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SANTA ANA – Four teams likely to make up one half of the CIF Southern Section’s Open Division playoff field showed why that’s the case on Saturday’s second and final day of the 28^th Nike Extravaganza at Mater Dei High.

Corona Centennial, Harvard-Westlake, West Ranch and Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks – the No.’s 1, 2, 4 and 8 teams in last week’s BurlisonOnBasketball SoCal Top 25 – reeled off impressive wins Saturday during four of the 11 games played over 15 ½ hours in the Meruelo Athletic Center.

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SANTA ANA – Senior Zack Davidson scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Mater Dei High boys’ basketball team outscored visiting Orange Lutheran by 26 points in the second half in route to a 74-47 Trinity League victory Friday night.

The game was the last of five played in the Meruelo Athletic Center Friday as part of the two-day 28^th Nike Extravaganza.

About 20 miles south Friday night in another Trinity game, league-leading St. John Bosco suffered its first league loss at JSerra, 58-53.

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BELLFLOWER, CA – Despite its 7-0 start, the St. John Bosco High basketball team hasn’t quite yet clinched at least a share of the Trinity League championship.

But the Braves took a bold step in that direction Wednesday night – even after trailing the visiting Mater Dei Monarchs by 21 points at intermission.

Coach Matt Dunn’s team methodically lopped 18 points off the deficit while limiting the visitors to five third-quarter points.

The Braves – by way of a 3-pointer from senior center Xinyi Li (and set up by a pass from sophomore guard Elzie Harrington – took their first lead since 90 seconds into the game (at 4-2) with 5:28 remaining at 48-45, and then pulled away for a 65-57 victory in front of capacity crowd during the host’s “Senior Night” and last regular-season home game.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL – Ten of the teams in the newest version of the BurlisonOnBasketball Southern California Top 25 are set to participate in Friday-Saturday, 28^th version of the Nike Extravaganza at Mater Dei High in Santa Ana.

Noteworthy among those are No.’s 1 Centennial, 2 Harvard-Westlake and 4 West Ranch.

Those teams are a combined 66-5 and already locked into the CIF Southern Section’s Open Division playoff field of eight, competition for which is set to begin on Feb. 10.

The first of the 16 Extravaganza games, St.

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ONTARIO, CA – If the atmosphere at, and anticipation for, the Harvard-Westlake High boys’ Mission League games with Notre Dame and Sierra Canyon last week were “10s” on a “1 to 10” scale, how did the Wolverines’ State Preview Classic game with Rancho Verde at Colony High Saturday night stack up?

Uh . . . somewhere well short of 10.

“Those games, the energy was turned so up,” senior forward Brady Dunlap said of his team’s high-profile victories against teams rated No.’s 11 and 6 in Southern California, after the Wolverines’ 78-59 decision against a team playing without Jacob McFarland (left foot in a walking boot), a 6-foot-10, University of Houston-bound senior.

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