LAGUNA NIGUEL – Monday is a day to honor one of the most influential men in American history.
And, if you’re of the notion, you can attend any of a multitude of high school basketball “one-day events” that carry some form of Martin Luther King Jr.’s name – and “Dream” tagged with it.
If you’re in about the San Francisco or East Bay areas, Concord De La Salle High is playing host to the best of those, the eight-game “Martin Luther King Classic”.
That has a bunch of high-level matchups involving Northern and Central California’s top teams, notably Carmichael (near Sacramento) Jesuit vs. Fresno’s Clovis North (1:15 p.m.), De La Salle vs. a Southern California-based program (Irvine’s Crean Lutheran) at 3:30, Branson vs. Santa Maria St. Joseph (5) and top-ranked, NorCal team Richmond Salesian vs. San Francisco Riordan.
Jesuit, Clovis North, De La Salle, Crean Lutheran, Branson and Salesian each played in the Platinum or Gold divisions of the Classic at Damien.
Monday games involving teams rated in the updated BurlisonOnBasketball SoCal Top 30 are:
*No. 29 Newport Pacifica Christian vs. Portland Central Catholic (6 pm., MLK Dream Classic at St. John Bosco).
*No. 8 Damien vs. Marina (2:30 p.m.) and No. 7 Centennial vs. No. 26 Riverside Poly (6:30), both at Ontario’s Toyota Arena.
Damien has one of the top big men in the west in 7-foot junior Nate Garcia (pictured), who was an all-Platinum Division selection during the Classic at Damien last week.
*And No. 13 West Rancho vs. No. 20 Heritage Christian (5 p.m., at South Pasadena High’s MLK Day Showdown).
With just three weeks to go in the regular season, the rest of this week is highlighted by multiple high-profile matchups that will impact league championship, the makeup of the CIF Southern Section’s Open Division, eight-team field, as well as the seeding for the CIF SS D-1 playoff bracketing.
Among those are:
*Top-ranked Harvard-Westlake has two crucial Mission League tilts, playing host to No. 4 Notre Dame Tuesday night and visiting No. 6 Sierra Canyon Friday night.
*Damien has Baseline League clashes with No. 17 Rancho Cucamonga at home Tuesday night and at No. 16 Etiwanda Thursday night.
*And, in one of the nine games scheduled to be played in the Prep Classic State Preview at Colony High in Ontario, No. 4 Roosevelt will be challenged by No. 9 St. Pius X/St. Matthias at 4:30 p.m.
Here are those Monday MLK-type events’ schedules, followed by the updated Top 30:
MLK DREAM CLASSIC
At St. John Bosco High
9 a.m., Walnut vs. Marquez; 10:30, Hesperia vs. Workman; Noon, Desert Christian Academy vs. Fairmont Prep; 1:30 p.m., L.A. University vs. St. Margaret’s; 3, Diamond Bar vs. Orange Lutheran; 4:30, San Diego Steele Canyon vs. Artesia; 6, Portland Central Catholic vs. No. 29 Newport Pacifica Christian; 7:30, Leuzinger vs. King/Drew.
MARTIN LUTHER KING SHOWCASE
At Ontario Toyota Arena
9:15 a.m., Summit vs. Lake Elsinore Lakeside; 11, Corona Santiago vs. Colony; 12:45 p.m., Upland vs. Ayala; 2:30 p.m., Marina vs. No. 8 Damien; 4:15, Redlands East Valley vs. Oak Hills; 6:30, No. 26 Riverside Poly vs. No. 7 Corona Centennial.
MLK DAY SHOWDOWN
At South Pasadena High
9:30 a.m., Brentwood vs. Schurr; 11, Fairfax vs. Little Rock; 12:30 p.m., La Salle vs. Capistrano Valley Christian; 2, South Pasadena vs. San Diego Cathedral Catholic; 3:30, Crossroads vs. St. Bonaventure; 5, No. 20 Heritage Christian vs. No. 13 West Ranch; 6:30, Village Christian vs. Bishop Montgomery; 8, Serra vs. Maranatha.
15th MARTIN LUTHER KING CLASSIC
At Concord De La Salle High
Session I: 8:45 a.m., Larkspur Redwood vs. Hayward Moreau Catholic; 10:15, Folsom vs. Morgan Hill Oakwood; 11:45, Modesto Christian vs. Scottsdale (AZ) Notre Dame Prep; 1:15 p.m., Carmichael Jesuit vs. Clovis North.
Session II: 3:30, De La Salle vs. Crean Lutheran; 5, Ross Branson vs. Santa Maria St. Joseph; 6:30, Richmond Salesian vs. San Francisco Riordan; 8, Oakland Bishop O’Dowd vs. Sacramento Capital Christian.
Updated Top 30
(results as of Jan. 13)
- Harvard-Westlake/19-1/1
Next Up: Monday, Springfield (MA), vs. Powder Springs (GA) McEachern, 8 am (PT); Wednesday, vs. No. 4 Notre Dame, 7 p.m.; Friday, at No. 6 Sierra Canyon, 7 p.m.
- Mater Dei/19-1/3
Next Up: Wednesday, vs. No. 15 Santa Margarita, 7 p.m.; Friday, vs. Orange Lutheran, 7 p.m.; Saturday, at Colony High, vs. No. 24 Campbell Hall, 7:30 p.m.
- Eastvale Roosevelt/20-2/2
Next Up: Wednesday, vs. Corona Santiago, 7 p.m.; Saturday, at Colony High, vs. No. 9 St. Pius X/St. Matthias, 4:30 pm.
- Sherman Oaks Notre Dame/20-0/5
Next Up: Wednesday, at No. 1 Harvard-Westlake, 7 p.m.; Friday, at Chaminade, 7 p.m.; Saturday, at Colony High, vs. Crean Lutheran, 6 p.m.
- Saint John Bosco/18-4/4
Next Up: Wednesday, at Orange Lutheran, 7 p.m.; Friday, vs. No. 11 JSerra, 7 p.m.
- Sierra Canyon/19-1/6
Next Up: Wednesday, vs. St. Francis, 7 p.m.; Friday, vs. No. 1 Harvard-Westlake, 7 p.m.; Saturday, vs. Valencia, 7 p.m.
- Corona Centennial/15-8/9
Next Up: Monday, at Ontario Toyota Center, vs. No. 26 Riverside Poly, 6:30 p.m.; Wednesday, at Norco, 7 p.m.; Saturday, at Contra Costa College, vs. San Francisco Riordan, 8:15 p.m.
- Damien/16-3/7
Next Up: Monday, at Ontario Toyota Center, vs. Marina, 2:30 p.m.; Tuesday, vs. No. 17 Rancho Cucamonga, 6:30 p.m.; Thursday, at No. 16 Etiwanda, 6:30 p.m.; Saturday, at Colony High, vs. Lynwood, noon.
- Saint Pius X-Saint Matthias/15-4/10
Next Up: Monday, vs. Linfield Christian, 1 p.m.; Wednesday, at Serra, 7 p.m.; Friday, vs. No. 28 St. Anthony, 7 p.m.; Saturday, at Colony High, vs. No. 3 Roosevelt, 4:30 p.m.
- Windward/18-3/11
Next Up: Tuesday, vs. Brentwood, 7 p.m.; Thursday, vs. Price, 7 p.m.; Saturday, at Heritage Christian High, vs. Oak Park, 6:30 p.m.
- JSerra/17-3/8
Next Up: Wednesday, at Servite, 7 p.m.; Friday, at No. 5 St. John Bosco; Saturday, vs. Verbum Dei, 7 p.m.
- La Mirada/15-7/12
Next Up: Monday, vs. St. Paul, 6:30 p.m.; Wednesday, at Downey, 7 p.m.; Friday, at Lynwood, 7 p.m.
- West Ranch/14-6/13
Next Up: Monday, at South Pasadena High, vs. No. 20 Heritage Christian, 5 p.m.; Tuesday, vs. Canyon Country Canyon, 6:30 p.m.; Thursday, at Saugus, 6:30 pm.; Saturday, at Colony High, vs. No. 17 Rancho Cucamonga.
- Redondo Union/16-4/14
Next Up: Tuesday, vs. No. 22 Mira Costa, 7 p.m.; Friday, vs. Palos Verdes, 7 p.m.
- Santa Margarita/15-6/15
Next Up: Wednesday, at No. 2 Mater Dei, 7 p.m.; Friday, vs. Servite, 7 p.m.
- Etiwanda/17-3/16
Next Up: Tuesday, vs. Los Osos, 6:30 p.m.; Thursday, vs. No. 8 Damien, 6:30 p.m.; Saturday, at Colony, High vs. Rolling Hills Prep, 3 p.m.
- Rancho Cucamonga/13-7/17
Next Up: Tuesday, at No. 8 Damien, 6:30 p.m.; Thursday, at Upland, 6:30; Saturday, at Colony High, vs. No. 13 West Ranch, 9 p.m.
- Los Alamitos/17-4/18
Next Up: Wednesday, at Edison, 7 p.m.; Friday, at Huntington Beach, 7 p.m.
- Anaheim Canyon/16-4/19
Next Up: Tuesday, vs. Yorba Linda, 7 p.m.; Friday, at Foothill, 7 p.m.; Saturday, at Colony High, vs. Hesperia, 9 a.m.
- Heritage Christian/13-8/22
Next Up: Monday, at South Pasadena High, vs. No. 13 West Ranch, 5 p.m.; Tuesday, vs. Maranatha, 7 p.m.; Friday, vs. Whittier Christian, 7 a.m.; Saturday, vs. Grant, 3:30 p.m.
- Crespi/18-5/20
Next Up: Wednesday, at Chaminade; Friday, vs. Loyola, 7 p.m.
- Mira Costa/15-6/26
Next Up: Tuesday, at No. 14 Redondo Union, 7 p.m.; Friday, vs. Culver City, 7 p.m.; Saturday, at Colony High, vs. San Ramon Daugherty Valley, 1:30 p.m.
- Long Beach Poly/14-7/25
Next Up: Friday, at Lakewood, 7 p.m.
- Campbell Hall/6-13/27
Next Up: Tuesday, at Viewpoint, 7 p.m.; Thursday, at Crossroads, 7 p.m.; Saturday, at Colony High, vs. No. 2 Mater Dei, 6 p.m.
- Rancho Christian/12-8/UR
Next Up: Wednesday, vs. JW North, 6 p.m.; Saturday, at San Diego Lincoln, TBA.
- Riverside Poly/15-7/21
Next Up: Monday, at Ontario Toyota Arena, vs. No. 7 Centennial, 6:30 p.m.; Wednesday, at No. 27 Rancho Verde, 7 p.m.; Friday, vs. Elsinore, 6 p.m.
- Rancho Verde/19-3/28
Next Up: Monday, vs. MLK, 6 p.m.; Wednesday, vs. No. 26 Riverside Poly, 7 p.m.; Friday, vs. JW North, 6 p.m.
- Saint Anthony/15-5/24
Next Up: Wednesday, vs. St. Paul, 7 p.m.; Friday, at No. 9 St. Pius X/St. Matthias, 7 p.m.
- Newport Pacifica Christian/14-8/UR
Next Up: Monday, at St. John Bosco, vs. Portland Central Catholic, 6 p.m.; Thursday, at Orangewood Academy, 7 p.m.; Saturday, at Fairmont Prep, 7:30 p.m.
- Saint Bernard/9-9/UR
Next Up: Wednesday, vs. Bishop Montgomery, 7 p.m.; Friday, vs. Serra, 7 p.m.
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