LAGUNA NIGUEL, CA – The “23” portion of the “2022-23” Southern California high school boys’ basketball season tips off this week.
And several games whose results could prove significant for both the selections and seeding of the eight-team pool for the CIF Southern Section’s Open Division playoff field are among the games being played.
Two of those games are Trinity League clashes.
And five others are part of four Saturday “showcase” events across Southern California.
And Mater Dei, No. 6 in the updated BurlisonOnBasketball SoCal ratings, is involved in three key clashes.
*Wednesday night, at 7 o’clock, the Monarchs travel to some of the deepest territory in Orange County when they visit No. 12 JSerra in San Juan Capistrano.
*Forty-eight hours later they’ll be in Santa Ana to play host to No. 11 St. John Bosco.
*And 4:30 Saturday afternoon, they face Akron (OH) St. Vincent-St. Mary’s (8-1), LeBron James’ alma mater, in a multi-game event “The Chosen Ones” at USC’s Galen Center.
*Sierra Canyon – with senior Bronny James’ and his social media status being the hook for so many of the events the Trailblazers have played in – takes on Marietta (GA) Wheeler in the finale in the Galen Center Saturday.
It’s key for Coach Andre Chevalier’s CIF SS Open status because Wheeler is one of the three non-California squads that have knocked off No. 1 Centennial.
*And the Centennial Huskies – with a collective margin of defeat of eight points to Duncanville (TX), Wheeler and Ramsey (NJ) Bosco Tech – face their first CIF Southern Open Division contender Saturday night (7) at Cerritos College vs. No. 10 Notre Dame in “The Elite Invitational”.
*No. 4 West Ranch takes on No. 8 Etiwanda, Saturday at 7 o’clock at Pasadena City College, during the “SoCal Showdown”.
It’s a rapid-fire “rematch” of the fifth-place contest – won by West Ranch, 61-52 – in the Platinum Division of The Classic at Damien Friday afternoon.
*But the most significant of this week’s games is set for Saturday night, 7 o’clock, during the “Take Flight Challenge” at Redondo Union High.
That’s when No.’s 2 and 3 teams in California – Harvard-Westlake and Bishop Montgomery – hook up.
The Wolverines were tagged with their initial loss Friday night at Damien High when the fell to Henderson (NV) Liberty, 59-56, in the title game of The Classic at Damien’s Platinum Division.
The Knights’ November-December schedule wasn’t nearly as challenging as the bulk of the other CIF SS Open contenders, with just two of their victories (two-point decisions to Newport Pacifica Christian and Santa Maria St. Joseph during the Mission Prep Christmas Classic in San Luis Obispo) coming by margins of fewer than 14 points.
Both programs were in the CIF SS and Southern Regional Open playoffs last season but didn’t cross paths.
Bishop Montgomery has an all-senior starting lineup while the Wolverines start just two players from the Class of 2023, including Notre Dame-bound forward Brady Dunlap (pictured).
SoCal Top 20
(Records thru games of 2022)
- Corona Centennial (CIF SS D-1) 11-3
Next up: Tuesday, at Riverside Martin Luther King, 7 p.m.
- Studio City Harvard-Westlake (D-1) 16-1
Next up: Friday, vs. Alemany, 7 p.m.
- Torrance Bishop Montgomery (D-1) 17-0
Next up: Wednesday, vs. Serra, 7 p.m.
- Valencia West Ranch (D-1) 15-1
Next up: Tuesday, vs. Hart, 6:30 p.m.
- Chatsworth Sierra Canyon (D-1) 13-3
Next up: Wednesday, vs. Valencia, 6:30 p.m.
- Santa Ana Mater Dei (D-1) 12-2
Next up: Wednesday, at JSerra, 6:30 p.m.
- Temecula Rancho Christian (D-2A) 7-8
Next up: Thursday, vs. Elsinore, 6:15 p.m.
- Etiwanda (D-1) 11-3
Next up: Friday, vs. Chino Hills, 6:30 p.m.
- Playa del Rey St. Bernard (D-1) 13-4
Next up: Friday, at St. Paul, 7 p.m.
- Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (D-1) 9-6
Next up: Tuesday, vs. St. Monica, 7 p.m.
- Bellflower St. John Bosco (D-1) 14-3
Next up: Wednesday, at Servite, 7:30 p.m.
- SJC JSerra (D-1) 13-3
Next up: Wednesday, vs. Mater Dei, 7 p.m.
- RSM Santa Margarita (D-1) 14-3
Next up: Wednesday, at Orange Lutheran, 7:30 p.m.
- Sun Valley Village Christian (D-1) 13-3
Next up: Tuesday, vs. Maranatha, 7 p.m.
- Campbell Hall (D-2AA) 10-5
Next up: Tuesday, at Crossroads, 7 p.m.
- La Mirada (D-2A) 13-6
Next up: Wednesday, at Paramount, 7 p.m.
- Windward (D-2AA) 12-5
Next up: Friday, vs. Viewpoint, 7 p.m.
- Rancho Cucamonga (D-2AA) 14-3
Next up: Friday, vs. Los Osos, 6:30 p.m.
- Manhattan Beach Mira Costa (D-1) 16-1
Next up: Tuesday, at Palos Verdes, 7 p.m.
- Eastvale Roosevelt (D-1) 12-4
Next up: Tuesday, at Corona, 7:15 p.m.
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