There is a multitude of Tuesday night, first-round viewing options for boys’ basketball in Divisions I thru V in the CIF State Southern Regional action.
As for Wednesday’s night Open Division play, there is just one viable option – Santa Margarita at Redondo Union – unless a hike up the coast to Santa Maria to watch Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks and host St. Joseph is on your agenda.
Among the eight Division I games, the one likely to draw the most attention (and largest crowd) whose rooting interests are not specifically tied to either of the participants will be held in La Verne, where host Damien (27-7/1-2 in the Southern Section Open playoffs) and No. 6 seed takes on No. 11 Inglewood (28-6/Southern Section Division 1 semifinalist) at 7 p.m.
The visitors are led by the most prolific career scorer in California history, 6-foot-4, McDonalds All-American and University of Missouri-bound guard Jason Crowe Jr. (pops is the Sentinels’ head coach).
Crowe takes a 43.7 scoring average into the game, hitting 50 or more 10 times.
And he’s familiar with the Damien rims, averaging 51 points per game – including 55 in an opener against Chatsworth and Alijah Arenas – in four 2024 Classic at Damien Gold Division games.
Two quality defenders, senior Eli Garner and junior Zaire Rassan, are likely to each get opportunities to check Crowe although Damien Coach Mike LeDuc will also have the Spartans in a zone extensively, too.
Twelve of the division’s 16 teams are from of the Southern Section, the other four coming from the San Diego Section’s Open Division.
The top four seeds are La Mirada, Corona Centennial, Crespi and St. John – each, like Damien, which was dropped from the Southern Section’s Open Division pool for regional action.
La Mirada (24-8) is at home to Mater Dei (20-15/and SS D-2 semifinalist); Centennial (26-7) plays host to Hesperia (24-9/the SS D-2 runner-up Bishop Amat); Crespi (20-13) takes on Bishop Amat (28-5) and St. John Bosco (21-9) plays visiting San Marcos of the San Diego Section (23-7).
CIF SS D-1 champion and No. 7 seed Crean Lutheran (26-7) is at home in Irvine to Santa Fe Christian (26-4/the top seed in the San Diego Open eight-team bracket before being smacked in the semifinals by Francis Parker).
The second-round D-I thru V games are scheduled for Thursday, with semifinals scheduled for Saturday in all divisions.
The top two seeds in the Open Division, Sierra Canyon and Harvard-Westlake, drew byes into the semifinals.
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