No. 1 Oak Hill proves it is top dog against Mater Dei

Victoria Sun

Friday, Dec. 22, 2000 | 9:37 a.m.

If there was any doubt whether Oak Hill Academy is the best high school basketball team in the country, it was erased before a packed gymnasium at Green Valley High School Thursday night.

In the Millennium Cup bracket final of the Powerade Holiday Prep Classic, the Warriors preserved their undefeated record with a convincing 66-55 win over Mater Dei.

Oak Hill Academy (13-0) entered the week as the No. 1-ranked team by USA Today while Mater Dei (9-1) was No. 3.

"It was a real big game for us," Oak Hill guard Rashaad Carruth said. "That's all we been preparing for all week.

"West Coast players think they're the best a lot, so we had to show what was up."

Carruth, a Kentucky signee, made seven 3-pointers and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. He finished with 25 points while Syracuse signee Billy Edelin contributed 15 for the Warriors.

Mater Dei trimmed an eight-point halftime deficit to four when center Jamal Sampson tipped in a missed shot and Cedric Bozeman followed with an off-balance runner in the lane, but it got no closer.

Following Bozeman's one-handed jumper, Carruth calmly pulled up for a 3-pointer.

Once it was clear Carruth was having a Steve Kerr type of night, Oak Hill coach Steve Smith made sure his team freed up Carruth with more screens and set plays.

"I think if I can hit it, I'm going to shoot it," Carruth said. "My teammates did a good job of getting me the ball."

Cedric Bozeman led Mater Dei with 20 points while Sampson had eight points and 14 rebounds.

Sophomore Wesley Washington came off the bench for the Monarchs and had the most success in slowing Carruth, but by then it was too late.

Every time Mater Dei made a small run, Oak Hill came up with a bigger play. For the night, the Monarchs made only 33.9 percent of their shots compared to the Warriors' 47.1 percent.

Oak Hill was helped inside by the presence of 7-foot center De Sagana Diop and 6-foot-6 Mario Boggan.

Diop grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked nine shots while Boggan scored 10 points and had nine boards.

"We just couldn't get it done," Bozeman said. "We didn't execute.

"We wanted to run more. We were just out of the flow. Every time we made a run they hit a big three."

Mater Dei failed to score on its first four possessions while Oak Hill scored the first six points of the game.

The Monarchs fell behind with poor shooting and could not stop the Warriors from penetrating inside.

"We knew Mater Dei was a good team," Carruth said. "We tried to make them penetrate because we know they have some good shooters.

"If they went inside, we knew they'd be in trouble. I think we earned our No. 1 ranking tonight. In the past, I think it's been given to us because of the players on our team."

Oak Hill led by as many as 10 points early after Boggan hit a jumper from the top of the key to make it 23-13 before Mater Dei responded with a 7-0 run.

"We just wanted to prove how good we are," said Oak Hill's Justin Gray, who had 10 points and five rebounds. "This was their first real test and this is our first really big test.

"We had to stay No. 1. We wanted it."