SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BASKETBALL FINALS

DIVISION I

Long Beach Poly (30-3) vs. Westchester (30-2)

8 p.m., Long Beach Arena

Westchester, ranked No. 5 in the nation in one poll and looking to repeat its state championship feat of 1998, will have its hands full with a strong Poly frontcourt. Guard Brandon Heath scored 20 of his 28 points in the first half of Westchester’s 91-74 semifinal victory over Clovis West last Saturday. Heath, who has committed to San Diego State, is one of four Comets headed to the next level, along with Hassan Adams (Arizona), Brandon Bowman (Georgetown) and Ashanti Cook (New Mexico). Junior Trevor Ariza, who scored 16 against Clovis West, will be a top recruit next season. Poly, trying to reach its first state championship game since 1984, will attack Westchester in the post. Marcedes Lewis, who has signed to play football at UCLA, scored five points down the stretch in a 76-66 semifinal victory over Fairfax. The Jackrabbits have two other 6-7 post players: Reggie Butler scored 22 points against Fairfax and Bobby Jones, a transfer from Compton Dominguez, scored 12 points.

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DIVISION II

Santa Ana Mater Dei (29-4) vs. Riverside King (29-4)

4 p.m., Long Beach Arena

Third-seeded King, making its first regional final appearance in its brief history, will do well to keep the score close going into the fourth quarter. The Wolves win when they get big games from standouts Marvin Lea and Leon Rosborough and yeoman-like performances from a handful of role players, including three-point specialist Bret Goodman. Lea scored 32 points and Rosborough had 18 as the Wolves defeated Redondo Union, 66-57, in a regional semifinal to avenge a loss to the Sea Hawks in the Southern Section Division II-A final. Top-seeded Mater Dei has won 22 in a row and is looking for a second consecutive state title after winning the Division I championship last season. The Monarchs’ success is no secret, considering their second team is nearly as good as their first. Guard Wesley Washington had 19 points and forward Mike Strawberry added 18 in Mater Dei’s 88-79 semifinal victory over Pasadena.

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DIVISION III

Compton Centennial (30-1)

vs. Torrance Bishop Montgomery (26-6)

Noon, Long Beach Arena

If Centennial is to break the playoff hex of Bishop Montgomery, it will need to get the ball into the hands of one of its star players in crunch time. Neither forward Darius Sanders nor guards Gabriel Pruitt and Sterling Byrd got off a shot on the Apaches’ final two possessions in their 57-55 loss to the Knights in the Southern Section Division III-A final. That defeat, Centennial’s first of the season, marked the fifth time the Apaches have lost to the Knights in the playoffs over the last three seasons. Two-time defending state champion Bishop Montgomery has defeated Centennial in three consecutive section finals and two straight regional semifinals. The top-seeded Knights will need the interior tandem of Fred Washington and Gavin Lee to play at its best to topple the second-seeded Apaches.

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DIVISION IV

San Diego Horizon (27-4) vs. Bakersfield Garces (29-4)

7 p.m., Long Beach City College

Top-seeded Horizon has enough talent to contend for the Division I title but can’t because the playoff divisions are based on enrollment. Standout junior forward Nate Carter looks to lead the Panthers, the San Diego Section champions. Carter had 28 points in a 77-63 semifinal victory over North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake. Garces, which won the Central Section title, is led by Kyle Shiloh, who made five of nine three-pointers and had 24 points in a 73-64 semifinal victory over Los Angeles Verbum Dei.

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DIVISION V

Los Angeles Price (29-6) vs. Reedley Immanuel (28-4)

3 p.m., Long Beach City College

While guard Derrick Williams has led the way most of the season for top-seeded Price, Paul Simon had 16 points and Darren Morrison and Kalief Washington added 12 each in the Knights’ 56-46 semifinal victory over La Jolla Country Day. Williams, who has been hampered during the playoffs by an ankle injury, had six points. Third-seeded Immanuel, the Central Section champion, edged San Luis Obispo Mission Prep, 51-50, in a semifinal after Jeff Warkentin made a free throw with 31 seconds left in overtime. Price defeated Immanuel, 69-59, in the regional final last year.

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Staff writers Mike Bresnahan and Ben Bolch contributed to this report.