Mater Dei's Luke Barnett hits clutch shots to edge St. John Bosco in Trinity League victory

Mater Dei beats St. John Bosco for the second time this season thanks to Luke Barnett's clutch shots down the stretch

SANTA ANA - The Mater Dei boys basketball team was clinging onto a small two-point lead with 90 seconds to play before Luke Barnett nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Monarchs a 72-66 Trinity League victory over St. John Bosco at home Tuesday night.

Barnett's first 3-pointer came with two seconds left on the shot clock and the second came on a fast break with a 3-on-1 advantage. Monarchs made 14 of 20 shots from beyond the arc.

Blake Davidson had a block sandwiched in between the treys to help anchor the win and put Mater Dei (25-2) in the driver's seat for the league title, which can be clinched with a win over Santa Margarita on Thursday.

Mater Dei star sophomore Brannon Martinsen did not play in the second half after sustaining a right leg injury in the second quarter.

Barnett finished with 21 points, including six 3-pointers, Davidson added 13 points and Owen Verna had 13 for the Monarchs. St. John Bosco (22-5) was led by Brandon McCoy's 26 points and Elzie Harrington's 24 points. The two combined for all by six points for the Braves in the second half.

Mater Dei began the second quarter with an 11-0 run and led by as many as 18 (38-20) in the first half en route to a 40-28 halftime advantage. The Monarchs made eight 3-pointers in the first half. Verna and Barnett each made three 3s.

St. John Bosco got to within 45-37 after a McCoy 3-pointer, but Scotty Belnap hit a corner 3 to put the lead back to 11. Later in the fourth quarter, the Braves

OTHER SCORES, JAN. 30

JSerra 49, Santa Margarita 32: Lions clinch third place in the Trinity League. Aidan Fowler had 12 points in a defensive game.

Crespi 68, St. Francis 54: The Celts will play at Sierra Canyon in the Mission League tournament semifinal Wednesday night. Joe Sterling led the way with 19 points. Mazi Mosley scored 17 points for St. Francis.

Harvard-Westlake 70, Alemany 33: Wolverines advance to play at Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks in the Mission League tournament semifinals Wednesday night. Robert Hinton had 14 points.

Damien 62, Rancho Cucamonga 38: Xavier Clinton had 21 points with five 3s and Nate Garcia added 20 points in the Baseline League win.

Heritage Christian 69, Village Christian 60: Warriors go undefeated in the Olympic League and give coach Paul Tait his 200th career victory.

Westlake 79, Newbury Park 36: Austin Maziasz scored 29 points.

Thousand Oaks 70, Agoura 53: Elias Chin notched 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists to become the program’s all-time leader in rebounds and assists.