The marquee attraction of the Southern Regional basketball playoffs has been one that’s been anticipated since the season tipped off in December.

At 8 p.m. Saturday at USC’s Galen Center, a packed house will watch the state’s top two ranked teams in Mater Dei and Westchester high schools square off for the right to play in next week State Division I championship game in Bakersfield.

Mater (32-1) enters the game ranked fourth nationally, while Westchester (30-3) is sixth in the nation in maxpreps.com’s weekly poll.
As Monarch coach Gary McKnight said, “This is a classic matchup.”

Each team got here by knocking off quality competition.

The Monarchs edged City Section Division I runner-up Taft, 75-73 in the regional semis. Westchester had to come from behind to defeat Long Beach Poly, 67-53 in the semis.

Both teams are loaded with major college talent.

Mater Dei, the top seed in the regional, features 6-foot-5 guard Tyler Lamb, a UCLA commit averaging 18.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, 6-3 guard Gary Franklin, a future California Golden Bear averaging 17.3 points per game, and 6-6 Keala King, a 6-6 Arizona State commit averaging 16.4. King is a transfer from Dominguez.

Westchester, which won the City Section Division I title, boasts its own future college stars in 6-6 Dwayne Polee, 6-2 Jordin Mayes and 6-4 Kareem Jamar. Polee, who reopened the recruiting process after de-commiting from USC, is considering UNLV, Georgia, Washington, Oregon and Arizona, according to rivals.com Mayes has verballed to Arizona, Jamar to Montana.

This will be the first meeting between the two programs since Mater Dei edged the Comets, 91-89 in double overtime during the 2006 Nike Extravaganza. Prior to that, Mater Dei defeated Westchester, 72-64 in the 2000 regional semifinals.

Division III final
Serra vs. Centennial
Two weeks after losing to Serra in the Southern Section Division III-A title game, Centennial gets a chance for revenge.

The stakes are even higher this time around since a trip to next week’s State Division III title game rests on Saturday’s noon regional finals outcome. Serra defeated Centennial, 62-58 in the section final at Honda Center.

Top-seeded Serra (33-2) advanced with a 50-45 victory over Ocean View at El Camino College, while Centennial (28-6) earned its way into the final with an 83-77 victory over Gahr.

Against Ocean View, Craig Carter’s 3-point basket with 40 seconds left broke a tie and sent the Cavaliers on their way to victory. Keith Shamburger’s free throw tied the score.

Marqise Lee had 15 points and Shamburger had 12 for Serra.

Centennial got 34 points from Deonte Burton against Gahr. Burton was a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line and hit three 3-point baskets.

Kurt Davis had 17 points, while David Turner and Keith Smith added six each for the Apaches.

Centennial was 25-for-28 from the foul line.

Division II final
Compton vs. S.D. Lincoln
Underdog Compton (21-13) continues its amazing run through the Division II regionals and needs a victory over second-seeded San Diego Lincoln (27-2) at 4 p.m. Saturday at Galen to advance to the state final. The Tarbabes already have a victory over a higher seed, having stunned No. 1 Eisenhower, 64-61 in the semifinals Saturday.

Lincoln, which advanced with an 81-45 rout of Pasadena, will be another formidable challenge for Compton.

The Hornets have a solid guard duo in 6-3 junior Norman Powell, averaging 19.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.9 steals per game, and 6-4 freshman Tyree Robinson, averaging 9.7 points and 2.9 assists per game. Six-six Victor Dean, who averages 14.3 points and 8.0 rebounds, is the inside threat.

Compton’s main weapons are 6-5 senior Cliff Sims Jr., who averages 17.3 points, and 5-9 junior Allan Guei, averaging 15.4. Anthony January, a 6-6 sophomore, averages 14.5 points per game.