Frank Burlison

LOS ANGELES – The Windward High Wildcats, just two night after taking top-ranked Sierra Canyon to the wire, get a pop at No. 3 Corona Centennial Saturday night (8:20) at Harbor College in the finale of the Rolling Hills State Preview/Presented by Scorebook Live.

Coach Colin Pfaff’s Wildcats (18-6 and No. 10 in this week’s BurlisonOnBasketball Top 25) were edged by Sierra Canyon at Cal State Northridge Thursday night, 71-68.

Centennial (19-2) is taking a 15-game winning streak into its Friday night Big VIII League game at Corona Santiago.

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ANAHEIM – A 21-member, first-ever induction class for the newly created Southern California Basketball Hall of Fame was unveiled by the organization Wednesday morning.

Among the inductees are eight members of the Naismith Hall of Fame: the late Pete Newell (1979); Bill Walton and Ann Meyers-Drysdale (both 1993); Cheryl Miller (1995); Cynthia Cooper-Duke (2010); Jamaal Wilkes (2012); Lisa Leslie (2015) and Paul Westphal (2019).

Others in the group include John R. Wooden Award winners Marques Johnson (1977) and Ed O’Bannon (1995).

The group is made up of 17 those selected for their playing careers, three for their coaching achievements (including current Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight) and one honored for his work as a basketball journalist.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL – After taking big hits Monday in Springfield during the Hoop Hall Classic, three of Southern California’s best boys’ hoops teams are back in action with key games this week.

The most notable spot to be during the week be Harbor College in San Pedro, where the Rolling Hills Prep State Preview/Presented by Scorebook Live will be held on Saturday.

Six teams in the updated SoCal Top 25 team rankings will participate, notably in the 8:30 finale when No. 3 Corona Centennial takes on No.

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BELLFLOWER – There’s plenty of basketball yet to be played before the March 14 California State Open Division championship game is played in Sacramento.

But the Sheldon High Huskies are firmly on the path of staying home and playing in that Open finale for a third year in a row.

That was apparent Monday night, during the last of the nine games played at St. John Bosco High during the Bosco Dream Showcase.

Coach Joey Rollings’ Huskies blasted Josh Christopher and his Mayfair teammates, 91-53.

The Huskies are 15-2 but lost only once when Arizona State-bound forward Marcus Bagley was healthy (a Tarkanian Classic Platinum semifinal with Las Vegas Bishop Gorman).

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NORTHRIDGE – It was a 77-mile drive for myself, and fellow CIF Southern Section Open Division Committee member Jerry DeBusk, to trek from the southern realm of Orange County to this San Fernando Valley community on Saturday afternoon.

All in all, though, it was worthy navigating and enduring the quasi-torture that the 405 Freeway can provide in order to watch the Windward and host Heritage Christian boys’ hoops teams clash.

The game delivered all of what one could hope to get out of a match-up of two of Southern California’s best teams and best players.

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