BOYS' BASKETBALL / ABOVE THE RIM TOURNAMENT : Brooklyn's Marbury Can't Conquer Mater Dei Team

BOYS’ BASKETBALL / ABOVE THE RIM TOURNAMENT : Brooklyn’s Marbury Can’t Conquer Mater Dei Team

By DAVE McKIBBEN

Dec. 31, 1994 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

DEL MAR — Brooklyn (N.Y.) Lincoln guard Stephon Marbury had Jerry Tarkanian and Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight shaking their heads and the overflow crowd of 4,000 gasping with every floating NBA-range three-pointer that swished through the net.

But Mater Dei had Marbury’s equal and then some in sophomore forward Schea Cotton. Cotton was outscored by Marbury, 39-33, but his team outscored Lincoln, 92-77, and won going away Friday night in the finals of the Above the Rim Prep Classic at Torrey Pines High.

“They’re a great team, but I felt we’re a better team fundamentally,” said Cotton, who scored 13 of his 33 in the fourth quarter when Mater Dei outscored Lincoln, 37-17. “Fundamentals always beats athleticism.”

And no one was more athletic than Marbury, a 6-2 senior point guard who has narrowed his college choices to Minnesota, Syracuse, Georgia Tech and UCLA. During one unreal four-minute stretch in the third quarter, Marbury scored 12 points on two 25-foot three pointers, two hanging layups after full-court drives and a slam dunk after a steal. He ended the run with a pretty dish to guard Gerard Hawkins, who hit a three-pointer to give Lincoln a 60-55 lead after three quarters.

“I was just hot,” said Marbury, who had 16 points in the third quarter. “I was going with the flow of the game.”

McKnight said he has never seen anything like Marbury’s display.

“He’s the best I’ve seen,” McKnight said. “I saw (Jason) Kidd here in 1991 and this kid’s just as good or better. A lot of guys have NBA range, but he makes those shots from NBA range.”

But Marbury, who was named co-tournament MVP along with Cotton, cooled off for a couple minutes to start the fourth quarter, while Cotton and his friends went to work. When Cotton wasn’t scoring, he was usually finding an open teammate cutting to the basket. He had 12 rebounds and three assists in addition to his 33 points on 12-of-17 field-goal shooting and six-of-nine three-point shooting.

“Coach told us before the game, one guy can’t beat five people,” Cotton said. “Everybody had to step up and they did.”

Cotton said he didn’t mind getting double- and triple-teamed throughout the second half. “It’s tough to shoot with two and three people on you, but you have to keep it in perspective,” he said.

Marbury said it is hard to put Cotton’s talent into perspective.

“He’s a great player,” Marbury said. “He plays 99%. If he’ll play 110%, he’ll be the best in the country. He’s the best sophomore I’ve ever seen. He does everything.”

Unlike Thursday’s semifinal victory over Queens (N.Y.) Christ the King, Cotton didn’t have to do everything. Shaun Jackson scored 18 points and grabbed three rebounds, Clay McKnight had 16 points, seven assists and six rebounds, point guard Kevin Augustine had 11 points and nine assists and Mike Waugh added eight points and three rebounds. McKnight and Jackson joined Cotton on the all-tournament team.

“We stepped up to the level of the competition and we were able to finish against a top-10 team,” Gary McKnight said.

Mater Dei, ranked fourth in the country by USA Today, improved to 16-1; Lincoln, ranked seventh, is 9-1.