Frank Burlison

RIVERSIDE – The Sierra Canyon High boys’ basketball team took a big step Saturday night on its road to a second consecutive CIF State Open Division championship.

  And the Trailblazers of Coach Andre Chevalier did it by win their first-ever Southern Section Open title.

  Led by the scoring of senior guards Cassius Stanley (a game-high 29 points on 10 of 15 from the field, including three 3s, while perfect on six free throws) and Scotty Pippen Jr. (12 points, eight in the fourth quarter), they led wire-to-wire while knocking off Bishop Montgomery, 64-57, at Cal Baptist University.

[Click to continue reading]

   Nine teams that played in the Dec. 26-29, 2018 Classic at Damien will be competing in boys’ basketball CIF sectional championships games Saturday.

  Six of those are playing in three of the Southern Sectional matchups:

  *Defending champion Chino Hills, led by 2018 State Player of the Year and USC-bound Onyeka Okongwu (PICTURED), takes on Santa Margarita at 3 o’clock at Cal Baptist for the Division I crown;

   *Rolling Hills Prep and Santa Clarita Christian (the 2018 champions in the 4A and 5AAA divisions, respectively, a year ago) hook up in the 3AA title game, at 4 o’clock, at Godinez High;

   *And, at 8:30, Colony and La Canada meet for the 2A championship.

[Click to continue reading]

  MISSION VIEJO – A head coach in his second season heading the program, and a player in his third year in the United States, helped a school in its 45^th year of existence earn its first ever spot in a CIF Southern Section boys’ basketball championship game Saturday night.

   San Juan Capistrano’s Capistrano Valley Christian High Christian Eagles got a 10-point first-quarter effort from 6-foot-7 Festus Ndumanya for an early advantage that they were able to maintain throughout on their way to a 48-34 Division 3A semifinal victory over the Palos Verdes Sea Kings at Mission Viejo High.

[Click to continue reading]

  ETIWANDA – A year ago the Bishop Montgomery High boys’ basketball team suffered gut-twisting losses to Sierra Canyon in the CIF Southern Section and State Southern Regional Open semifinals.

   Next Saturday night (Feb. 23), the Knights will get another pop at the program that blocked it from 2018 championship games – in a 2019 championship game.

   Coach Doug Mitchell’s team earned that trip to Riverside’s Cal Baptist University for the Southern Section Open title game against the Trailblazers by holding off host Etiwanda, 72-65, in a final-round, Pool A game.

[Click to continue reading]