It was a raucous night at Mater Dei High School Tuesday as the Mater Dei Monarchs defeated the Loyola Cubs 75-63 to advance to the CIF Semifinals against Bullard (Fresno) on Saturday. The game got off to a frenetic pace with both teams pushing the ball up and down the floor.

The UCLA Bruins basketball team shrugged off the recent controversy surrounding the state of the program to defeat the conference leading Washington Huskies 75-69 at Pauley Pavilion last Saturday. Amid the media storm, head coach Ben Howland’s job security has never been more tenuous. Rest assured, if the Bruins were making Final Fours like they used to under Howland, there would be no controversy.

"They battle, they get after it. Their guards are very good," said Head Coach Gary McKnight of Loyola's Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Jacob Hazzard. Jackson-Cartwright nearly sealed the deal for the Cubs, however, Mater Dei's combo of senior center Xavier Johnson and sophomore forward Stanley Johnson put the clamps on Loyola's efforts.

Taft High School put in work tonight at Cal State Dominguez Hills. The LA City Section Division I Final Four got off to a hot start, as the Taft Toreadors jumped all over Crenshaw High School in the opening minutes. Taft was able to build an early lead over Crenshaw, and led 31-13 with 4:28 left in the second period.