St. John’s College Prep (Washington D.C.) upset #6 ranked Mater Dei (CA) 54-43 in the quarterfinal round of the 35th Annual Beach Ball Classic.
In the first half, St. John’s (11-0) trailed 7-5 in the opening minutes before going on a 13-2 run to open an 18-9 advantage on Kylia Sykes’ short jumper with 9:29 on the clock. The Cadets would stretch the lead to 26-14 with just 2:14 to play in the opening half but Mater Dei (12-1; Santa Ana, CA) scored the final nine points of the half on three 3-point baskets to close the gap to 26-22 at the break.
Mater Dei cut the lead to just one point at 27-26 on Justice Sueing’s 15-foot jumper just 1:53 into the second half. St. John’s responded with an 11-0 run to take a 38-26 lead on Sykes’ jumper in the lane with 10:06 to play. The Cadets stretched the lead to as many as 16 points late in the contest as they never gave up the double digit advantage.
St. John’s was led by Sykes’ 18 points while Anthony Cowan tallied 16 points. Spencer Freedman paced Mater Dei with 12 points.
