Mater Dei Blasts Ocean View Again : Prep basketball: Balanced scoring gives Monarchs a 74-54 victory, their second in four days over the Seahawks.

ORANGE — Little has changed for the Mater Dei High School boys’ basketball team in the four days that separated victories over Ocean View this week.

Little except, the Monarchs’ balanced scoring.

Reggie Geary scored 16 points and Kamran Sufi added 14 as Mater Dei, ranked seventh in the county, defeated unranked Ocean View, 74-54, Wednesday night in a nonleague game at Chapman College.

The loss was Ocean View’s second in a row to Mater Dei. Saturday, Geary had 30 points and Sufi 16 in the Monarchs’ 79-58 victory in the Tournament of Champions consolation final.

But the Monarchs had more balance in their attack Wednesday night. Geary had an off-night shooting, missing his first four shots. J.J. Ballesteros scored 11 points, Terence Wilborn 10 and Jason Janeski nine to pick up the slack.

“J.J. had the flu but he came off the bench and hit some big shots,” Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight said.

Mater Dei (6-3) raced to a 21-9 first-quarter lead as Ocean View (5-4) committed eight turnovers and made only three of eight shots.

Mater Dei led, 33-23, at halftime and was ahead by as many as 26 points in the second half.

McKnight said he was pleased with his team’s play in the last two lopsided victories, especially after the Monarchs’ three losses have been by a combined four points.

“We need to learn how to win some close ones, too,” he said.

Marcel TenBerge had 21 points and 14 rebounds and Ryan Martin had 12 points for Ocean View.