mater dei v. st. john bosco

CIF-SS II-AA Preview: Mater Dei v. St. John Bosco
@ Cypress College Tonight--(Feb. 26, 2002)

What: Division II-AA Semifinals
Who: Mater Dei (25-4) vs. St. John Bosco (24-6)
Where: @ Cypress College
When: 7:30 p.m.

We are rapidly running out of time to put these previews out in a timely fashion. Mater Dei? If you don't know by now, you've been living under a rock. The names to watch are Harrison Schaen, Mike Strawberry, Travonte Nelson, Mike Gerrity, Marcel Jones and the player we think may be the most talented in the current junior class, Wesley Washington. There are others who have led the Monarchs to their national ranking, but we've already said enough about them. St. John Bosco will be in a CIF-SS semifinal game for the first time since 1994, when the Braves won the Division II-A title with Giovanni St. Amant's cousin, Schea Cotton (who also happened to play for Mater Dei for a while for those who remember). The Braves and Monarchs have squared off twice before this season in league contests, and Mater Dei came away with both wins, neither what anyone would call "close" contests, , 90-62 and 72-55. Mater Dei then proceeded to defeat then-national No.‚1 Mouth of the Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy at the Nike Extravaganza on Feb. 2, and they are coming into their usual playoff form, and will attempt a return trip to the Section finals and the State Tournament. The Monarchs are trying to win their 10th CIF-SS title in the past 11 seasons. "I think we have a chance to beat Mater Dei," St. John Bosco coach Matt Hart told Ted Kian of the Long Beach Press Telegram. "Corona Centennial, who we beat in the quarterfinals, beat them this year. We know it's going to be tough, and we are certainly the underdogs. We have to play a perfect game, control the tempo and try to eliminate their ability to score in transition."

Anyway, if you don't know enough already about these two teams, here are the rosters:

St. John Bosco Braves				Mater Dei Monarchs
1	Eric Lane	6'-1" Jr. G	1	Michael Gerrity	5'-10" Fr. PG
2	Branden Rush	6'-0" Jr. G	2	Colt Brennan	6'-3" Sr. G
3	Sean O'Neil	5'-11" Sr. G	3	Michael Strawberry, Jr.	6'-3" Sr. F
4	Giovanni St. Amant	6'-3" Sr. G	5	Trevante Nelson	5'-11" Jr. G
5	Sonny Kaesbauer	6'-0" So. G	11	Kenny Chicoine	6'-0" Sr. G
11	Kenny Taylor	6'-3" Jr. G	12	Joe Flores	6'-1" Sr. G
12	Robert Reynaga	5'-10" Jr. G	20	Daniel Markus	6'-0" So. G
20	Roy Alugbue	6'-4" Jr. F	22	Wesley Washington	6'-3" Jr. G
22	Chris Swan	6'-2" Jr. G	24	Pat Joyce	6'-3" So. G
23	Donald Quiroz	6'-3" Sr. F	30	Kerek Kyle Pinner	6'-1" Sr. G
42	Mike Davis	6'-4" So. F	33	Marcel Jones	6'-6" So. G/F
50	Kevin Cape	6'-05" Sr. F	35	Bryan Maeda	5'-8" Sr. G
			54	Chris Henry	6'-9" So. F