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ONTARIO, Ca. – The Santa Ana Mater Dei High Monarchs didn’t have a lot of wiggle room during their State Southern Regional action last week.

But, apparently, having Stanley Johnson in one of your uniforms helps you maneuver your way through a lot of tight squeezes.

Johnson, four evenings after scoring 28 points in the fourth quarter and two overtimes as his team overcome a six-point deficit to knock off Etiwanda, 67-64, in a semifinal, fell behind by six points with a little less than three minutes to go in their regional final with L.A.

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SANTA ANA, Ca. – Stanley Johnson had what will certainly be remembered as a very fine “farewell” performance in Mater High’s Meruelo Athletic Center Tuesday night.

Yeah – and then some!

The University of Arizona-bound Johnson continued to build upon what is becoming a peerless resume among all-time Orange County hoopsters, scoring 38 points – 28 of those in the fourth quarter and two four-minute overtime periods – while leading the Monarchs to a 67-64 victory over Etiwanda during a State Southern Regional semifinal played in front of nearly 3,000 spectators.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – The annual rite of spring:

Projecting the NCAA Tournament, round-by-round!

I came close to picking Gonzaga over Arizona in the West Round of 32 in San Diego but backed off at the last second, as was the case of nearly opting for Virginia over Michigan State in the Round of 16 in the East.

As you’ll see as you read on, I did bounce three No. 1 seeds before the Final Four.

Ultimately I elected to go with the team I projected as the 2014 national champion early last summer.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – Some of my reactions to the makeup and some of the matchups of the 2014 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament’s field of 68 (long-winded, eh?):

*The field in the Midwest Regional is an absolute whopper.

Along with 34-and-zip Wichita State, others dropped into that portion of the bracket include Michigan (the Big Ten regular-season champion, which, apparently, was deep into top-seed discussion before its Big Ten tourney loss to Michigan State Sunday afternoon), Duke, Louisville and – if it wins its First Four tilt with Xavier on Tuesday night in Dayton – North Carolina State and its ACC leader scorer and rebounder and Player of the Year T.J.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – The CIF Southern Section’s “Open Division” squads continue to mow through the State Southern Regional competition Saturday night during Round II of play in Divisions I-V.

The 16 teams from the Section’s first-ever Open Division are now a collective 25-1 after Chino Hills, L.A. Loyola, Corona Centennial and Lakewood Mayfair (I), Bellflower St. John Bosco and Compton (II), West Hills Chaminade and L.A. Cathedral (III) and Chatsworth Sierra Canyon, Torrance Bishop Montgomery, Gardena Serra and Montebello Cantwell-Sacred Heart (IV) advanced into Tuesday night’s semifinal action of their respective divisions.

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