PREP BASKETBALL : Mater Dei, Crenshaw on Rematch Track

If all goes as expected, boys’ basketball powers Santa Ana Mater Dei and Crenshaw will face each other in a rematch of last season at Anaheim Arena on Saturday night.

Pairings were released Sunday for the State tournament’s Southern Regional. Despite receiving a scare from Edison in the Southern Section I-A championship Saturday, Mater Dei (31-0) was seeded No. 1 in Division I.

The Monarchs, ranked No. 1 by The Times, will open the tournament on Tuesday against Crescenta Valley at the UC Irvine Bren Center. Second-seeded Crenshaw (25-2), the City 4-A champion, will open against Edison.

Boys’ and girls’ semifinals in all five divisions will be Thursday night, and the finals will be Saturday. The finals in Divisions I, II and III will be at Anaheim Arena, and IV and V will be at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Winners will play their Northern Regional counterparts in the State tournament March 18 and 19 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

In the girls’ Division I, Lynwood (29-1), The Times’ No. 2 team and the Southern Section I-AA champion, will play host to Central runner-up Bakersfield (22-4) at 7:30.

Ventura Buena (24-2), the Southern I-A winner, will play at San Diego champion Vista (20-7).

In Division III, Brea-Olinda (29-0), The Times’ No. 1 team and the Southern III-AA winner, will play San Diego Scripps Ranch (20-5).