Serra-Mater Dei Will Be Coaches’ Reunion

An interesting first-round matchup will take place in the Orange tournament at Chapman on Monday, when the San Juan Capistrano Serra boys’ basketball team takes on perennial power Santa Ana Mater Dei at 8:30 p.m.

Serra is coached by Tom Lewis, who was the Southern Section 5-A boys’ basketball player of the year in 1985 when he played for Coach Gary McKnight at Mater Dei.

The former high school All-American went on to play for USC and Pepperdine and has also served as an assistant to McKnight and a personal coach for Chicago Bull center Tyson Chandler.

In its first varsity season, Serra (7-5) beat Long Beach Poly, 72-63, to finish third at the Huntington Beach Ocean View Tournament of Champions.

The Monarchs (8-2), ranked No. 5 in the Southland by The Times, are coming off a loss to Snellville (Ga.) South Gwinnett, ranked No. 2 in the nation by USA Today, Wednesday in the consolation final of the City of Palms tournament in Fort Myers, Fla.

Among other teams in the tournament, which concludes Thursday, are Mater Dei’s Serra League rival, No. 10 Santa Margarita, Anaheim Esperanza, Mission Viejo and Orange Lutheran.

Girls’ Basketball

More than a dozen teams appear to have a fair shot at winning the Chino Hills Ayala Best of the West tournament, which begins Monday at Ayala and Chino Don Lugo.

First-round winners will continue play at Ayala, with losers going to Don Lugo. The tournament concludes Friday.

Temecula Valley, led by the scoring of senior guard Jessie Thompson, has to be the favorite. The Golden Bears (9-0), No. 7 in the Southland in The Times’ rankings, open against Santa Barbara at 11:30 a.m. at Ayala.

However, the most competitive opening-round games at Ayala are Inglewood Morningside vs. Mira Loma Jurupa Valley at 1 p.m.; Corona Centennial vs. Riverside Ramona at 4; and Anaheim Esperanza vs. Perris at 5:30.

Top first-round games at Don Lugo High include Moreno Valley Rancho Verde vs. Pomona Diamond Ranch at 3 p.m., and Long Beach Millikan vs. Brentwood at 6.

-- Martin Henderson

Boys’ Soccer

The West Coast Classic will be held Wednesday through Saturday at Irvine Valley College.

It will feature 32 invited teams from four states, including Southland power Anaheim Esperanza, ranked No. 1 in the Southern Section coaches’ Division I preseason poll.

Football

Quarterback Mark Sanchez of Mission Viejo is one of five finalists for the Ball Park national player of the year award, which will be announced during the fifth U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 15 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

The other finalists are: Jake Christensen of Lockport (Ill.) Township; Greg Paulus of Manlius (N.Y.) Christian Brothers; Ryan Perrilloux of Reserve (La.) East St. John; and Derrick Williams of Upper Marlboro (Md.) Roosevelt.

The game will be televised live on NBC at 10 a.m.

*

Mission Viejo, which posted a 14-0 record on its way to winning the Southern Section Division II championship, finished No. 2 in the final national rankings released by StudentSportsFootball.com and No. 3 in USA Today’s final rankings.

Southlake (Texas) Carroll, which finished 16-0 and won the Texas Class 5A state championship, went wire to wire atop both rankings, followed by Charlotte (N.C.) Independence (15-0) in USA Today’s rankings.

Cal-Hi Sports named Mission Viejo the state’s team of the year, ending a 10-year run by Concord De La Salle.

*

Andre Harris, a 6-2 junior running back who was considered the top player at Palisades last season, has transferred to Woodland Hills Taft.