St. Bernard falls short in loss to Mater Dei

PLAYA DEL REY >>St. Bernard's Tyler Rolison had already made his mark in Thursday's CIF SoCal Regional Division I secondround game against Mater Dei, so it was fitting that with a chance to send the game to overtime he was the one to take the shot.

However, unlike so many times earlier in the game, Rolison's game-tying attempt was off the mark, allowing Mater Dei a chance to exhale with a 69-66 win.

Fifth-seeded Mater Dei (29-6) will face top-seeded Notre Dame in Saturday's regional semifinal.

Rolison finished with a game-high 28 points, but it was his third-quarter outburst that saw fourthseeded St. Bernard (22-8) trim a 13-point deficit to five heading into the fourth quarter.

“I just had to rearrange (my game). I knew I was going to be (Mater Dei's) main focus so I had to get my teammates involved and get them the ball to try to open the floor,” Rolison said. “In the third, I had to find my own shot and it opened up the floor.”

Rolison scored just two points in the first, but with the Vikings trailing by double-digits after Zack Davidson converted a three-point play with 2:22 to play in the third, Rolison took over.

He began the stretch with a scoop layup before hitting three 3-pointers, including one to beat the buzzer to end the third quarter to make it a 53-48 game.

“I've coached a lot of great players and (Rolison) has something special,” St. Bernard coach Tony Bland said. “He's a two-time (Del Rey League) Player of the Year and a CIF Player of the Year. This kid is special.”

Mater Dei tried to find ways to slow Rolison in the fourth, sending double teams at the senior guard in order to make other Vikings step up.

Keoni Kama hit a 3-pointer to make it a 65-61 game with 1:37 to play, but down the stretch, the ball found its way into the sure hands of Rolison. He hit a 3-pointer from the wing with 33 seconds to play to make it a 67-64 game.

Mater Dei's Brandon Martinsen hit one of two free throws to give the Monarchs a four-point edge before Rolison hit both of his free throws with 5.7 seconds left, making it a 6866 game.

“(Every possession) was big,” Rolison said. “We needed every stop, and if we didn't score they couldn't score.

Davidson converted one of his two free throws with 4.5 seconds to play, allowing Bland to call a timeout to discuss the game-tying play.

“Going into the last play on the bench, (Rolison) was the positive one and said `we're going to win this game',” Bland said. “He almost tied it to take it to overtime. He has the heart of a lion.”

Martinsen scored 9 of his 15 points in the second, and in the third, the Monarchs continued to utilize quick passing and sharpshooting behind Luke Barnett, who scored 11 of his team-high 25 in the third. Davidson finished with 16 points.

Kendyl Sanders had 10 points, seven rebounds and two steals, and James McCallum added 10 points for St. Bernard. Tajh Ariza had 6, and Ray King added 5.

While Rolison said Mater Dei was the better team on Thursday, Bland saw a team with a championship-pedigree against a team with the drive to be on that level.

“We just ran into a team that is accustomed to winning big games in hostile environments, and they're championship proven.”