Metro Conference basketball teams are at it again! Seven area squads will play for San Diego Section division title this weekend, including three top-seeded teams.
The schedule is highlighted by the top-seeded Montgomery Aztecs who will test No. 2 Carlsbad in a rematch of last year’s Open Division boys championship game. The teams will pair up Friday at 8 p.m. at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside.
This is Montgomery’s third consecutive trip to the Open Division final. The Aztecs (28-2) hope to nail down this year’s title after two successive runner-up finishes.
Montgomery defeated fourth-seeded Mission Bay, 64,53, in Tuesday’s semifinal while Carlsbad (25-5) eliminated sixth-seeded Cathedral Catholic 73-61. The Aztecs are riding a 10-game winning streak while the Lancers have won eight consecutive games.
Another highlight will be Saturday’s Division I doubleheader at Mater Dei Catholic High School pitting fourth-seeded Victory Christian Academy’s boys team against second-seeded St, Augustine at 4 p.m. and the second-seeded VCA girls team against top-seeded Rancho Buena Vista in the nightcap at 7 p.m.
VCA’s boys team (18-13) upset top-seeded La Jolla Country Day Torreys, 59-54, in Wednesday’s semifinals to advance while the Lady Knights (17-13) defeated sixth-seeded Mater Dei Catholic, 61-46, in Chula Vista on Wednesday.
VCA captured this year’s Metro-Mesa League girls title with an 8-0 record and have won 10 games in a row heading into Saturday’s division final. The Knights finished in third place in the Metro-Mesa League boys standings and carry a four-game winning streak into the division final.
The Lady Knights had four players score in double digits in Wednesday’s game: freshman Valentina Lopez and sophomore Shawnelle Sanders each dropped in 14points while junior Mai-ana Norita dished up 13 points and senior Sophia Abella collected 11 points. Norita was a rebounding machine with 12 boards.
Junior Jayden Gray keyed VCA with 23 points, followed by juniors Isaiah Owens (nine points), Chato Garcia (seven points) and Ben Cordova (seven points). The Knights led the Torreys (17-13) by a score of 15-9 after the first quarter and were up 27-24 at halftime.
RBV enters Saturday’s final 23-8 as the North County Coastal League champion while
St. Augustine, the City-Western League champion, is 17-13. The Saints eliminated sixth-seeded Sage Creek, 62-39, in Wednesday’s semifinals.
In sum, five boys teams and two girls teams will be out to win division titles for the Metro Conference. Joining Montgomery and Victory Christian on the boys side are the Olympian Eagles (top-seeded Division II), Southwest Raiders (top-seeded Division IV) and Chula Vista Spartans (third-seeded Division V). Otay Ranch (third-seeded Division II) joins Victory Christian Academy as a girls championship game qualifier.
Top-seeded Olympian (25-6) will be looking to claim its second consecutive CIF title after tipping fifth-seeded Madison, 64-58, in Wednesday’s Division II semifinals behind 24 points from sophomore Tristan Anderson. Southwest (25-6) held off a furious comeback by second-seeded Rancho Bernardo (20-11) to finish on top 59-56 on Wednesday while Chula Vista (23-6) dispatched seventh-seeded Escondido, 68-46, on Tuesday.
Metro-South Bay League champion Otay Ranch and fifth-seeded Montgomery were both bidding for berths to the Division II title game in a pair of road contests. The Lady Mustangs (25-5) were successful in knocking off second-seeded Imperial, 49-45, while top-seeded Bishop’s (19-11) ended the Lady Aztecs’ bid to return to the state championship game with a 63-55 semifinal victory.
Seniors Mackenzie Daffron and Maleah Porch poured in 18 points and 12 points, respectively, to lead Otay Ranch to the upset win over the Lady Tigers (25-5).
Championship game matchups include:
Open Division boys: (1) Montgomery (28-2) vs. (2) Carlsbad (25-5), Friday, Feb. 28, at 8 p.m. at Frontwave Arena (Oceanside)
Division I boys: (2) St. Augustine (17-13) vs. (4) Victory Christian Academy (18-13), Saturday, March 1, at 4 p.m. at Mater Dei Catholic High School
Division II boys: (1) Olympian (25-6) vs. (2) Mira Mesa (26-5), Saturday, March 1, at 4 p.m. at Canyon Crest Academy.
Division III boys: (1) Southwest (25-6) vs. (3) Maranatha Christian (16-15), Saturday, March 1, at 4 p.m. at Otay Ranch High School.
Division IV boys: (1) Pacific Ridge (27-2) vs. (3) Chula Vista (23-6), Thursday, Feb. 27, at 5 p.m. at Mater Dei Catholic High School.
Division I girls: (1) Rancho Buena Vista (23-8) vs. (2) Victory Christian Academy (17-13), Saturday, March 1, at 7 p.m. at Mater Dei Catholic High School
Division II girls: (1) Bishop’s (19-11) vs. (3) Otay Ranch (25-5), (Saturday, March 1 at 7 p.m. at Canyon Crest Academy.
Three in a row: Aztec hoop men to play for Open Division title again
Tradition lives in Aztec Territory. Montgomery High School’s boys basketball team is headed back to the Open Division boys championship game thanks to Tuesday’s 64-53 victory over fourth-seeded Mission Bay in front of a packed gym.
The top-seeded Aztecs (28-2) will face second-seeded Carlsbad (25-5) Friday at 8 p.m. to help inaugurate Frontwave Arena in Oceanside for prep sports.
Montgomery has come up short to St. Augustine and Carlsbad in the past two seasons while playing for the section’s top prize.
Carlsbad topped sixth-seeded Cathedral Catholic, 73-61, in Tuesday’s other semifinal to reach the Open Division final for the second consecutive year. The Lancers topped the Aztecs, 56-47, last season.
“This is the third year in a row that we’ve made the Open Division final, and we want to win it this year,” Aztec head coach Ed Martin said.
Montgomery faced early adversity in Tuesday’s matchup after the Buc (21-9) broke an extended scoreless standoff with a 5-0 run. The hosts rebounded to lead 8-5 with a comeback run of their own and never trailed thereafter.
A three-point shot by junior J.J. Sanchez doubled the score to 18-9. The Aztecs led by 11 points before Mission Bay narrowed the score to 27-21 at halftime on a trey of its own.
Both teams shot the long ball throughout the game. Montgomery promptly took a 30-21 lead on a trey to start the second half.
Sanchez completed a three-point play with a foul shot as the hosts took a 10-point lead, 33-23. Another trey upped the Aztec lead to 36-23.
But the Bucs continued to hang around, drawing closer at 36-28 on an uncontested drive. Mission Bay used a pair of treys to trim the Montgomery lead to eight points at 45-37 and 48-40 as the third quarter transitioned into the fourth quarter.
Montgomery extended its lead to 13 points on three occasions before the Bucs started dropping in three-point shots to position themselves for a game-ending rush.
The Aztec lead was down to seven points, 57-50, with 3:17 to play in regulation. But a short jumper by sophomore Xavier Guerrero made it a nine-point game and a hook shot by junior Xair Mendez stretched the hosts’ advantage to 11 points outside of a minute to play.
A slam dunk narrowed the score to 61-52 inside of a minute remaining. But Mendez subsequently sank a pair of free throws to allow the Aztecs to regain their 11-point lead and the crowd could now sense a return trip to the Open Division championship game was imminent.
Martin said team chemistry has been the key to success for his team this season.
“We’re not the fastest team but we make other teams play at our pace,” the Aztec coach said.
Mendez paced the victors with a team-high 25 points while dropping in three treys and grabbing seven rebounds. Sanchez poured in 20 points, hitting four three-points shots whenever the score dictated. He added four rebounds, eight assists, two steals and one block.
Junior Devin Hamilton tacked on 10 points while Guerrero logged eight points with four rebounds and two steals. Senior six-foot-six Jayden Cannon, a teenage Bill Walton lookalike, dropped in two points while junior Alek Sanchez had one point with three steals and three rebounds.
J.J. Sanchez turned in the impact performance.
“That’s the type of performance we expect from him, that we need from him,” Martin said.
“We knew they would bring in some aggressiveness and physicality,” said Sanchez, the Metro-Mesa League’s player of the year and two-time All-CIF selection. “We started out slow but started hitting our shots. It was a team effort both defensively and offensively. Everyone was pitching in.”
Sanchez will be playing in his third consecutive Open Division final.
“It shows our hard work pays off,” he said.
