St. Francis boys’ basketball, La Canada girls headed to state tournaments

Though their aspirations for CIF Southern Section titles fell short, the St. Francis High boys’ basketball team and La Canada’s girls’ squad still have state glory to look forward to.

On Sunday, the CIF State offices released its brackets and the Golden Knights and Spartans are both headed on the road with state aspirations at stake.

St. Francis, after its loss to Oak Park on Friday in the CIF Southern Section Division 3-A finals, will make a lengthy journey south to play the San Diego Section’s Kearny.

Kearny boasts an impressive 25-2 record and was tabbed with the sixth seed in the Southern California bracket, while the Golden Knights (19-12) are seeded at No. 11. The winner will play No. 7 Fresno (24-4) of the Central Section or La Mirada (21-10) of the Southern Section in Saturday’s second round.

La Canada sports a 23-6 record after winning the Rio Hondo League title and advancing to the CIF Southern Section Division 3-A semifinals. It will face the City Section’s Eagle Rock (25-9), which weighs in at the eighth seed, while the Spartans took No. 9, just ahead of Rio Hondo rival South Pasadena at No. 10. The winner will advance to face No. 1 Santa Barbara (26-5) of the Southern Section or No. 16 Shafter (23-8) of the Central Section in the second round on Saturday.