High school basketball season ticking down as CIF playoffs near

The San Diego Section boys and girls basketball playoffs are scheduled to tip off Feb. 15 in a total of six divisions. That doesn’t leave much time remaining for regular season play in a season in which COVID-19 protocols have postponed many games.

The playoffs are beckoning, however.

Eight teams will be admitted to the Open Division playoffs in each gender field while 16 teams will be selected for postseason competition in each gender field for Division I, Division II, Division III and Division IV. Twelve teams will compete in each gender field in Division V.

Playoff pairings will be announced on Feb. 12. Any play-in games will take place before the start of elimination bracket play.

The section has already announced championship venues for this year’s finals.

Mira Mesa High School will host the Division V boys and girls championships on Feb. 24 and the Division IV boys and girls championships on Feb. 25.

San Marcos High School will host the Division III boys and girls championships on Feb. 24 and Division II boys and girls championships on Feb. 25.

Montgomery High School will host the Division I boys and girls championship games on Feb. 25 and Open Division boys and girls championship games on Feb. 26.

Qualifying for the Southern California regional playoffs will include the following criteria: All eight teams in the Open Division will advance, semifinalists and finalists in Division I will advance, the champion and runner-up in both Division II and Division III will advance and the champion only in Division IV and Division V will advance.

Teams also will need to follow COVID protocols in alignment with current California Department of Public Health Guidelines for youth sports.

• Weekly COVID testing continues to be strongly recommended for student athletes throughout the duration of the playoff schedule.
• All spectators, coaches and official game personnel are required to wear a mask throughout the duration of the event.
• Teams needing to isolate or quarantine may be removed from the playoffs based upon adherence to the current schedule of contests.
• Attendance at each contest is required to remain under 500 spectators in alignment with CDPH “mega” indoor events. To go above 500 spectators, schools/districts would be required to check for vaccination status or negative COVID test (within the previous 72 hours) for all those in attendance.
• All spectators, game personnel and student athletes not currently participating in the contest are required to wear a face covering throughout the duration of the event.

Now that the rather long list of guideless have been set, it’s time for teams to qualify for postseason play.

That may be easier said than done.

Fast and furious
Teams are currently jockeying for seeding position. Wednesday’s Mesa League match-up at Eastlake High School pitted the host Titans, ranked fifth in Division II and second-ranked Otay Ranch.

The teams played to a 16-16 halftime standoff. The score remained close to the end, with Eastlake trimming the Lady Mustangs’ lead to 40-38 with 54.6 seconds to play in regulation.

The Lady Titans had two chances to tie the score or even take the lead when Otay Ranch missed a free throw and the hosts grabbed the rebound. On both occasions Eastlake drove down the court but missed a shot at the basket.

Finally, Otay Ranch did sink a free throw to put the game away.

With the win the Lady Mustangs improved to 13-2 on the season, 3-0 in league play, while Eastlake saw its record dip to 2-2 in league play, 9-9 overall.

Sophomore Jaira Moore paced the Lady Mustangs with 17 points to lead all players in the game while Eastlake junior Kendal Alloway dropped in 16 points.

Junior Mia Maglalang had nine points for Otay Ranch, which broke ahead by 10 points on the strength of a 16-6 third quarter run after the Lady Titans had tied the score at halftime on an 11-3 second quarter run.

“It was an exciting, defensive game and we pulled it out,” Otay Ranch coach Rene Barrera said. “Both teams had tough defenses.

“We’re now 13-2 on the season. If we can win our last five to six games, we might finish on top of the Division II rankings. Our goal is to get to the (CIF) finals. God willing, we can win this thing.”

Eastlake coach David Koopman said long-range shooting did in his team in the game.

“We didn’t defend the three-point shots,” the EHS coach said. “They had eight treys and we made two — it’s hard to beat that.”

Bonita Vista improved to 2-0 in Mesa League play, 10-6 overall, after defeating visiting Chula Vista, 68-52, on Wednesday. The Lady Spartans dropped to 0-3 in league play, 8-11 overall.

The Lady Barons entered the game ranked seventh among Division I teams.

 

Hilltop girls hoops squad persevering through COVID-19 pandemic

Surviving the COVID-19 pandemic is all about resiliency. The Hilltop High School girls basketball team knows that word perhaps more than many do.

The Lady Lancers had been out of action for 24 days between games because of COVID protocols.

Hilltop dropped a 58-20 non-league contest at El Cajon Valley High School on Dec. 28. The Lady Lancers did not play another game until last Friday’s 28-15 South Bay League loss to visiting Southwest.

Hilltop was back on the court 18 hours later for a noon league matchup against visiting Montgomery in a makeup game. The Lady Lancers came up short 61-23 to fall to 0-2 in league play, 2-11 overall.

But it’s not all about wins or losses for Hilltop head coach Sergio Ruiz. It’s about not giving up in the face of so much adversity.

“Since Dec. 15, I’ve practiced with the girls four times,” Ruiz said. “We’ve had at least one COVID case since then. We’ve had seven or eight on the varsity team and probably 13 in the program. It seemed every time someone got over it, someone else came down with it. I even had it. This was my first time with them in three weeks.”

Solidarity to beating this monster was the key.

“We were texting and keeping as much communication open as we could,” the Hilltop coach said. “We’d have a practice here and there when we could.”

In the meantime, postponed games kept piling up, and not just because of the Lady Lancers’ woes.

“Other teams had to cancel for the same reason,” Ruiz said.

Sweetwater, in fact, has only played five games so far this season, including no league games.

Hilltop has 11 games to make up in a regular season that has just two weeks left in it.

“We’re prioritizing our league games,” Ruiz said. “We’ve canceled five non-league games so far. We can reschedule some games on Saturday, even on Sunday. We’re allowed to do that now.”

Montgomery bounded out to an early 18-0 lead in Saturday’s game before Paola Martinez finally scored for Hilltop with 16 seconds left in the first quarter.

The Lady Aztecs led 31-11 at halftime.

Several Hilltop players wore masks during the game.

 

 

Montgomery moved out in front, 49-13, through three quarters before the Lady Lancers caught their second wind with 10 points in the final quarter.

Martinez finished as the points leader in the game for Hilltop with 12 while Montgomery freshman Cary Brown led all scorers on the court with 25 points.

Hilltop entered Thursday’s scheduled league game at San Ysidro (3-0, 16-3) on a seven-game losing skid.

The Hilltop coach put the focus on a positive mindset to close out the season. “As long as we see the effort, that’s all we can ask for as coaches,” Ruiz said.

The Lady Aztecs improved to 10-5 on the season, 3-1 in South Bay League play, following Monday’s 39-38 cliff-hanger victory at Castle Park.

Montgomery won just two games all last season.

“It’s a great feeling,” MOHS coach Bracey Smith said. “It lets you know all the hard work you put in the offseason is paying off.”

Smith said his team is also missing games. “We started off with 27 games and we’re down to 23,” he said.

BOYS BASKETBALL SCOREBOARD

Mesa league:
San Ysidro 91, Otay Ranch 73
Montgomery 73, Bonita Vista 41
Mater Dei Catholic 73, Olympian 56

South Bay League:
Hilltop 63, Sweetwater 55
Castle Park 72, Mar Vista 24
Southwest 66, Chula Vista 20

 

 

San Diego Section Basketball Rankings

Top 40 Boys Teams

MaxPreps through Jan.25

1. San Marcos 15-4
2. St. Augustine 15-6
3. Torrey Pines 15-4
4. Mission Hills 14-6
5. San Ysidro 14-5
6. La Costa Canyon 13-5
7. Mission Bay 15-6
8. Cathedral Catholic 15-8
9. San Diego 13-6
10. Francis Parker 10-4
11. Del Norte 16-5
12. La Jolla Country Day 12-6
13. Carlsbad 12-8
14. Santa Fe Christian 13-8
15. Montgomery 16-5
16. Mater Dei Catholic 10-6
17. San Dieguito Academy 11-6
18. Orange Glen 15-5
19. Madison 15-6
20. Scripps Ranch 14-7
21. Hoover 13-7
22. Otay Ranch 11-8
23. Eastlake 12-7
24. Mt. Carmel 10-7
25. El Camino 6-7
26. Bishop’s 12-8
27. Grossmont 11-10
28. Patrick Henry 12-11
29. Monte Vista 15-4
30. Sage Creek 10-8
31. Army-Navy Academy 11-9
32. Calexico 9-5
33. Olympian 9-9
34. Rancho Buena Vista 9-11
35. Granite Hills 13-5
36. Poway 8-14
37. Morse 12-6
38. Victory Christian Academy 13-8
39. University City 9-8
40. Helix Charter 8-10

 

Top 40/Girls Teams

MaxPreps through Jan. 25

1. La Jolla Country Day 16-2
2. Cathedral Catholic 13-3
3. Mission Hills 12-6
4. El Camino 12-3
5. Bishop’s 12-2
6. Mount Miguel 12-6
7. Bonita Vista 9-6
8. Carlsbad 12-7
9. Westview 14-7
10. Del Norte 14-8
11. Poway 13-5
12. Rancho Bernardo 14-4
13. Scripps Ranch 15-4
14. La Costa Canyon 10-7
15. San Pasqual Valley 8-7
16. Fallbrook 12-6
17. Otay Ranch 12-2
18. Oceanside 14-4
19. Mt. Carmel 14-6
20. Grossmont 10-2
21. San Marcos 10-10
22. Imperial 14-5
23. Mater Dei Catholic 5-6
24. Eastlake 9-8
25. San Ysidro 16-3
26. Olympian 9-4
27. Classical Academy 18-5
28. Lincoln 14-4
29. Holtville 11-5
30. San Dieguito Academy 6-7
31. Helix Charter 7-5
32. Maranatha Christian 8-8
33. Rancho Buena Vista 10-8
34. Victory Christian Academy 7-7
35. Mira Mesa 13-7
36. Pacific Ridge 10-8
37. St. Joseph Academy 10-10
38. Our Lady of Peace 5-11
39. Ramona 10-9
40. Morse 9-7