San Diego High School Basketball Playoff Preview : Four 3rd-Place Finishers Enter Quarterfinals

Four high school teams that finished third in their leagues play tonight or Saturday in the quarterfinals of the San Diego Section basketball playoffs.

The playoffs’ expansion from eight to 12 teams has given new life to teams that did not finish first or second in their leagues. In the past, only the top two teams in each league advanced to the playoffs.

In the 3-A bracket: Mira Mesa, the third-place team in the Eastern League, plays at Mount Carmel. San Dieguito, the third-place team in the Palomar League, plays top-seeded Morse.

In the 2-A: La Jolla, which tied for third in the City Western League, plays El Camino. Christian, third place in the City Central League, travels to Castle Park.

All playoff games are at 7:30 p.m., except for a doubleheader at Lincoln tonight that has the Lincoln-Ramona girls’ game at 6 and the Oceanside-Lincoln boys’ game at 8.

In today’s games:

3-A BOYS

Mount Miguel (16-8) at Sweetwater (15-9)--After upsetting fifth-seeded Torrey Pines, Mount Miguel travels to play Metro-Mesa League champion Sweetwater. Mount Miguel was routed in the playoffs, 88-48, by Sweetwater last year. Sweetwater’s record is deceiving. Since forward Mahlon Williams became academically eligible in January, the Red Devils have not lost a game. As it has all season, Mount Miguel will rely on its speed and quickness.

Mira Mesa (19-6) at Mount Carmel (20-3)--This game matches teams from the county’s two toughest leagues, each having three teams ranked in the top 10. No. 7 Mira Mesa finished third in the City Eastern League. No. 2 Mount Carmel won the Palomar League title. Although it finished third, Mira Mesa is the only San Diego County team to defeat top-ranked Morse. Both teams have solid defenses, with Mount Carmel holding its opponents to an average of 50 points a game. Mira Mesa is led by David Lee, who averages 14.2 points.

In Saturday’s games:

San Dieguito (16-8) at Morse (19-2)--In another Eastern-Palomar matchup, No. 10 San Dieguito, which lost a playoff game to Torrey Pines, plays Morse. Morse’s only loss to a San Diego County team was to Mira Mesa, 39-38. But Morse made just 14 of 87 shots (16%) in that game. San Dieguito has the No. 1 defense in the county, allowing an average of 43 points a game. Morse is averaging 70.5 points on offense.

Madison (18-7) at Monte Vista (17-5)--Monte Vista won the Grossmont’s top seed with a playoff victory over Mount Miguel but has to open the playoffs against No. 4 Madison, the second-place finisher in the Eastern League. Both teams like to run. Madison is averaging 61 points and Monte Vista is averaging 62.

2-A BOYS

In today’s games:

Oceanside (18-7) at Lincoln (16-8)--No. 3 Oceanside is the top-ranked 2-A team, but after losing a coin flip with El Camino to decide the Avocado League top seed the Pirates find themselves traveling to play No. 8 Lincoln. Guard Junior Seau leads a strong Oceanside team that is 18-2 since several of its starters began playing after the football playoffs. Lincoln is led by 6-3 Ken Thompson, who averages 15.6 points. Oceanside will most likely play its slow-tempo game to keep high-scoring Lincoln out of its offense, which is averaging 73 points.

St. Augustine (16-7) at Kearny (18-6)--St. Augustine rallied to finish second in the City Central League behind Lincoln, and Kearny held a three-game lead in the City Western League, only to lose three straight and back into the league title. St. Augustine is led by Charley Applegate, the county’s No. 3 scorer at 21.5 points a game.

In Saturday’s games:

La Jolla (14-8) at El Camino (21-3)--Edmond Johnson, the county’s leading scorer at 25.8 points a game, leads No. 6 El Camino against La Jolla, which tied for third in the City Western League. El Camino has one of the more balanced teams in the county, averaging 71.5 points while allowing an average of 52. This game is a contrast in styles with high-scoring El Camino against La Jolla’s setup offense and a defense that allows an average of 49 points.

Christian (17-9) at Castle Park (20-4)--No. 9 Castle Park breezed through its Metro Conference schedule with a 13-0 record, including victories over the conference’s five 3-A teams. Castle Park is the top-scoring team in the county, averaging nearly 79 points. Vince Bucca leads Castle Park with 20 points a game.

GIRLS

Tonight’s 3-A matchups feature three-time defending state champion Point Loma opening the playoffs by playing host to Fallbrook. Grossmont League champion and third-seeded Santana plays host to Madison, which finished second to Point Loma in the Eastern League.

In tonight’s 2-A games, fourth-seeded Lincoln plays host to fifth-seeded Ramona, and second-seeded San Pasqual plays host to 10th-seeded Oceanside, an upset winner over No. 7 San Diego.

Saturday’s 3-A games have second-seeded Vista playing host to No. 7 Helix, and fourth-seeded Bonita Vista playing host to No. 5 Mount Carmel.

The 2-A games have top-seeded La Jolla playing host to No. 8 San Marcos, and No. 6 Crawford traveling to No. 3 Southwest. Crawford would have been seeded in the top four as a conference champion, but after going 10-0 in league, the Colts had to forfeit six games because of an ineligible player.