The Sweetwater, Southwest and San Diego Academy high school boys basketball teams all have targets painted on their backs after receiving top seeds in their respective divisions for the 2019 San Diego Section championship playoffs.
Sweetwater (22-6) received the No. 1 seed in the Division III tier while Southwest (21-7) received the No. 1 seed in the Division IV tier.
San Diego Academy (21-4) is seeded first in the Division V field.
Sixteen teams are entered in both the Division III and Division IV brackets in the four-round single-elimination playoff format.
Twelve teams are entered in the Division V field.
Sweetwater will host 16th-seeded Santana (11-17) in a first-round match-up on Wednesday while Southwest will host 16th-seeded Calipatria (11-15) that same evening.
Both games tip off at 7 p.m.
Southwest won last year’s Division V championship and will be looking for a rare CIF title repeat.
Sweetwater will be looking to return to the championship round since finishing runner-up to Kearny in the 2014 Division III finals.
San Diego Academy, which is located in National City and finished 11-1 in Citrus League play this season, received a first-round bye and will host either eighth-seeded San Pasqual (9-18) or Horizon Prep (16-9) in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
The Cavaliers entered last year’s division playoffs as the No. 5 seed but upset the top-seeded Cambridge School to meet Southwest in the finals, losing 77-38 to the Raiders.
South Bay League spotlight
Both the Red Devils and Raiders are battled tested having met each other twice this season in South Bay League play. Sweetwater wrapped up this year’s league title with a 12-0 record after defeating visiting Southwest, 61-49, last Friday.
Sweetwater enters the playoffs riding the crest of an eight-game winning streak.
“We handled our business in league and also we didn’t lose to any Division III or lower division teams,” SuHi head coach Jesse Aguirre said. “We never dropped from the top spot once we moved into it. It’s a four-game season now. We are excited about it.”
Four players scored in double figures in last Friday’s league-clinching victory against the Raiders. Sophomore Craig McMillan led the Devils with 19 points, followed by sophomore Jimmy Mattox with 13 points, senior C.J. Jackson with 12 points and junior Ariene Velasco with 11 points.
Sweetwater sank seven three-point shots in the game – three each by Mattox and Velasco.
McMillan dropped in six of seven shots from the free-throw line.
Jackson, as he has often done this season, keyed the hosts with 16 rebounds, including 13 defensive boards, while junior Jeilen Jackson grabbed 10 rebounds.
McMillan tops the Devils with an 18.6 scoring average, followed by C.J. Jackson with a 16.1 scoring average.
Southwest finished runner-up in the South Bay League standings with a 10-2 record while the San Ysidro Cougars finished 8-4 in third place.
San Ysidro (19-9) received the No. 9 seed in the Division III bracket and will play eighth-seeded Tri-City Christian (19-9) in Wednesday’s opening round, with the winner to play the Sweetwater-Santana winner in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
Freshman D.J. Dudley tops the Cougars with a slick 24.1 points per game scoring average, followed by junior teammate Kailen Rains at 21.7 ppg.
The Southwest-Calipatria winner will face either eighth-seeded El Capitan (14-13) or ninth-seeded Victory Christian Academy (18-9).
As the Citrus League champion, Victory Christian (11-1 in league play) earned the home game and will host the Vaqueros on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Hilltop High School.
Hilltop, which finished fourth in the South Bay League standings with a 5-7 league record, received the No. 13 seed in the Division IV playoffs and will tip off post-season play Wednesday at fourth-seeded O’Farrell Charter (23-4).
The Lancers enter the playoffs with a 9-19 overall record.
Mar Vista, which finished 3-9 in South Bay Leauge play, defeated the Chula Vista Learning Community Charter, 60-30, in a play-in game on Monday to draw the fifth-seeded Cambridge School (12-8) in Wednesday’s first round game at Westview High School.
Chula Vista (4-8 in league, 8-20 overall) and Castle Park (0-12 in league play, 2-24 overall) did not received playoff invitations.
Mesa League spotlight
Mesa League champion Montgomery and league runner-up Mater Dei both received seeds in the Division I playoff bracket.
Montgomery (25-3) received the No. 2 seed and will host 15th-seeded Patrick Henry (4-23) in Wednesday’s opening round.
Mater Dei Catholic (16-11) received the No. 6 seed and will host 11-seeded La Jolla (10-18) on Wednesday.
Both games tip off at 7 pm.
Montgomery finished 9-1 in league play while Mater Dei Catholic finished 8-2.
Montgomery defeated host Mater Dei Catholic, 64-62, in an overtime game on Jan. 30 to tie the Crusaders for the league lead. But Mater Dei Catholic was unable to keep pace with the Aztecs after dropping a 66-65 decision at Otay Ranch on Feb. 1.
The Montgomery-Patrick Henry winner advances to meet the winner of Wednesday’s opening round game between seventh-seeded La Costa Canyon (14-13) and 10th-seeded Helix (16-11).
Senior Kyle Paranada tops the Aztecs with a cool 23.6 ppg scoring average, followed by classmate Rahin Williams at 16.1. Rahin leads the team with 170 rebounds on the season.
The Mater Dei Catholic-La Jolla winner advances to meet the winner of Wednesday’s opening round game between third-seeded Francis Parker (17-9) and 14th-seeded Mission Hills (8-20).
Otay Ranch finished in third place in the Mesa League standings with a 6-4 record, followed by Bonita Vista with a 4-6 league record.
Otay Ranch (16-12) received the No. 11 seed in the Division II bracket and is scheduled to play at sixth-seeded Mt. Miguel (21-7) in Wednesday’s opening round while Bonita Vista (10-17) received the No. 15 seed in the Division II field and is scheduled to play at second-seeded Westview (21-7) in Wednesday’s opening round.
Olympian, which finished fifth in the Mesa League standings with a 3-7 league record, received the No. 5 seed in the Division II field and will host 12th-seeded Point Loma (17-9) in Wednesday’s opening round.
The Eagles (18-9) are led on the season by three players who are averaging in double figures: senior Eldon Baptist (15.1 ppg), junior Gio Martinez (13.8 ppg) and senior Sean Hernandez (12.6 ppg).
Eastlake, which finished last in the Mesa League standings at 0-10, 9-19 overall, did not qualify for this year’s playoff field
Metro Conference 2018-19
Boys Basketball Standings
Mesa League
Montgomery Aztecs 9-1, 25-3
Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders 8-2, 16-11
Otay Ranch Mustangs 6-4, 16-12
Bonita Vista Barons 4-6, 10-17
Olympian Eagles 3-7, 18-9
Eastlake Titans 0-10, 9-19
South Bay League
Sweetwater Red Devils 12-0, 22-6
Southwest Raiders 10-2, 21-7
San Ysidro Cougars 8-4, 19-9
Hilltop Lancers 5-7, 9-19
Chula Vista Spartans 4-8, 8-20
Mar Vista Mariners 3-9, 11-15
Castle Park Trojans 0-12, 2-24
Playoff update:
Red Devils, Raiders, Aztecs, Cougars, Eagles breeze to first-round victories
Both Sweetwater and Southwest, which met last Friday to decide this year’s South Bay League title, captured Wednesday’s first-round openers to advance to Saturday’s quarterfinals.
Sweetwater (23-6) tipped off post-season play on a rainy evening with a 61-32 first-round victory against 16th-seeded Santana (11-18) while Southwest (21-7) topped 16th-seeded Calipatria (11-16) by a 58-40 score.
The Red Devils had trouble shaking the Sultans in the first half, leading by just five points after an explosive 17-9 start. Santana made the first bucket to start the second half to narrow the score to 29-26. But the hosts ran away from there to win by 29 points.
“We played around with our trap and didn’t do well with it in the first half,” SuHi head coach Jesse Aguirre explained after the game. “In the second half, we wanted to pound the ball half-court on both sides of the floor.”
With the Devils missing two point guards due to late season injuries, sophomore Craig McMillan took over the position and dominated the game with 21 points, 10 rebounds and two assists.
C.J. Jackson (17 points, 21 rebounds, three blocks) and Jeilen Jackson (12 points, 17 rebounds, four steals) complemented McMillan with equally powerful performances.
Sweetwater led by 20 points by the end of the third quarter and by 30 points with 1:45 left in the game.
Ethan Wolchko led Santana with 10 points.
Next up
Sweetwater will host South Bay League rival San Ysidro, seeded ninth, in Saturday’s quarterfinal round after the Cougars (20-9) posted a 75-57 first-round win at eighth-seeded Tri-City Christian (19-10) on Wednesday.
Freshman sensation D.J. Dudley paced San Ysidro with 24 points and eight rebounds while junior Kailen Rains slammed home 23 points.
Southwest will host eighth-seeded El Capitan (15-13) in Saturday’s quarterfinals after the Vaqueros eliminated ninth-seeded Victory Christian Academy, 74-51, in Wednesday’s opener at Hilltop High School.
San Diego Academy, which received a first-round bye, will host eighth-seeded San Pasqual (10-18) in Saturday’s quarterfinals after the Golden Eagles topped Horizon Prep (16-10) by an 84-37 score.
In other playoff openers:
- Mesa League champion Montgomery, seeded second in the Division I field, topped 15th-seeded Patrick Henry, 66-43, as Kyle Paranada poured in 24 points and Rahin Williams dropped in 16 points. The Aztecs (26-3) host 10th-seeded Helix (17-11) in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
- Mesa League runner-up Mater Dei Catholic, seeded sixth among Division I teams, held off 11th-seeded La Jolla, 56-54, behind 21 points from Melo Sanchez. The Crusaders (17-11) play at third-seeded Francis Parker (18-9) in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
- Olympian, the fifth-place finisher in the Mesa League standings, eliminated 12th-seeded Point Loma, 72-52, in a Division II clash. The fifth-seeded Eagles (19-9) play at fourth-seeded Bishop’s (19-10) in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
- Bonita Vista, seeded 15th in the Division II field, recorded a major 66-52 upset win at second-seeded Westview (21-8). The Barons, the fourth-place finisher in the Mesa League standings, take an 11-17 record into Saturday’s quarterfinal game at seventh-seeded Escondido (19-10).
All quarterfinal games tip off at 7 p.m.
Quarterfinal winners advance to semifinal parings next Tuesday for Division I, Division III, Division IV and Division V teams and Wednesday for Open Division and Division II teams.
- The Division I championship game is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 22, at 8 p.m. at UC San Diego (girls teams play at 6 p.m.).
- The Division II championship game is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 23, at 1 p.m. at UC San Diego (girls teams play at 11 a.m.).
- The Division III championship game is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 21, at 7:30 p.m. at Mira Mesa High School (girls teams at 5:30 p.m.).
- The Division IV championship game is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 21, at 7:30 p.m. at Serra High School (girls teams play at 5:30 p.m.).
- The Division V championship game is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 21, at 7:30 p.m. at Montgomery High School (girls teams play at 5:30 p.m.).
- The Open Division championship double-header is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 23, at UC San Diego — 5:30 p.m. (girls) and 7:30 p.m. (boys).
Teams ending their seasons in Wednesday’s opening round include 11th-seeded Otay Ranch in Division II (64-53 loss at sixth-seeded Mt. Miguel), 13th-seeded Hilltop in Division IV (75-68 loss at fourth-seeded O’Farrell Charter) and 12th-seeded Mar Vista in Division V (56-50 loss to fifth-seeded Cambridge).
