BOYS’ REGIONAL PAIRINGS : Marina Doesn’t Get an Invitation to Playoffs

Marina High School fell victim to a simple numbers game Sunday when it was denied entry in the Southern California Division I boys’ basketball regionals.

Marina (19-11) failed to gain an entry to the eight-team field after losing to Santa Barbara, 50-49, in the Southern Section Division I-A title game Saturday. Marina and Verbum Dei (16-11) were the only section runners-up that failed to make the regionals.

“I’m not so sure that if we had lost only five or six games, that we could have gotten in,” Marina Coach Steve Popovich said. “When you look and see that Manual Arts (23-4) and Millikan (24-5) were the at-large teams, you get an idea how tough the division is.”

Some of the seeded teams didn’t fare well, either. Santa Barbara (26-5) is seeded third in the field but drew a road game to Bakersfield (20-7) Tuesday night in the first round. Fremont (30-1), which has scored 90 or more points in 16 games, is the division’s top-seeded team.

There’s a good possibility that Sea View League rivals Woodbridge and Tustin could meet for a third time this year in the Division II semifinals Thursday. Tustin (26-4) is seeded second and plays host to Visalia Redwood (19-9).

Woodbridge (21-10) is seeded eighth and will travel to Escondido San Pasqual (19-7). San Pasqual features 6-foot-10 center Erik Meek, who will join Marina’s Cherokee Parks at Duke next season.

A possible rematch of Estancia’s 51-49 overtime victory over Servite in last year’s sectional championship might occur in the Division III semifinals. Servite, which attempts to repeat as state champions, is the division’s top-seeded team.

Servite (23-6) will play host to Tulare Western (15-12) in the opening round, while Estancia (25-5) will travel to San Diego to meet Ramona (20-5) at a site to be announced. If Servite and Estancia win, the schools will meet in the semifinals Thursday night at Cypress College.

Championship games are scheduled for Saturday at the Los Angeles Sports Arena and Cal State Dominguez.

The Division III championship will be played at 10:45 a.m. and the Division II championship at 5:30 p.m. at the Sports Arena.