Frank Burlison

REDONDO BEACH – The Redondo Union High boys’ basketball spotted its Mira Costa counterpart a 10-point advantage in the first quarter Tuesday night in their Ocean League game.

But the host Sea Hawks – with two freshmen starters playing significant roles – stabilized things by intermission and used a 14-point edge in the third quarter to come away with a 60-45 victory.

Six-foot-five sophomore S.J. Madison (pictured/photo courtesy of Greg Stein) led Redondo (17-4 overall and 5-0 in league) with a game-high 20 points – 16 of those coming off intermission, including three 3s.

[Click to continue reading]

BELLFLOWER – The Leuzinger High boys’ basketball team continued to look like the front-runner in the Ocean League – and a threat to make a nice run in the CIF SS Division 3AA playoffs – Monday during the MLK Dream Classic at St. John Bosco High.

Coach Arturo Jones’ Olympians knocked off the King/Drew Eagles, 67-65, in the last of the eight games played in the Braves’ gymnasium.

Jones’ squad improved to 15-7 (it’s 4-0 in league play) with its fourth win in a row and eighth in its past nine games.

[Click to continue reading]

LAGUNA NIGUEL – Monday is a day to honor one of the most influential men in American history.

And, if you’re of the notion, you can attend any of a multitude of high school basketball “one-day events” that carry some form of Martin Luther King Jr.’s name – and “Dream” tagged with it.

If you’re in about the San Francisco or East Bay areas, Concord De La Salle High is playing host to the best of those, the eight-game “Martin Luther King Classic”.

That has a bunch of high-level matchups involving Northern and Central California’s top teams, notably Carmichael (near Sacramento) Jesuit vs.

[Click to continue reading]

RANCHO SANTA MAGARITA – The St. John Bosco High boys’ basketball players and coaching staff figure to do plenty of in-air snoozing early Wednesday morning.

That’s because the Braves, some nine and a half hours after wrapping up their 51-45 Trinity League victory over host Santa Margarita Tuesday night, were due to depart via an LAX to Chicago American Airlines flight at 6 a.m. Wednesday.

Coach Matt Dunn’s team, after improving to 16-3 overall and 3-1 in league, is bound for Springfield, MO (via a connecting flight from Chicago) to open play Thursday night against Central of Springfield in a first-round game of the eight-team, Bass Pro Tournament of Champions at Missouri State University.

[Click to continue reading]

LAGUNA NIGUEL – The focal points of Tuesday night’s Southern California high school hoops’ action will be in Corona and Rancho Santa Margarita:

*In the updated BurlisonOnBasketball Top 30 SoCal teams’ pecking order, Eastvale Roosevelt and Corona Centennial stand at No.’s 2 and 9, respectively.

And they’ll hook up for one of likely two regular-season meetings when the Roosevelt Mustangs visit the Centennial Huskies for a 7 o’clock Big VIII League clash.

The league no longer has a “round-robin” regular-season schedule (no more playing one another, home and away) but will have a post-season tournament to determine its CIF Southern Section playoff pecking order – ala the Mission League over the past few seasons.

[Click to continue reading]