough down the stretch to claw out a victory as the Monarchs pulled out the eight-point win. Mater Dei received contributions from a variety of different players as four scored in double figures led by senior <strong>Kaden Minter</strong> who scored 13 points. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="994920" first="Zack" last="Davidson"]</strong> and<strong> [player_tooltip player_id="748761" first="Jack" last="McCloskey"]</strong> added 12 each, while freshman center <strong>Tee Bartlett</strong> pitched in 10.</p> <p>The Lancers were led by senior wing <strong>Seth Brown</strong> who scored a game-high 18 points. Junior forward <strong>Cannon Potte</strong>r was the only other Orange Lutheran player to reach double figures with 11 points. Below we give our five takeaways from the heavyweight Orange County matchup.</p> <p><strong>Execution the key to Mater Dei success</strong></p> <p>As mentioned above, the Monarchs don’t have that one (or two or three) star players we’re used to them having, but this year’s team showed that it is capable of racking up tons of wins. Minter is Mater Dei’s steady hand from three-point range and can also hit mid-range shots off the catch. Davidson, a junior forward, can score inside and out and McCloskey, a transfer from Santa Margarita, adds some senior leadership, length and shot-making ability. While those three are capable of going off for 20-plus points in a game, the Monarchs will beat teams by simply out executing them on both ends of the floor. The offense the coaching staff has constructed is basically plug and play at this point and we could see the Monarchs go ten deep at times.</p> <p><strong>Youth well-served in red and white</strong></p> <p>In the past Mater Dei has gone to the high school "transfer portal" to land big name players but that seems to be a thing of the past....for now. Instead the Monarchs have a host of young prospects playing crucial minutes. Sophomores <strong>Brady Karich</strong> and <strong>Scotty Belnap</strong> look to be the next back-court duo and Bartlett, the 6-foot-9 freshman, is a low-block guy who the future can be built around. Add in sharpshooting freshman guard <strong>Owen Verna</strong> and freshman wing/forward <strong>Blake Davidson</strong> (who we saw producing in the junior varsity game) and that’s a pretty good group to work with.</p> <p><strong>Orange Lutheran has a good freshman of its own</strong></p> <p><strong>John Gazzaniga</strong> was the surprise of the game for us as the curly-haired, 6-foot-7, 225-pound freshman came off the bench and provided the Lancers with some much-needed toughness, physicality and energy. Gazzaniga has a frame that makes it look like he’s been in a college weight program and, unlike most freshmen, isn’t afraid of contact or mixing it up inside. Gazzaniga snatched a number of offensive rebounds thanks to his high motor and vertical athleticism and even had a put-back dunk that had the crowd in a frenzy.</p> <p><strong>Brown showed he’s a next-level player</strong></p> <p><strong>Seth Brown</strong>, despite playing in one of the better leagues in all of the state, has flown a bit under the radar as far as college recruitment goes. The 6-foot-5 wing has a really smooth smoothing stroke from three-point range, possesses the feel and ball skills to create for himself and teammates off the bounce and is well-suited to be a slasher and finisher in transition. The senior scored a game-high 18 points, while hitting a couple timely three’s to lead a big second half comeback for Orange Lutheran.</p>