LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – It’s time for the “best vs. the best” with the release of the bracketing in the Northern and Southern Regionals of the California State championships Sunday afternoon.
And, not surprisingly, the CIF Southern Section’s Open Division dominated the seeding in the South.
The South’s eight-team Open Division’s first four seeds come from the Southern Section, with champion Bishop Montgomery followed by runner-up Mater Dei, and Sierra Canyon and Chino Hills, which lost in the semifinals.
The top six seeds in Division I are also from the Southern Section’s Open Division, as are its No. 8 (Long Beach Poly) and 10 (Oak Park) seeds.
The other four Southern Section Open squads (Alemany, Esperanza, Crossroads and Heritage Christian) grabbed the top four seeds in Division II.
Divisions I thru V (each made up of 16 teams) in the South begin on Wednesday night, with the four Open games tipping off Friday night.
Second-round (quarterfinal) games in the non-Open divisions are set for Saturday night with all of the semifinals on tap for March 14.
Each of the championship games will be played on March 18, with the Open and Division I games in the Long Beach State Pyramid and the others at the sites of the highest remaining seeds.
The Ethan Thompson-led victory over Mater Dei Saturday night in the Honda Center in Anaheim gave Bishop Montgomery its second SS Open title in three years and the No. 1 seed in the Regional Open division.
Here’s the road to Sacramento (and the State Open Championship game) the Doug Mitchell-coached Knights will likely have to navigate: A Friday game against San Diego Open runner-up Torrey Pines; a March 14 semifinal vs. Chino Hills or L.A. City Open champion Birmingham; and a March 18 rematch with Mater Dei or Sierra Canyon (which Bishop Montgomery beat on Feb. 24 in the Galen Center).
Yep – tough sledding, indeed.
Here’s the updated BurlisonOnTop 25 teams (Southern California):
- Torrance Bishop Montgomery/Southern Section Open (2) 27-2
Next up: Friday, Open, vs. No. 14 Torrey Pines, 7 p.m.
Frank Says: Two stunning fourth quarters, vs. Sierra Canyon and Mater Dei, over the past two games propelled the Knights to a Southern Section title and the top seed in the State Southern Regional Open bracket.
- Santa Ana Mater Dei/SS Open (1) 31-2
Next up: Friday, Open, vs. No. 11Westchester, 7 p.m.
Frank Says: Things just sort of fell apart for the Monarchs over the final five minutes Saturday night in the Honda Center.
- Chino Hills/SS Open (3) 29-2
Next up: Friday, Open, vs. No. 5 Birmingham (SITE TBD), 7 p.m.
Frank Says: The Huskies will have had two weeks to get their legs – and jump shooting eyes – back into shape for the Open playoffs.
- Chatsworth Sierra Canyon/SS Open (4) 27-2
Next up: Friday, Open, vs. No. 9 St. Augustine, 7 p.m.
Frank Says: Assistant Coach Andre Chevalier will be handling “in-game decisions” for head honcho Ty Nichols in the State playoffs.
- Lake Balboa Birmingham/L.A. City Open (5) 27-3
Next up: Friday, Open, vs. No. 3 Chino Hills (SITE TBD), 7 p.m.
Frank Says: The Patriots held off spirited rallies from Taft and Westchester in the fourth quarters of the semifinals and final to win their first-ever L.A. City crown.
- La Verne Damien/SS Open (6) 29-4
Next up: Wednesday, D-I, vs. Fresno Central, 7 p.m.
Frank Says: There isn’t a better collection of jump shooters on any team in Southern California.
- RSM Santa Margarita/SS Open (7) 21-8
Next up: Wednesday, D-I, vs. No. 25 Vista, 7 p.m.
Frank Says: As a reminder, the Eagles came oh-so-close – an Adrease Jackson 3 that rimmed in and out at the buzzer – of sending their second-round Southern Section game with eventual champion Bishop Montgomery into OT.
- Eastvale Roosevelt/SS Open (8) 21-8
Next up: Wednesday, D-I, vs. Woodland Hills El Camino Real, 7 p.m.
Frank Says: The trip to the Southern Section Open consolation final with Damien got Roosevelt the No. 2 seed in D-I.
- San Diego St. Augustine/San Diego Open (11) 27-4
Next up: Friday, Open, at No. 4 Sierra Canyon, 7 p.m.
Frank Says: The Saints needed some fortuitous technical foul calls in the closing moments to toppled Foothills Christian in the San Diego Open semifinals.
- El Cajon Foothills Christian/SD Open (12) 24-6
Next up: Wednesday, D-I, vs. No. 17 Oak Park, 7 p.m.
Frank Says: The team will be without head coach Brad Leaf (suspended for one game by following his two technical fouls at the end of the loss to St. Augustine) in its D-I opener.
- Westchester/LAC Open (13) 24-9
Next up: Friday, Open, at No. 2 Mater Dei, 7 p.m.
Frank Says: The programs with the coaches atop the all-time L.A. City (Ed Azzam) and Southern Section (Gary McKnight) most-winning lists hook up once more.
- Corona Centennial/SS Open (10) 24-9
Next up: Wednesday, D-I, vs. No. 19 Narbonne, 7 p.m.
Frank Says: Two wins could give the Huskies a rematch with the team (Damien) that beat them in the first round of the SS Open playoffs.
- Long Beach Poly/SS Open (15) 22-8
Next up: Wednesday, D-I, vs. No. 15 Fairfax, 7 p.m.
Frank Says: Poly’s Darryl Polk is among the very best junior PGs in SoCal.
- San Diego Torrey Pines/SD Open (16) 28-4
Next up: Friday, Open, at No. 1 Bishop Montgomery, 7 p.m.
Frank Says: Torrey Pines was just four points away from winning San Diego’s Open championship Saturday night.
- Fairfax/LAC Open (9) 25-5
Next up: Wednesday, D-I, at No. 13 Long Beach Poly, 7 p.m.
Frank Says: Consecutive L.A. City Open losses dropped Lions from potential State Open to No. 9 seed in D-I.
- Redondo Beach Redondo Union/SS Open (14) 25-6
Next up: Wednesday, D-I, vs. Bakersfield Ridgeview, 7 p.m.
Frank Says: The Sea Hawks face a team with two future college players in forwards Jordan Roberts (Long Beach State) and Justin McCall (Cal State Bakersfield).
- Oak Park/SS Open (17) 22-8
Next up: Wednesday, D-I, at No. 10 Foothills Christian, 7 p.m.
Frank Says: Jaylen Hands & Co. play host to a squad with some of SoCal’s best underclassmen.
- Woodland Hills Taft/LAC Open (18) 25-10
Next up: Wednesday, D-I, vs. No. 20 JSerra, 7 p.m.
Frank Says: The Toreadors, at No. 3 in D-I, were seeded above two teams they lost to in the regular season (No.’s 6 Santa Margarita and 11 Vista).
- Harbor City Narbonne/LAC Open (19) 25-8
Next up: Wednesday, D-I, at No. 12 Centennial, 7 p.m.
Frank Says: Five of Narbonne’s eight losses were by margins of four or less points.
- SJC JSerra/SS Open (20) 18-11
Next up: Wednesday, D-I, at No. 18 Taft, 7 p.m.
Frank Says: Two of the better junior posts in SoCal will hook up in this one, Joel Mensah (JSerra) and Antwan January (Taft).
- Mission Hills Alemany/SS Open (21) 24-5
Next up: Wednesday, D-II, vs. Bakersfield Independence, 7 p.m.
Frank Says: The Warriors earned top seed in this division based upon being the highest seed among the Southern Section Open teams to go 0-2.
- Northridge Heritage Christian/SS Open (22) 20-9
Next up: Wednesday, D-II, vs. Pasadena, 7 p.m.
Frank Says: Here’s a nice 1-on-1 showdown in this one: junior Bryce Hamilton of Pasadena vs. Cal-bound Juhwan Harris-Dyson of Heritage Christian.
- Anaheim Esperanza/SS Open (23) 25-3
Next up: Wednesday, D-II, vs. L.A. Dorsey, 7 p.m.
Frank Says: This game pits teams that went 0-2 in their respective SS and L.A. City Open divisions.
- Santa Monica Crossroads/SS Open (24) 18-10
Next up: Wednesday, D-II, vs. L.A. Crenshaw, 7 p.m.
Frank Says: Ira Lee & Co. hook up with the L.A. City D-1 champion.
- Vista/SD Open (25) 26-4
Next up: Wednesday, D-I, at No. 7 Santa Margarita, 7 p.m.
Frank Says: A year from now these same programs could be battling in the Open Division.
Next 10 (alpha): Colony 27-5; Etiwanda 21-12; Harvard-Westlake 21-11; La Canada 25-5; La Jolla Country Day 20-9; Los Alamitos 22-7; Maranatha 18-10; Rancho Verde 26-3; Pasadena 23-7 and Santa Monica 22-8.
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