PREVIEWS: HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS : SOUTHERN SECTION BOYS : Jordan, Millikan Play It Again for Title

For the third time this season, Moore League rivals Long Beach Jordan and Long Beach Millikan will meet in a boys’ high school basketball game, Saturday at 8:30 p.m., the last of six Southern Section divisional finals at the Sports Arena.

The Southern Section will decide champions in Divisions I-AA, I-A, II-AA, II-A, III-AA and III-A, with the first game starting at 9:30 a.m.

Jordan (22-7) defeated Millikan twice in the regular season en route to winning the league title. The Panthers, who have never won a Southern Section title, are led by Deandre Smith and Rodney Harris, each of whom is averaging 12 points a game. Millikan (24-4), which won the Southern Section 5-AA title in 1989, relies on the scoring of Pat Thacker, who is averaging 18 points; Dante Powell, 16.9, and Jamie Davis, 14.5.

In the I-A final, Duke-bound Cherokee Parks will lead Huntington Beach Marina (19-10) against Santa Barbara (25-5) at 6:45 p.m. Marina, which defeated defending State Division I champion Santa Ana Mater Dei in the semifinals, has a strong inside game with the 6-foot-11 Parks, who is averaging 30 points and 15 rebounds. Santa Barbara, which has not won a Southern Section title since 1935, is led by Coach Bob Purdy’s son, Matt, who is averaging 26 points and 13 rebounds.

Riverside North (24-3) will meet Tustin (25-4) in the II-AA final at 2:45 p.m. Top-seeded North is led by Terreno Butler and Quincey Brewer, who have combined to average 27 points.

Defending Section and State Division II champion Artesia (25-2) will play Irvine Woodbridge (20-8) in the II-A final at 1 p.m. Artesia is led by senior DeAndre Austin and sophomores Charles O’Bannon, Avondre Jones and James Cotton.

Top-seeded Costa Mesa Estancia (25-4), defending divisional champion, will meet second-seeded Pomona (20-6) in the III-AA final at 11:15 a.m., and Anaheim Servite (22-6), the defending State Division III champion, will play top-seeded Inglewood Morningside in the III-A final at 9:30 a.m.

In games beginning at 7:30 p.m. tonight, the IV-AA final between Verbum Dei (17-10) and Oxnard Santa Clara (24-4) will be at Cerritos College; the V-AA final between North Hollywood Campbell Hall (24-3) and Brentwood (17-10) will be at Occidental College, and the V-A final between La Canada Ribet Academy (27-2) and Arcadia Rio Hondo Prep (25-1) will be at Glendale College. The IV-A final between Santa Maria St. Joseph (24-2) and Santa Monica St. Monica (17-8) will be at Loyola Marymount at 8 p.m.