HIGH SCHOOL BOYS’ BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Monte Vista Makes Things Perfectly Awful for Mt. Miguel

Mt. Miguel needed the perfect game.

It would take nothing less for the Matadors to defeat a Monte Vista team in the midst of playing its best basketball of the season. Mt. Miguel was already without point guard Domingo Rivera, who suffered a deep bruise to his right thigh to end his season, and now the Matadors were facing a team that featured one of the top big men in the county.

And the game was perfect for Mt. Miguel (12-8, 2-4). Perfectly awful.

Monte Vista outscored Mt. Miguel, 20-4, to start the game and rolled to an 81-60 Grossmont 3-A League victory at Mt. Miguel. The victory assured Monte Vista (14-6, 6-0) of at least a tie for its second consecutive league title.

Monte Vista center Joe McNaull, who has already signed a letter of intent to play at San Diego State next year, scored the Monarchs’ first two baskets. Shannon LeFever, who finished with 31 points, answered with a scoring drive inside to make the score 4-2.

But Monte Vista went on a 16-2 run and led, 20-4, with just five minutes gone in the first quarter.

McNaull got two fouls in the first half and played just 10 1/2 minutes. But the 6-foot-10 center still scored nine points, had seven rebounds and three blocked shots during that span.

Monte Vista led, 41-29, at halftime behind 21 points from Jeff Polinsky. The league’s leading scorer finished with 34 points. McNaull had 20, points, 20 rebounds and three blocks.