PREP BASKETBALL REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES : Estancia No Match for Morningside : Division III: The teams played an overtime game last week, but this time Monarchs dominate Eagles, 84-67.

LOS ANGELES — This time there was no doubt. From one end of the court to the other, from the opening tip to the final buzzer, Inglewood Morningside dominated Estancia Saturday.

A week after laboring to an overtime victory over Estancia, the Monarchs made short work of the Eagles in the Southern California Regional Division III boys’ basketball championship game. They scored early and often, then weathered a comeback attempt for an 84-67 victory and a berth in the State Division III championship game next Saturday in Sacramento.

“The better team won this one,” Estancia Coach Tim O’Brien said. “We just lost to a team that was bigger, quicker, stronger and faster.”

Last Saturday, the Eagles were a match for the Monarchs in the Southern Section III-AA title game. They took them to overtime before losing, 95-85.

One week later, it was the same Estancia team again playing in the Sports Arena. The stakes were just as big, if not bigger.

But that was where the similarities ended.

Morningside (24-6) took control in the second quarter and led by as many as 18 points before Estancia (25-8) rallied.

The Eagles closed to within 62-58 on a layup by Matt Fuerbringer with 4 minutes 48 seconds left.

Fuerbringer, a 6-foot-7 center, had fouled out in the first meeting, but this time he led the comeback. He scored 10 of his game-high 26 points in the third quarter.

But his dunks and twisting layups weren’t enough. Fatigue and the Monarchs’ relentless pressure took a toll.

Morningside got its glide-and-fly offense airborne again. An 11-1 surge ended any thoughts of a comeback.

“We had to turn it into a street game, it was the only way to get back in it,” O’Brien said. “We showed we had heart in the third quarter. We just ran out of gas.”

The Monarchs’ press, which badgered the Eagles base line-to-base line throughout the game, was responsible. Estancia committed 26 turnovers, many of which were turned into points.

Particularly devastating was a 12-2 run in the second quarter. Estancia turned the ball over six times during that four-minute span; three of them resulted in baskets.

Also during that time, Jim Faulkner, Estancia’s second-leading scorer, picked up his third and fourth fouls. He fouled out in the third quarter after scoring only four points.

Morningside led, 34-22, at halftime.

“The second quarter was one of life’s most embarrassing moments,” O’Brien said. “It was something that every coach dreads. We couldn’t make a pass, we couldn’t get the ball up court and we were in foul trouble.”

The Eagles’ main problem on defense was finding a way to contain Stais Boseman. He had scored 27 points in last week’s victory and finished with 25 Saturday.

Estancia did manage to deny the 6-foot-4 Boseman those easy dunks that had been so devastating in the first meeting. In fact, three times in the first half, Boseman was fouled hard when attempting one.

The last one, a full tackle by Joe Edson on a breakaway, got the point across.

“Boy, he really nailed me,” Boseman said. “It was obvious they didn’t want me to have any dunks, so I had to do other things.”

Such as the two three-pointers he made in the second quarter. And six steals. And the pump fakes inside that sent him to the foul line; he made nine of 13 free throws.

But he was far from a one-man show. The Monarchs had five players score in double figures, including Dwight Curry (15 points) and Pauliasi Taulava (14 points).

“This loss is a little easier to take,” Fuerbringer said. “They really beat us this time.”