Frank Burlison

NORWALK, Ca. – The Santa Margarita and Sierra Canyon high school basketball teams bounced back Saturday night from losses to collect what could prove to have been significant victories once the CIF Southern Section’s Open Division playoff field is announced on Feb. 9.

On the second and final day of the fifth Take Flight Challenge, held at Cerritos College, Santa Margarita – behind junior Jake Kyman’s career-high 31 points – toppled Shareef O’Neal-led Crossroads, 72-61.

And, in the last of the eight games played Saturday in front of an estimated crowd of 1,200, Sierra Canyon finally pulled away from Mayfair, 84-79, as sophomore forward Terren Frank (PICTURED) chipped in with his own career-best of 33 points.

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NORWALK, Ca. – The Bishop Montgomery High basketball team may come into its Take Flight Challenge 18 game against one of the west’s most gifted starting fives Friday night at Cerritos College.

In terms of out the outcome, though, it was status quo for Coach Doug Mitchell’s Knights.

Bishop Montgomery, minus three starters in UCLA-bound David Singleton (broken nose) and juniors Gianni Hunt (broken leg) and Will Crawford (foot injury), trailed Sierra Canyon by as many as 10 points in the first half and by seven with less than three minutes remaining.

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NORWALK, Ca. – A Friday night game pitting the top-ranked teams in Southern California highlights the 12-game, “Take Flight Challenge 18” to be held Friday and Saturday at Cerritos Community College.

Bishop Montgomery (12-0) and Sierra (Canyon (9-1 before its Wednesday night game with Cantwell-Sacred Heart) are scheduled to tip off at 7:30 as the fourth game to be played Friday.

Sierra Canyon lost every key player from the squad that was beaten by eventual CIF Southern and State Open Champion Bishop Montgomery last March in USC’s Galen Center.

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LA VERNE, Ca. – Etiwanda High’s basketball team wrapped up the second The Classic at Damien Saturday night in Damien High’s Athletic Center by pulling away down the stretch for a 65-54 victory over the St. Bernard Vikings in the Platinum Division championship game.

The 64-team event’s other three titles were taken by Los Altos (Gold/60-58 over Eastvale Roosevelt), Muir (Silver/72-63 over Bonita) and Troy (54-40 over Mark Keppel).

Each of the Platinum’s 32 games over the week was a virtual “preview” of CIF Southern (14 of the teams), L.A.

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LA VERNE, Ca. – The most impressive Platinum squads on Tuesday’s first day of action in the second The Classic at Damien will be the last ones standing on Saturday’s final day of play for the event.

St. Bernard (60-50 over Santa Margarita) and Etiwanda (66-58 against previously unbeaten St. John Bosco) punched out semifinal victories Friday night and will meet in Saturday night’s 8:30 championship game in Damien High’s Athletic Center.

Three other division title games will be contested earlier Saturday on the Damien campus:

*Jarod Lucas-led Los Altos (10-2) takes on 11-0 Eastvale Roosevelt at 5:30 p.m.

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