Frank Burlison

LAGUNA NIGUEL – The State CIF Office in Sacramento released the State Regional playoff basketball brackets late Sunday afternoon.

And, oh my goodness . .  . the South’s Open Regional field could not be more challenging for all concerned – top seed Eastvale Roosevelt included.

From my perspective, the state’s five-best teams – along with San Diego Open champion Montgomery (29-2) – make up the South bracket.

Those are Roosevelt (32-2 after its CIF Southern Section Open win over Notre Dame Saturday night in Ontario), Central Section D-I champion Santa Maria St.

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ONTARIO – The Roosevelt High boys’ basketball team’s “Big 3” – with a lot of help – was plenty good enough Saturday night in the Toyota Arena to give the Mustangs their first-ever CIF Southern Section Open Division championship.

Seniors Brayden Burries, Myles Walker and Issac Williamson combined for all but 21 of their team’s points in the 74-67 victory over Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks.

Along with all the championship hardware they left the building with for the short drive back to Eastvale, the Mustangs (32-2) undoubtedly also earned the No.

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ONTARIO –  The “rubber match” between San Joaquin League boys’ basketball rivals Pacifica Christian of Newport and Fairmont Prep of Anaheim was held in the Toyota Arena.

The regular season split left the Tritons and Huskies as the league’s co-champions.

But Fairmont Prep 64-60 victory in overtime Saturday did more than just give the Huskies a 2-1 seasonal advantage over the Tritons:

It gave Coach Joedy Gardner’s program its first-ever CIF Southern Division 2AA championship.

Senior guard Oliver Jones’ two free throws with 6.8 seconds remaining put the game into overtime, and his six points – a layup to start the extra period and four free throws– secured the victory.

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The Eastvale Roosevelt and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame High boys’ basketball teams meet for the second time this season Saturday, with a CIF Southern Section Open Division championship the prize when they tip off at 6:30 Saturday night in Ontario’s Toyota Arena.

But the clash between the 31-2 Mustangs and 26-6 Knights is just one of six Southern Section title games that will be played in the building, beginning with the 9:30 a.m. boys’ 4AA game pitting Ramona (26-6) and Garden Grove’s Santiago (21-11).

Things wrap when Ontario Christian (28-1) and Etiwanda (25-4) teams hook up in the girls’ Open final at 8:30.

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EASTVALE –  For the third time in as many tries over the past 14 months Tuesday night, the Roosevelt High boys’ basketball team edged its St. John Bosco counterpart in a high-stakes matchup.

The first showdowns came in the Dec. 30 Platinum Division championship games of the Platinum Division of the past two Classic at Damien tournaments.

Tuesday night’s 58-51 win over the visiting Braves had something even more tangible for the Mustangs than championship, all-tournament and Most Outstanding Player plaques from California’s most prestigious tournament:

It punched their ticket into Saturday night’s CIF Southern Section Open Division championship game against Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks in Ontario’s Toyota Arena.

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