LAGUNA NIGUEL – Seven formidable clubs – including the No. 2 team in the west – are the challengers standing in the way of Corona Centennial winning a third consecutive CIF Southern Section Open Division title.
Full disclosure: I’m on the Open Division advisory and selection committee.
Coach Josh Giles’ 25-3 team drew the No. 1 seed in the eight-team field that was unveiled by the CIF SS office early Sunday afternoon.
The Huskies are led by three seniors – guard Jared McCain and posts Aaron McBride and Devin Williams – as the core of the program that is 79-6 over the past three seasons and hasn’t lost to a California-based opponent since May 28 of 2021.
That’s the night the Huskies lost at home to Harvard-Westlake (70-65) in the COVID-19 altered schedule for 2020-21.
Giles’ club bounced back from that loss to topple host Sierra Canyon in the sectional finale.
The team that drew the No. 2 seed – and sits atop Pool B?
That would be Harvard-Westlake (28-1), No. 2 in the west, which returns the bulk of the club that lost to the Huskies a year ago in the Open Division finale in Corona.
And the Huskies’ first sectional foe Friday night?
It’s Sierra Canyon, which was dropped by Centennial in the 2022 State Southern Region Open finale.
The game (set to tip at 7 o’clock) will pit two players with massive social media followings in McCain and the Trailblazers’ Bronny James.
More pertinent to what happens on the court Friday, McCain and James are the only Southern California players selected to the McDonald’s All-American team.
Harvard-Westlake – which captured the Mission League that also includes Sierra Canyon and another Open squad, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame – takes a 12-game winning streak into its Friday night game against St. Bernard.
The Vikings, who shared the Del Rey League title with Bishop Montgomery (the No. 4 seed, which plays host to Notre Dame Friday night), are led by dynamic point guard Tyler Rolison, the CIF SS Division I Player of the Year last season after leading his team to the Division I title and helped his advance to the Southern Regional D-1 finale.
In the fourth Open game set for Friday night, West Ranch (27-1) – No. 3 in the updated BurlisonOnBasketball Top 25 SoCal ratings – is at home to No. 6 St. John Bosco (24-4), which won nine of its 10 league games to dethrone Mater Dei as the Trinity League champion.
The Braves’ two wins over the Monarchs helped keep Gary McKnight’s program out of the Open field for the first time in its 10 of the Open’s existence.
Baseline League champion Etiwanda and Mater Dei are the top two seeds in the 29-team Division I bracket (three teams drew Wednesday byes, including Etiwanda) and joined Rancho Christian (sitting atop the 2AA bracket) as the three teams that drew the most consideration Friday with Sierra Canyon for the final spot in the Open field.
As expected, Narbonne – led by one of the 20 or so best players in the national Class of 2023, forward Marcus Adams Jr. (pictured) – is the No. 1 seed in the L.A. City Open’s eight-team bracket.
The Gauchos open, at home, with perennial L.A. City power Westchester Friday night.
PLAYOFF NOTES
*Joining Etiwanda with CIF SS D-1 byes were No.’s 3 Mira Costa and 5 Anaheim Canyon.
*The best of the Wednesday opening-round games (IMO): Heritage Christian at Foothill; Dominguez at Roosevelt; Brentwood at Fairmont Prep; Santa Margarita at Los Alamitos; and St. Francis at Oak Park.
*Cool Trivia: Roosevelt Coach Steve Singleton was the interim head coach at Dominguez during the 2020-21 season, when the Tyson Chandler-led Dons were the State Division II champions.
*Toughest league? The Mission has three teams in the Open Division.
The Trinity has just one Open team (St. John Bosco) but also have the No.’s 2 (Mater Dei), 4 (JSerra) and 9 (Santa Margarita) seeds in Division I plus the No. 6 (Orange Lutheran) in 2AA.
*Thirty-one programs that were in the Dec. 26-30 Classic at Damien are among the top eight seeds in their respectively playoff pools.
Among them are top seeds Etiwanda (CIF SS D-1), Rancho Christian (2AA), Paraclete (3A), St. Pius X/St. Matthias (3AA), Leuzinger (4A), Valencia (4AA), Narbonne (L.A. City Open) and Rancho Dominguez (L.A. City D-2).
Updated SoCal Top 26
(Records as of Feb. 4)
- Corona Centennial (CIF SS Open) 25-3
Next Up: Friday, vs. No. 8 Sierra Canyon, 7 p.m.
- Studio City Harvard-Westlake (Open) 28-1
Next Up: Friday, vs. No. 7 St. Bernard, 7 p.m.
- Valencia West Ranch (Open) 27-1
Next Up: Friday, vs. No. 6 St. John Bosco, 7 p.m.
- Torrance Bishop Montgomery (Open) 25-2
Next Up: Friday, vs. No. 5 Notre Dame, 7 p.m.
- Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (Open) 20-9
Next Up: Friday, at No. 4 Bishop Montgomery, 7 p.m.
- Bellflower St. John Bosco (Open) 24-4
Next Up: Friday, at No. 3 West Ranch, 7 p.m.
- Playa del Rey St. Bernard (Open) 20-5
Next Up: Friday, at No. 2 Harvard-Westlake, 7 p.m.
- Chatsworth Sierra Canyon (Open) 20-7
Next Up: Friday, at No. 1 Centennial, 7 p.m.
- Etiwanda (SS D-1) 22-4
Next Up: Friday, vs. St. Francis or Oak Park, 7 p.m.
- Santa Ana Mater Dei (SS D-1) 22-6
Next Up: Wednesday, vs. Long Beach Poly, 7 p.m.
- Temecula Rancho Christian (SS 2-A) 18-10
Next Up: Wednesday, vs. Norco, 7 p.m.
- Eastvale Roosevelt (SS D-1) 22-6
Next Up: Wednesday, vs. Dominguez, 7 p.m.
- Manhattan Beach Mira Costa (SS D-1) 25-2
Next Up: Friday, vs. Brentwood or Fairmont Prep, 7 p.m.
- SJC JSerra (SS D-1) 20-8
Next Up: Wednesday, at Great Oak, 7 p.m.
- Orange Lutheran (SS 2-AA) 16-10
Next Up: Wednesday, at Aliso Niguel, 7 p.m.
- La Verne Damien (SS D-1) 24-4
Next Up: Wednesday, vs. St. Anthony, 7 p.m.
- RSM Santa Margarita (SS D-1) 21-8
Next Up: Wednesday, at Los Alamitos, 7 p.m.
- Anaheim Canyon (SS D-1) 23-5
Next Up: Friday, vs. Loyola or Crossroads, 7 p.m.
- Irvine Crean Lutheran (SS D-1) 21-7
Next Up: Wednesday, vs. San Juan Hills, 7 p.m.
- Santa Monica Crossroads (SS D-1) 20-7
Next Up: Wednesday, vs. Loyola, 7 p.m.
- Santa Ana Foothill (SS D-1) 24-4
Next Up: Wednesday, vs. Heritage Christian, 7 p.m.
- Redondo Union (SS 2-A) 18-9
Next up: Wednesday, vs. Bishop Diego, 7 p.m.
- Harbor City Narbonne (L.A. City Open) 17-8
Next Up: Friday, vs. Westchester, 7 p.m.
- San Pedro Rolling Hills Prep (SS D-1) 22-5
Next Up: Wednesday, vs. Cajon, 7 p.m.
- Windward (SS 2-AA) 21-7
Next Up: Wednesday, vs. Trabuco Hills, 7 p.m.
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