Topsy-Turvy Start : Basketball's First-Month Surprises Headed by Mater Dei's Lopsided Loss

By ERIC SHEPARD

Jan. 9, 1997 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

A month into the high school basketball season, plenty of surprises have been produced by one of the Southland’s most anticipated senior classes.

The biggest shocker took place last month at the Las Vegas Holiday Classic, one of the country’s most prestigious tournaments. In a semifinal game of the 54-team tournament, Harvard-Westlake of North Hollywood routed Santa Ana Mater Dei, 64-38.

It was the worst defeat for Mater Dei since Coach Gary McKnight took over 15 years ago.

Harvard-Westlake, led by Stanford-bound senior twins Jason and Jarron Collins, won the State Division III title last year and was expected to be tough this season. But few observers believed the Wolverines were in the same category as Mater Dei, a Division I power.

“We refer to Mater Dei as ‘the Program,’ so when they walked into the gym with their 25 players, seven coaches and group of trainers, we knew we couldn’t be considered in the same class,” Harvard-Westlake Coach Greg Hilliard said. “Even during the warmups, they’re an impressive group. We felt privileged to have an opportunity to see what we were made of. The next time I looked up at the scoreboard, we were up something like 19-2.”

Jason Collins finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots. Mater Dei guard Kevin Augustine, the team’s best player, made only three of 15 shots and finished with 10 points.

McKnight, in typical fashion when he’s losing, went into a rage in the closing minutes of the game. He yelled at the person handling the game clock, and he yelled at his players. He also didn’t have anything to say to Hilliard after the game.

“Our enjoyment of winning the game certainly was increased by seeing the reaction it caused on the other side of the court,” Hilliard said.

Harvard-Westlake (16-1) suffered its only loss in the tournament final, dropping a 63-59 decision to Mt. Zion Christian of Durham, N.C.

The Wolverines regrouped by winning the Best of the West tournament in Long Beach the next week, defeating Lakewood Artesia, 69-60, in the final on Dec. 30.

TOUGH START FOR DOMINGUEZ

Another surprise has been the play of Compton Dominguez, considered the top boys’ team in the state and one of the best in the nation.

The Dons, the defending state Division II champions, are 10-4, having lost two games apiece in the Las Vegas and the Best of the West tournaments.

They lost, 60-56, at Las Vegas in the quarterfinals to West End of Birmingham, Ala., and 68-67 in overtime in the consolation round to Redemption of Troy, N.Y.

Things didn’t get any better in the Best of the West tournament. Dominguez lost, 57-56, to cross-town rival Compton in the quarterfinals and was later beaten, 79-69, by Long Beach Poly in the fifth-place game.

Junior forward Jason Thomas pulled himself out of the Poly game early in the first quarter because of a swollen left hand that he injured in an earlier game. He hasn’t practiced much since but expects to return when the team plays host to Cerritos Gahr on Wednesday.

“My hand was so swollen I couldn’t see my knuckles,” said Thomas, regarded as the top junior in the state. “It just added to the disappointment we’ve been experiencing so far this season. But it’s better for us to be dealing with this kind of thing now as opposed to later when the games mean more. I look at it as our wake-up call.”

MATER DEI COACH SERVES SUSPENSION

Mary Hauser, who coached the Mater Dei girls’ team to the state Division I title last year, missed seven games over the holidays after being suspended by Principal Pat Murphy.

Murphy declined to discuss the nature of the infraction, only to call it “a very minor situation.”

Hauser, who missed tournament games in Sacramento and at Huntington Beach Marina, said she was not supposed to comment. The Monarchs are 7-4.

Southern Section Commissioner Dean Crowley said the suspension was more for the appearance of potential wrongdoing than anything that actually happened.

“There was an innocent situation that arose,” said Crowley, who became aware of the Hauser incident through a separate case he was investigating. “Rather than stepping over the line and potentially violating a school rule, she stepped too close to the line. There was nothing in writing between the school and this office.

Hauser was suspended from coaching games but was allowed to coach during practices since the suspension was meted out the week of Dec. 16. She will be on the bench tonight when Mater Dei plays hosts to Mission Viejo.

PLAYING ON WITHOUT MAYLANA

Perris is suffering from the post-Maylana Martin blues. Martin, a four-year starter, led the Panthers to a 24-3 record last season as a senior and was state player of the year.

Martin is now attending UCLA, and Perris has missed the 6-foot-3 center and her contributions of 35 points, 18 rebounds and six block shots per game. The Panthers are 4-8.

“Everyone has been a little lost without Maylana in there,” said Perris Coach Marvin Williams, whose team has won five consecutive Sunbelt League titles. “For four years, we could count on her to get most of the rebounds and do the bulk of the scoring--especially in crunch time.”

Also gone are the open shots for teammates created by opposing defenses collapsing on Martin in the post.

“We get frustrated because we don’t get the same easy shots as we used to,” said point guard Asia Petty, who leads Perris with a 14-point scoring average. “We have to work a lot harder for everything we get.”

After starting the season 0-4, the Panthers have won four of their last eight games.

FRESHMEN ON THE LOOSE

Chino Don Lugo freshman Diana Taurasi’s frame may seem a bit awkward for a high school guard--she’s 5-10 and wears a men’s size-11 tennis shoe--but her game is posing difficulties for opponents. Taurasi is leading the Southland with a 35.7 scoring average.

In leading the Conquistadores to an 8-4 record, Taurasi has had scoring outputs of 55, 51, 43 and 41 points. She has sent two games into overtime with last-second three-point shots and has connected on 44 three-point shots.

Taurasi was a pleasant surprise for first-year Coach Larry Webster, who, when offered the job in late October, didn’t know how to pronounce his star player’s name (pronounced taw-ROSS-ee).

“She’s a once-in-a-lifetime player for a coach,” Webster said. “She’s the hardest worker we have. She doesn’t play like a freshman. She’s not afraid to shoot the ball in pressure situations.”

Taurasi has even surprised herself.

“I thought it would be a lot tougher playing against older players. It’s been a great experience for me,” she said.

Being a tall guard does have its advantages, and Taurasi has made the most of them.

“Most of the people guarding me are short and that gives me an advantage of either shooting jump shots over them, posting them up or passing,” said Taurasi, who’s also averaging nine rebounds, three blocked shots and three steals.

Times staff writer Martin Henderson and correspondent Mark Stroder contributed to this story.