PREP BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTS : Mater Dei Is Favorite to Win Tournament of Champions

The Mater Dei High School boys’ basketball team, with four returning starters, is the favorite to win the Tournament of Champions, scheduled to begin tonight in Ocean View High’s gymnasium.

Mater Dei features 6-foot-1 guard Reggie Geary, who has signed with Arizona, and three talented juniors--Terence Wilborn, Marmet Williams and David Drakeford--in its starting lineup.

Second-seeded Westchester, defending City Section 4-A champion, has four starters returning from a team that defeated Manual Arts for the City title. Westchester’s top players include forward James Gray and center Lorenzo Ball.

The tournament also includes two teams that won State championships last year. Estancia, the State Division III champion, is led by forward Matt Fuerbringer. Tustin, the State Division II champion, is led by guard Gentry Moore.

Other top players scheduled to compete include guard Tom Airey (Capistrano Valley), forward Adam Anderson (Servite), center Javon Rouzan (Lakewood), forward Jelani Gardner (Bishop Amat), forward Jeff Vanderwal (Huntington Beach) and forward Jason Cunningham (Los Alamitos).

The championship game is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Saturday. San Bernardino is the defending champion.

The first-round pairings:

Today: 4 p.m.--Inglewood vs. San Bernardino; 5:30--LB Poly vs. Los Alamitos; 7--Mater Dei vs. Millikan; 8:30--Ocean View vs. Pasadena.

Tuesday: 4 p.m.--Estancia vs. Lakewood; 5:30--Capistrano Valley vs. Bishop Amat; 7--Westchester vs. Huntington Beach; 8:30--Servite vs. Tustin.

Defending Southern Section 5-AA champion Long Beach Jordan is the boys’ favorite and defending tournament champion Santa Clarita Canyon is the girls’ favorite in the fifth El Dorado Co-ed Classic, scheduled to begin Tuesday in El Dorado High’s gymnasium.

In the boys’ division, Jordan features 6-2 junior guard Everett Ratleff, a nephew of former Cal State Long Beach All-American Ed Ratleff. Jordan’s strongest competition for the title will come from Pomona, which won the section Division III-AA title with a 48-45 victory over Estancia.

In the girls’ division, Downey, last year’s consolation champion, figures to challenge Canyon for the title. Downey has seven lettermen, including forward Hilary Nelson, returning. Two-time All-Empire League selections Erin Vessey and Briana Yoshina should make El Dorado a contender.

The girls’ championship game is scheduled for 6 p.m., followed by the boys’ championship game at 7:30 Saturday.

The girls’ first-round pairings:

Tuesday: 3 p.m.--Downey vs. Pomona; 6--Mission Viejo vs. LB Jordan.

Wednesday: 3 p.m.--Sunny Hills vs. Santa Clarita Canyon; 6--El Toro vs. El Dorado.

The boys’ first-round pairings:

Tuesday: 4:30 p.m.--Downey vs. Pomona; 7:30--Mission Viejo vs. LB Jordan.

Wednesday: 4:30 p.m.--Sunny Hills vs. Santa Clarita Canyon; 7:30--El Toro vs. El Dorado.

Foothill High School, led by guard Jared Winger, is the favorite to win the La Quinta Tournament beginning today in La Quinta High’s gymnasium.

Among top players scheduled to compete are forward Doug Hesse (Corona del Mar), guard Lloyd Bennett (La Quinta), forward Cornel Archer (Garden Grove) and guard Tobi Priest (Savanna).

The championship game is scheduled for 8 p.m. Friday.

The first-round pairings:

Today: 6:30--Garden Grove vs. Cypress; 8--Corona del Mar vs. Foothill.

Tuesday: 6:30 p.m.--Katella vs. Savanna; 8--British Columbia Chilliwack vs. La Quinta.