Wednesday offers a multitude of quality high school basketball viewing options in Southern California.
So where do we start?
*Studio City, where top-ranked – via BurlisonOnBasketball’s SoCal Top 30 – and defending state Open champion Harvard-Westlake (7-0) plays host to No. 13 St. Pius X/St. Matthias (2-0) at 6 o’clock.
*Some five miles west via Ventura Blvd. in Sherman Oaks, another Mission League power is at home at 7 o’clock as No. 7 Notre Dame (5-0) faces visiting and No. 20 Campbell Hall (2-2).
*At Beverly Hills High, Normans’ Coach Jarvis Turner has a Wednesday lineup made up of L.A. Washington Prep (2-0) vs. Bakersfield Centennial (2-1) at 3 o’clock; No. 10 Redondo Union (5-0) against L.A. Price (5-3) at 4:30; No. 27 St. Anthony (7-1) vs. Lynwood (6-2) at 6; and No. 7 Sierra Canyon (5-1) against Crossroads (4-0) at 7:30.
*In Bellflower, the St. John Bosco “Braves’ Varsity Winter Classic” features games between the top seeds in each of its four pools: 3 pm., No. 12 La Mirada (8-1) vs. Hesperia (1-3); 4:30, No. 17 Windward (6-1) vs. No. 22 Rancho Cucamonga (7-1); 6, the No. 2 Braves (5-0) vs. Fairmont Prep (5-1); and 7:30, No. 25 Crean Lutheran (4-2) vs. Long Beach Poly (3-4).
*In an “(west) Orange County vs. Inland Empire” clash between ranked clubs with a combined one loss, No. 15 Los Alamitos (8-1) makes the 605-91-15 tour of the California highway system to visit No. 14 Etiwanda (6-0) at 6:30.
*And, in Newport Beach, No. 11 (and, likely, to climb considerably when I update the ratings) and 8-zip JSerra faces Glendale (AZ) Cactus (3-0) in a 7:30 “Beach Bash” tilt at Corona del Mar High.
Coach Keith Wilkinson’s JSerra Lions are led by University of Colorado-bound Sebastian Rancik (one of the most offensively skilled players, at 6-10, in the national senior class) and Aidan Fowler (pictured), one of the most underrated senior guards in the west.
Cactus — the third program from Arizona the Lions will have played in the past week, after a venture into the state last weekend — is led by 7-foot, Cal Baptist-bound Bradey Henige.
JSerra topped Heritage Christian (74-55) at CDM Monday night and will face two other teams in the Top 30 there this week in Foothill (Friday/8 o’clock) and Pacifica Christian (Saturday/7:30).
And, since we’re talking about the Beach Bash . . .
*I saw two quality contests there Tuesday night, with Orange Lutheran (5-2) pulling away in the fourth quarter against Palos Verdes (7-2), 66-50, and Pacifica Christian (5-3) toppling Foothill (4-3), 55-48.
Six-foot-four Jaden Hubbard (who played as a freshman and sophomore at Fairfax, and at Mission Viejo last season) continued to demonstrate why he is one of the elite deep jump shooters anywhere in high school, drilling six shots from well beyond the 3-point arc en route to 27 points for Orange Lutheran.
With two sophomores, Ethan McCoy and Jonathan Dzabatou, and another senior transfer, Preston Lee, joining returner Mateo Ledon in Tuesday night’s starting lineup, look for Coach Daniel Dunbar’s Lancers to make steady but significant improvement by the time they tip off Trinity League at home against Mater Dei on Jan. 3.
They’ve got two more Beach Bash games set for Thursday (vs. 7-0 Edison at 7:30) and Saturday (vs. Foothill/6).
And, about the Pacifica Christian-Foothill contest:
I’m not sure I’ve seen three more competitive and well-played games during the three-plus weeks of the season.
By my unofficial tally, there were eight lead changes in the fourth quarter and consistently terrific effort — at both ends of the floor — by both teams throughout.
Two rapidly improving juniors (relative to their effectiveness on this level and potential as college prospects) were standouts for each team, with 6-6 Logan Stewart credited with 16 points and 12 rebounds for Pacifica Christian while 6-11 Danny Kennard went for 10 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots for the Knights.
Each squad is loaded with quality players in the Class of 2025, and they were all impressive Tuesday night, notably E.J. Spillman (10 points, seven rebounds and five assists) and Hudson Reynolds (11 points and, in the final minute, a stunning dive to force a turnover that was as impressive a “hustle play” as I’ve seen this season) for the Tritons and guards Travis Paleo and Kai Nixon (a combined 20 points) for Foothill.
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