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IRVINE, Ca. – On a night when three of the top four seeds held serve in impressive fashion, one of the CIF Southern Section Open Division boys’ basketball openers didn’t follow any pre-game script.

The Damien Spartans, edged by Crean Lutheran by a single-point in a Selection Committee ballot last Sunday for the fourth seed in the eight-team bracket, found themselves in a 20-point hole with just less than three minutes to go in the second quarter Friday night with the host Saints.

But, in a comeback without parallel in the nine-year history of the top post-season playoff division in California, Coach Mike LeDuc’s visitors methodically fought their way back before pulling out a 64-59 victory in front of a crowd that was both stunned (the host fans) and delirious (those who made the trek south for the contest).

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LAGUNA NIGUEL – After going with 16 teams in its Open Division brackets for the first four seasons of the division (2014-17), the CIF Southern Section administration cut it to an eight-team bracket in 2018 and into eight-team “pool play” competition three years ago.

And that’s where it stands now, when play begins on Friday night with Corona Centennial and Sierra Canyon sitting atop Pools A and B, respectively.

So, how would things look on Friday night if the run for the Open Division championship was still in the 16-team bracket mode?

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TORRANCE, Ca. – The St. Bernard High basketball team didn’t have a player – or combination of players – that could check Xavier Edmonds Friday night.

And that, coupled with a stout half-court defense, is why the Vikings fell to their host Bishop Montgomery Knights in their Del Rey League showdown.

The 6-foot-eight Edmonds (pictured) scored 14 points to go with 11 rebounds and six assists as the Knights prevailed, 55-48.

Coach Doug Mitchell’s team clinched a share of the league crown while improving to 16-2 overall and 6-1 in the Del Rey League.

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LAKEWOOD, Ca. – It was, to pounce on a cliché, old school high school basketball at its best:

*The Long Beach Poly High and host Lakewood boys’ teams hooked up Thursday evening, with a Moore League title on the line;

*The Lancers’ gymnasium was filled (as much as a high school gym can be “filled” in the COVID Era) with students, family members, alumni and faculty members who were vested, emotionally, in the outcome of the game;

*Head coaches Sheldon Diggs (LBP) and Duane Cooper (Lakewood) are graduates of, and former standouts for, their schools;

*At class reunions 20 years hence, the seniors involved in the game will be asked by their fellow alumni about the game and this season.

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LONG BEACH, Ca. – The St. Bernard and Bishop Montgomery squads get two pops at one other this weekend with a Del Rey League boys’ basketball championship – and playoff implications – at stake.

Wednesday night, in Jack Errion Gymnasium and on Darrick Martin Court on the St. Anthony campus, the visiting St. Bernard Vikings rallied from 12-point deficit at intermission to topple the Saints, 52-48.

And, in Torrance, the host Bishop Montgomery Knights, leading by just three points at the half, dominated the third quarter and knocked off Serra, 68-50.

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