Boys’ basketball: Plenty of post-Christmas tournaments going on
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If watching bad college bowl games with out-of-town relatives cramps your style, you might want to check out one of the many post-Christmas basketball tournaments going on. Here’s a quick rundown of some big-time tourneys which tip-off on Friday:
- Orange Holiday Classic -- Defending champion Mater Dei will probably take this one, but there are plenty of other good teams looking to push the Monarchs off their No. 1-in-the-nation throne. Diamond Ranch, ranked No. 14 by The Times, and No. 17 Ocean View are among the challengers.
- Hart tournament -- Hart made it to the finals of the San Fernando Invitational after beating previously undefeated Golden Valley on Monday. Will these two Foothill League rivals meet again?
- Redondo tournament -- No. 11 Bishop Montgomery, fresh off its San Luis Obispo Mission Prep championship, looks to extend its impressive start.
- Nogales and Cathedral City tournaments -- No. 19 Rancho Verde and Corona Centennial are scheduled to hoop it up at Nogales (begins Saturday) while decent teams from Perris, Orange Lutheran, Capistrano Valley and Crespi will be looking to turn up the ‘Desert Heat’ at the Cathedral City tournament.
OUT OF AREA TOURNAMENTS
- Modesto Christian tournament -- This one is loaded with big teams: No. 5 Etiwanda, No. 7 Taft, Sylmar and Colony are all heading up to this San Joaquin Valley holiday-time classic.
- San Diego Torrey Pines -- Some of the best teams in the nation will be in San Diego, including such SoCal standouts as No. 6 Leuzinger, No. 8 Pasadena, No. 12 Windward, and No. 19 Simi Valley. This tourney is a magnet for future college stars and NBA players.
In addition to these, No. 3 Fairfax will be at the Les Schwab Invitational in Portland, Ore., No. 9 Campbell Hall will be looking for redemption at the Merv Lopes Classic in Honolulu and No. 10 Dominguez will be heading to the resort town of Myrtle Beach, S.C., for the Beach Ball Classic. No. 23 Los Alamitos, La Mirada and Huntington Beach will be playing in Orlando, Fla., and No. 20 Gardena Serra will be at the Las Vegas Prep Championship.
-- Austin Knoblauch and Eric Maddy
