Photo Gallery: 2008-09 HS GameTime year-end honorees

Riverside King boys basketball coach Tim Sweeney Jr. knew it wasn't enough for his team to want to compete with Santa Ana Mater Dei.

"Ninety-nine out of 100 teams who play Mater Dei are beat before the game starts because they just want to compete," Sweeney said. "To have any chance against Mater Dei, that team has to believe they can win."

Sweeney's determined players had such belief, even though many pundits were predicting their demise to the nation's top-ranked team.

King silenced the doubters March 7, when it routed the Monarchs, 71-56, in the CIF-Southern Section Division 1AA title game at Honda Center in Anaheim.

The Wolves had done what 30 other teams before them failed to do: hand Mater Dei its first loss of the season.

"We came here to shock the world. I think we did that," senior J.J. Campbell said following the game.

The victory catapulted the Wolves into the national spotlight, and therefore has been chosen the HS GameTime boys event of the year.

King trailed 35-32 late in the third quarter, but it went on a 15-0 run to take control. And the Wolves didn't let up until the final horn sounded.

"I looked down the court (at Mater Dei's bench) and saw a team whose spirits had been completely broken," Sweeney said. "That doesn't happen very often."

Sweeney said those final 10 minutes were about as perfect as a team could play.

"It was there for us to take," he said. "The passion we had, from myself to my coaching staff to the players, made that victory possible."

King advanced to the CIF-State regional championship for the second straight season, but lost to eventual state champion LA Westchester. The Wolves finished No. 8 in the USA Today national rankings.

Reach Eric-Paul Johnson at 951-368-9530 or ejohnson@PE.com

STORY: Girls event of the year