Mission League teams continue Open dominance

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RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA – The Harvard-Westlake High boys’ basketball team turned in its most impressive performance of the season – and collected its most significant road victory in three seasons – in a 21-point decision against the CIF Southern Section’s Open Division No. 2 seed, Santa Margarita, Tuesday night.

The Wolverines’ 83-62 decision, propelled by an 11-point third-quarter advantage following a deadlocked first half, gave Coach David Rebibo’s squad (24-5) a 2-zip record in Pool B, and a home game against another Mission League team, Crespi, in a Friday night Open quarterfinal.

Crespi (19-12), which had a bye Tuesday night, is 1-1 in Pool A and has split a pair of games at Harvard-Westlake this season, getting thumped by the hosts (80-53) on Jan.9 and stunning the Wolverines (57-52), in a Jan. 31 Mission tourney quarterfinal.

In the other three Open games Tuesday, the home teams prevailed, Sierra Canyon (24-1/No. 1 in the BurlisonOnBasketball.com SoCal Top 30) toppled No. 11 Corona del Mar (27-3), 95-65; No. 3 Redondo Union (27-3) pulled away from No. 6 Corona Centennial (26-6), 69-57; and No. 4 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (21-6) held off No. 5 St. John Bosco (20-9), 69-60.

Friday’s other three quarterfinals have Sierra Canyon home to Santa Margarita (27-4); Notre Dame playing host to Centennial; and La Mirada (23-7) at Redondo Union.

In two other Friday Open games involving teams that lost both of their pool games, St. John Bosco is home to Corona del Mar, and Etiwanda (26-4) is at Damien (26-7).

The winners of those two games will get the last of the 10 regional slots guaranteed out of the Open Division.

The Wolverines – via seven of their eventual 13 3-pointers – sprinted ahead, 32-19, three minutes into the second quarter.

But Coach Justin Bell’s Eagles closed sharply, finishing their most efficient quarter (six of 12 from the field, including three 3s, and five of six free throws) and tied the score – at 37 – by intermission.

But the visitors thoroughly dominated – from the perimeter and inside the lane – in the second half.

The Wolverines hit 18 of 30 from the field (including six 3s) and four of five free throws over the final 16 minutes.

Seniors Joe Sterling (22 points, including four 3s) and Amir Jones (21/five 3s), and junior Pierce Thompson (13 of his 22 points in the first half/four 3s) capitalized on nearly every clean look they got on a jump shot, while Dominique Bentho mopped up in the post.

The 6-foot-9, 240-pound, UC Irvine-bound senior (pictured) scored seven of his 11 points in the fourth quarter, grabbed 12 rebounds and had three assists, while anchoring his team’s half-court defense that held the hosts to nine of 26 from the field in the second half.

Bentho agreed that this was his team’s best effort of the season “and it was great to finally win a (big) game away from home,” he said.

The Eagles’ top perimeter threats, Kaiden Bailey and Brayden Kyman, scored 19 and 11 points, respectively, but combined to hit just 11 of 32 shots from the field.

Post Drew Anderson added 18 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

The four Mission League teams are a combined 7-1 in the Open playoffs, with Crespi’s loss coming to a league foe (Notre Dame) in the first round.

There have been just three road victories in the 12 Open games (Harvard-Westlake vs. Santa Margarita; La Mirada vs. St. John Bosco and Crespi vs. Corona del Mar).

In contrast, there have been 16 road victories in the 28 Division 1 contests.

More CIF SS playoff notes:

*Santa Margarita’s first three losses were by a combined seven points. Harvard-Westlake tripled that collective margin Tuesday night.

*Centennial’s Tuesday night loss at Redondo Union was its first against a California-based program this season.

*Bishop Amat and Gardena Serra finished second and third, respectively, behind champion Bishop Montgomery in the Camino Real League.

But here is where the computer ratings “competitive equity” factor kicks in:

Bishop Montgomery, in Division 1, got a home game and lost to Windward in the first round, 77-61.

Bishop Amat and Serra were the respective top seeds  in Divisions 2 and 5, and are in their championship semifinals Friday night.