The bulk of the SoCal Top 15 is a “private” club

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LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – Only three public high school programs are in the updated BurlisonOnBasketball Southern California boys’ ratings.

Corona Centennial, following a 33-point beatdown of the defending top-division, state-champion from Arizona Saturday in Phoenix, maintains the top spot it will likely hold on to until the Huskies are beaten by a Southern California-based program.

The other two public-school programs in the Top 15 are No. 7 Riverside Poly and No. 15 Ontario Colony.

Damien (now No. 3) and Harvard-Westlake (4) swapped spots in the Top 15 after Harvard-Westlake suffered its first loss (to Mountain Pointe in the same Hoophall Classic Centennial and Sierra Canyon played in last week) and Damien – as R.J. Smith (pictured) picked up his second tourney Most Valuable Player honor of the season – handled Fairmont Prep and host St. John Bosco on consecutive nights to capture the Bosco Winter Classic.

As Christmas approaches, there are three western-based tournaments that will include many of the better teams in Southern California.

*The high school element of the Tarkanian Classic gets underway on Friday (“prep school” and “academy” teams begin their competition on Wednesday) at Bishop Gorman High and surrounding Las Vegas sites.

Besides the host Gaels and the three other top teams in the Las Vegas area (Coronado, Durango and Liberty), the 16-squad, Platinum Division includes No. 5 Playa del Rey St. Bernard, as well as another CIF Southern Section Open Division candidate in West Ranch.

San Diego’s best team, St. Augustine, opens against Liberty Friday night (9:25) in what could be the most compelling first-round contest in the bracket.

Irvine’s Crean Lutheran (No. 11) is in the Gold Division, as are Santa Monica Crossroads, JSerra and Fountain Valley.

And Capistrano Valley Christian (No. 12) is a solid “favorite” in the Orleans Select Division.

All off the championship games will be played on the Bishop Gorman High campus on Dec. 21.

*Gardena High of Serra will play host Dwan Hurt Holiday Classic (named in honored of the school’s late graduate and long-time coach), beginning Saturday and concluding with the championship game on Dec. 23.

Among the teams joining the host Cavaliers are Beverly Hills, Fairfax, Long Beach Poly and St. Paul.

*And, up the coast in San Luis Obispo, Mission Prep will play host to its Christmas Holiday Classic.

It’s the best field that event has had in a while, and includes CIF SS Open candidates Bishop Montgomery and Heritage Christian, central California standout teams Clovis West and Clovis North and Santa Maria St. Joseph.

 

The SoCal Top 15

1. Corona Centennial

Big VIII/CIF Southern Section D-1

W-L: 6-1

Next up: Hoophall Central/Sioux Falls, SD. Friday: vs. Fridley (MN) Totino-Grace; Saturday: vs. Bellevue (NE) West.

2. Chatsworth Sierra Canyon

Gold Coast/SS D-1

W-L: 9-1

Next up: Honolulu Iolani Classic. Saturday: vs. Honolulu Punahou.

3. La Verne Damien

Baseline/SS D-1

W-L: 12-0

Next up: Dec. 21: vs. Temecula Valley.

4. Studio City Harvard-Westlake

Mission/SS D-1

W-L: 10-1

Next up: Thursday: vs. West Ranch. Saturday: vs. Long Beach St. Anthony.

5. Playa del Rey St. Bernard

Del Rey/SS D-1

W-L: 8-0

Next up: Tarkanian Classic at Las Vegas Bishop Gorman High. Friday: vs. Orlando (FL) Oak Ridge.

6. Santa Ana Mater Dei

Trinity/SS D-1

W-L: 6-1

Next up: Boca Raton (FL) Tournament. Friday: vs. Ft. Lauderdale Dillard. Saturday: vs. Fresh Meadows (NY) St. Francis Prep.

7. Riverside Poly

Ivy/SS D-1

W-L: 9-1

Next up: Friday: vs. Riverside Martin Luther King.

8. Bellflower St. John Bosco

Trinity/SS D-1

W-L: 8-2

Next up: Friday: at Santa Barbara. Saturday: at Dos Pueblos.

9. San Pedro Rolling Hills Prep

Coastal/SS D-1

W-L: 7-0

Up next: Wednesday: at L.A. Hamilton. Friday: at LACES.

10. Torrance Bishop Montgomery

Del Rey/SS D-1

W-L: 7-1

Next up: Mission Prep Tournament. Saturday: vs. Santa Rosa Cardinal Newman.

11. Irvine Crean Lutheran

Empire/SS D-1

W-L: 3-0

Next up: Tarkanian Classic at Las Vegas Bishop Gorman High. Friday: vs. Las Vegas Desert Pines.

12. SJC Capistrano Valley Christian

San Joaquin/SS D-2AA

W-L: 9-0

Next up: Tarkanian Classic at Las Vegas Spring Valley High. Friday: vs. Chandler Prep (AZ).

13. Anaheim Fairmont Prep

San Joaquin/SS D-1

W-L: 6-2

Next up: Saturday: vs. Redondo Union.

14. RSM Santa Margarita

Trinity/SS D-1

W-L: 9-0

Next up: Saturday: at San Gabriel Academy.

15. Ontario Colony

Palomares/SS D-1

W-L: 7-0

Next up: Dec. 20: vs. West Torrance.

Next up: (alpha) Anaheim Canyon; Colony; Crossroads; Etiwanda; Fairfax; Heritage Christian; Los Altos; Sherman Oaks Notre Dame; SJC JSerra; Gardena Serra; St. Anthony; St. Francis; St. Paul; Taft; and West Ranch.