Frank Burlison

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – The first “pre-Christmas” portion of the Southern California boys’ high school basketball season provide a solid look at the teams that are in contention or the eight spots in the CIF Southern Section Open Division playoffs that are set to begin on Feb. 11.

Six of those squads should be familiar to even the most casual follower of SoCal high school hoops, with in Centennial, Sierra Canyon, Damien, Harvard-Westlake, Bishop Montgomery and Mater Dei – the respective No.’s 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 8 teams in the updated BurlisonOnBasketball Southern California ratings (which encompass teams from the CIF Southern and L.A.

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LAS VEGAS – You, like myself, may have been on hand for each of the first eight Tarkanian Classics.

But you, also like myself, never saw anything quite like what took place in the championship game of the Platinum Division of the ninth year of the event Tuesday night at Bishop Gorman.

The host Gaels only trailed Liberty by 16 points at intermission because reserve guard Eli Bradley buried a 3-pointer from the right corner at the buzzer.

But Coach Grant Rice’s club, in a relentless, frantic and often chaotic final 24 minutes – a 16-minute second half and two four-minute overtimes – stunned the visitors, 97-95, to remain unbeaten while handing the Patriots a gut-twisting first loss.

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LAS VEGAS – During its first six games, the Irvine Crean Lutheran High boys’ basketball squad has shown that it’s not only among the elite teams in Orange County but a contender for one of the eight CIF Southern Section Open Division playoff bids, as well.

But Coach Nate Klitzing’s team will get by far its toughest test of the season Tuesday afternoon at Bishop Gorman High.

The Saints, who rolled past South Jordan (UT) Bingham Monday night, 71-54, in the Orleans Hotel Arena, take on one of the top teams from Texas in the 2:30 championship game of the Gold Division of the Tarkanian Classic.

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LAS VEGAS – The Gold Division will provide the opponents in the first two of the four Tarkanian Classic semifinals that will be played Monday afternoon and evening in the Orleans Hotel Arena.

On Saturday in Bishop Gorman’s auxiliary gymnasium, South Jordan (UT) Bingham (with its 67-63 win over Oakland Bishop O’Dowd in double overtime) and Irvine (CA) Crean Lutheran (by way of its 67-41 toppling of Baton Rouge Liberty Magnet), set the field for the first Gold Division semifinal at 3 o’clock on Monday.

The second (4:30) semi opponents will be Fresno San Joaquin Memorial (which edged JSerra of South Orange County in Southern California, 59-56, in one of the event’s most competitive and well-played games) vs.

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LAS VEGAS – The Las Vegas-based programs were 4-for-4 in opening-day Friday games in the Platinum Division of the Tarkanian Classic at Bishop Gorman High.

The host Gaels (71-39, vs. Evangel Christian School of Kentucky), Liberty (80-71 over San Diego St. Augustine), Durango (57-47 against Pebblebrook of Georgia) and Coronado (which smacked Chicago De La Salle, 77-43) to move to quarterfinal games of the event’s top division Saturday afternoon and evening.

Those begin at 3:30, with Durango taking on Playa del Rey (CA) St. Bernard, followed by Bishop Gorman vs Richmond (CA) Salesian at 5; Coronado vs.

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