LAGUNA NIGUEL – Thursday carves Week II of the Southern California Boys’ basketball season into three- and two-day “entrées”.
Thanksgiving, aka, “Turkey Day” . . . “carved”, “entrées” . . . get it?
Monday-thru-Wednesday, followed by Friday and Saturday make up Orange County’s “Feast Week”, with at least four games on each of those days at Marina in Huntington Beach and Foothill in Santa Ana.
Some of the gravy, uh, groovy, matchups during the event (it’s “showcase”, pre-set opponents each day, not tournament format) include San Clemente – No. 21 in the BurlisonOnBasketball Preseason Top 70 – vs. Lakewood (Monday, Marina, 7:30 p.m.); No. 9 Mater Dei, in its season debut, vs. defending San Diego Open Champion Carlsbad (6:30) and No. 22 Rancho Cucamonga vs. No. 38 Foothill (8/both games are at Foothill on Tuesday); and, also at Foothill and on Wednesday night, No. 25 Crean Lutheran vs. Bakersfield Christian (5 o’clock).
Further west (38.1 miles, actually), Manhattan Beach’s Mira Costa High plays host to the “Beach Bonanza” on Friday and Saturday.
Among some of those tilts, Mater Dei plays Leuzinger, at 7, and the host and No. 34 Mustangs face El Segundo at 8:30 on Friday.
The Saturday Showdown for the event is set to tip at 7, when No.’s 10 and 11 – Sierra Canyon and St. Pius X/St. Matthias – hook up.
In one of two non-league (but non-“showcase event”) games of note on Tuesday, Nikolas Khamenia-led (pictured) and No. 2 Harvard-Westlake will attempt to go 4-0 when it plays home to Long Beach Millikan at 5:30 in the evening.
In the other, No. 12 Santa Margarita and No. 24 Long Beach Poly have a “neutral site” game, scheduled for 2:30 in the afternoon, at Valley Christian in Cerritos.
Each program was game below the CIF’s allowable 28-game, regular-season limit last week.
Shelton Diggs (Poly) and Justin Bell (Santa Margarita) agreed to a game but the gymnasiums at Poly and Santa Margarita weren’t available because of the schools being closed for this holiday week.
But Bell contacted Valley Christian’s athletic administration, and the Defenders’ gymnasium was secured for the game.
Top Performances from Week I (Nov. 18-23)
(Based strictly on the games I watched in person)
Most Outstanding Player
*Brayden Burries/Roosevelt
15 Who Were Also Very good!
Seniors
*Branden Benjamin/Anaheim Canyon
*Nate Garcia/Damien
*Aaron Glass/Rancho Cucamonga
*Julien Gomez/La Mirada
*Trestyne Nguru/Rancho Verde
*Eneasi Piuleini/Mira Costa (MVP/Jim Harris Memorial)
*Jovani Ruff/L.B. Poly
*Jayden Smoot/Rancho Christian
*Peyton White/Crespi
*Issac Williamson/Roosevelt
Juniors
*Alijah Arenas/Chatsworth
*Acen Jimenez/La Habra
*Isaiah Rogers/Centennial
Sophomores
*Gene Roebuck/La Mirada (MVP/Rumble on the Hill)
*Chris Sanders/Redondo
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