Frank Burlison

CORONA, Ca. – A year ago, the Rancho Christian High squad shredded Etiwanda’s defense while on its way to a 78-54 victory in the championship game of the sixth BattleZone Tournament at Centennial High.

Things were a whole lot tougher for Coach Ray Barefield’s Eagles Saturday night, a year later, in the same location and with the same championship on the line.

But the Mobley Brothers and their teammates made sure the result was the same – no matter the margin.

Younger brother (he’s a junior) Evan Mobley tied the score with two free throws with 1:23 remaining and then his older brother, Isaiah, completed the remarkable comeback – from a first-half deficit of 15 points – with two more free throws with just 1.2 seconds to go for the 56-54 victory over the host Huskies.

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CORONA, Ca. – Here’s something to ponder following the scintillating Battle Zone showdown between the basketball teams from Rancho Christian and Chino Hills Friday night at Centennial:

It might have been just the first of five matchups between the Eagles and Huskies this season.

And if any of the potential rematches (which could happen in the semifinals of the Tarkanian Classic and The Classic at Damien, along with the CIF Southern Section and State Southern Regional playoffs) prove as competitive, dynamic and entertaining as Friday night’s clash was, well .

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LOS ANGELES – Three of Bishop Montgomery High’s key players were sitting on the bench but not in uniform.

But the Knights of Coach Doug Mitchell kept on trucking on Wednesday night at Westchester, using a 22-1 run over the second and third quarters to hold off a game and gritty Leuzinger squad, 77-68, in a championship quarterfinal of the Trevor Ariza Tip-Off Classic.

In the other winners’ bracket quarter played Wednesday night, Notre Dame of Riverside (No. 15 in the BurlisonOnBasketball SoCal Top 25) rallied from 11 points down in the third quarterfinal and edged No.

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MISSION VIEJO – The competition so far has anything but the caliber that it will face once Trinity League play gets underway.

But the JSerra High basketball team, under its first-season Head Coach Keith Wilkinson, has used its first two games in the Diablo Inferno at Mission Viejo High this week to demonstrate why it’s going to be a problem for the other five programs in the toughest hoops league in at least the western portion of the U.S. of A. this season.

Less than 24 hours after the Lions opened their season with a 51-point victory over Woodbridge, they jumped out to a 20-point advantage Tuesday night after the first quarter against Fairmont Prep before cruising to the 67-52 victory.

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SANTA MONICA – Two programs stocked with considerable talent among their underclassmen were among the opening-day winners Monday in the St. Monica High Tournament.

The Crossroads School and Windward knocked off Ribet Academy and La Serna, respectively, and joined L.A. City power Taft and the host Mariners with victories in the eight-team, pool-play competition that resumes Wednesday and wraps up Friday night.

Crossroads, which won a State Division II championship last season under first-year Head Coach Anthony Davis, improved to 3-0 while cruising past short-handed Ribet Academy, 73-55.

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