Mater Dei won its eighth state champion in boys basketball Saturday night with a 43-36 victory over De La Salle in California's Division I final.
Mater Dei, a nationally ranked school from Santa Ana, was led by junior shooting guard Katin Reinhardt. The 6-foot-5 Southern Cal-committed recruit scored a game-high 17 points.
Mater Dei's eight titles is tied with Crenshaw for the most in California history for a boys program.
Mater Dei played into De La Salle's slow-paced tempo early and trailed 18-12 at the end of the first half after making just three field-goal attempts, but eventually things started clickingat the Power Balance Pavilion (formerly the Arco Arena).
The game began very slow for Mater Dei (32-2) as they gave up a 13-0 run to turn a 7-3 lead into a 16-7 deficit before eventually pulling within six points at the half. Reinhardt went on a 10-0 run on his own, however, to bring Mater Dei back within striking distance.
The only player in double figures for De La Salle (27-6), typically known as a football school, was 5-foot-10 senior guard Benny Battle, who scored 10 points.
Mater Dei took a lead nearly in the fourth quarter, when it held De La Salle to only eight points.
Mater Dei entered the game ranked No. 7 by PrepNation, No. 11 by USA Today, No. 10 by ESPN Rise and No. 13 by MaxPreps. The team will return Reinhardt and three other starters next season.
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