BOYS’ BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES

CITY SECTION

Championship Division

Westchester (20-3) vs. Los Angeles Fairfax (24-4), 5 p.m. Saturday, at the Forum

Fairfax has lost seven consecutive games to Westchester since its three-point victory in Western League play two years ago. The Lions have also fallen in the section final the last three seasons, twice to Westchester, but came back last year to win the Division I state title. Westchester, banned from postseason play last season for an alleged recruiting violation, started its last two playoff games slowly but had enough skill to prevail. Westchester’s 6-foot-10 center, Amir Johnson, who signed with Louisville, was bottled up by Fairfax in their last meeting, but the Comets got hot from the outside and won, 66-62. Fairfax will count on Duke-bound forward Jamal Boykin, who is averaging 22.6 points and 11.9 rebounds.

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SOUTHERN SECTION

Division I-AA

Etiwanda (29-1) vs. Newhall Hart (19-12), 8:30 p.m. Saturday, at Arrowhead Pond

The Cinderella story of this season’s playoffs is Hart, which finished 11th in its own tournament in December and third in the Foothill League but has come alive down the stretch to reach the title game for the first time since 1959. Etiwanda has been the team to beat in the division since the start of the season, and the Eagles are eager to atone for their loss to Long Beach Poly in last season’s title game. UCLA-bound guard Darren Collison leads top-seeded Etiwanda with a 21.2 scoring average but has plenty of help in backcourt mate David Carter and post players Jeff Pendergraph and Rashad Austin.

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Division I-A

Lake Forest El Toro (25-5) vs. Aliso Viejo Aliso Niguel (27-3), 6:30 p.m. Saturday, at Arrowhead Pond

These teams met in a quarterfinal game of the Anaheim District tournament on Dec. 16, when El Toro won, 65-64, on a buzzer-beater by 7-foot-1 junior center David Foster. Aliso Niguel, seeded third, is led by UCLA-bound guard Michael Roll, who is averaging 25 points, seven rebounds and five assists. But the top-seeded Chargers have been shutting the door on leading scorers in the last five games, holding Chad de Casas of Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley to two points, Claude Williams of San Bernardino Arroyo Valley to 13 points and James Powell of Glendora to 11 points. Senior point guard Kelvin Kim has been hot lately in the fourth quarter for El Toro.

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Division II-AA

Compton Dominguez (23-5) vs. Pasadena (27-2), 9 a.m. Saturday, at Arrowhead Pond

This game could be a shootout or a stalemate, depending on how well each team shoots. Top-seeded Dominguez and third-seeded Pasadena each tries to create offense by pressuring the ball on defense and each does it as well as any team in the Southland. But what separates these teams is Dominguez guard Bryan Harvey, who has signed with Louisville. Harvey has scoring ability and big-game experience after leading the Dons to the Division II state title last season. He scored 19 points in a 57-54 victory over Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley in a semifinal Tuesday.

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Division II-A

Santa Ana Mater Dei (27-3) vs. Ontario Colony (27-5), 2:15 p.m. Saturday, at Arrowhead Pond

Mater Dei appears to be playing at its highest level of the season heading into the championship game, where it will try to win its sixth section title in the last seven years and 18th overall. Monarch sophomore forward Taylor King is averaging 27 points in the postseason, and senior point guard Mike Gerrity is averaging 26. Gerrity is also four assists shy of breaking the Orange County career record of 804 set by Jimmy Harris of Huntington Beach Ocean View, currently the Seahawks’ co-coach. Colony, in only its second season playing at the varsity level, is led by the backcourt tandem of Stedman Merritt and Brandon Davis.

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Division III-AA

Lakewood Artesia (26-3) vs. Santa Margarita (25-4), 12:30 p.m. Saturday, at Arrowhead Pond

Artesia brings a 19-game winning streak into the title game and one of the Southland’s most balanced offenses. James Harden, Malik Story, Derek Glasser and Shawntelle Norman each average from 11 to 13 points for the top-seeded Pioneers, who beat Santa Margarita to win the Division III-AA title in 2003. The second-seeded Eagles will count on UCLA-bound junior forward James Keefe to get their offense clicking. Keefe averages slightly more than 17 points and 12 rebounds, and his presence also tends to open up the perimeter for three-point shooters Jonathan Gunderson, Chase Perkowski and Cheyne Martin.

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Division III-A

Oak Park (19-9) vs. North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake (24-3), 10:45 a.m. Saturday, at Arrowhead Pond

Harvard-Westlake is trying for its fourth consecutive section title and, for the first time in three years, won’t have to face Compton Centennial in the finale. That’s because 12th-seeded Oak Park upset the No. 1 Apaches, 53-52, on a last-second jump shot by Blake Wildt in a semifinal Friday. Wildt, a 6-5 senior forward, also made the game-winning shot in the quarterfinals to defeat fourth-seeded El Segundo, 55-53. He will have his hands full against Alex Stepheson, a 6-9 senior center who is averaging 17 points and 14 rebounds for the second-seeded Wolverines. In the postseason, Stepheson has 62 rebounds in three games.

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Division IV-AA

North Hollywood Campbell Hall (27-0) vs. L.A. Verbum Dei (16-7), 8:15 tonight, at Loyola Marymount

Campbell Hall took a different route to the title game than Verbum Dei. The top-seeded Vikings played a schedule more typical of a lower-division team, while No. 3 Verbum Dei took its lumps against some of the region’s best, including Mater Dei, Woodland Hills Taft and Compton Centennial. Campbell Hall figures to rely on forwards Joe Ford and Conor Turley, each averaging 17 points. Verbum Dei is led by Gerard Anderson, Vince Fuller and Auri Allen. Fuller scored a season-high 28 points in an 87-84 double overtime victory over second-seeded Gardena Serra in a semifinal Friday.

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Division IV-A

Van Nuys Montclair Prep (24-7) vs. Ontario Christian (20-7), 6:30 tonight, at Loyola Marymount

Top-seeded Montclair Prep has been sailing through its bracket, winning its four playoff games by an average of 28 points. The sixth-seeded Knights, on the other hand, have been sweating through the postseason, winning their last three games by a combined 14 points. Keith Gabrielse, Brandon Bergeron, Phil Belko and Jeff Zuidema all average in double figures in scoring for Ontario Christian. Montclair Prep is led by junior guard Craig Partovich, who is averaging 15.3 points, and 6-7 freshman center Jin Soo Kim.

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Division V-AA

Palos Verdes Estates Rolling Hills Prep (17-11) vs. Granada Hills Hillcrest Christian (22-6), 4:45 p.m. today, at Loyola Marymount

Rolling Hills Prep is feeling fortunate to get a shot at its fourth consecutive Division V-AA title. The fourth-seeded Huskies slipped past No. 1 San Juan Capistrano Serra, rallying from an eight-point halftime deficit to win, 58-55, in a semifinal Tuesday. Tristan Smith had the hot hand against Serra, scoring 12 of his team-high 19 points on three-point baskets. Hillcrest Christian, which lost to Rolling Hills Prep in last season’s final, is led by Drew Rigney and Ryan Haliday, each averaging 19 points.

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Division V-A

L.A. Price (24-4) vs. La Canada Renaissance Academy (23-5), 3 p.m. today, at Loyola Marymount

Price has won its three playoff games by an average of 38 points and appears on course for a seventh consecutive section title. Marcus Palmer and Frank Henry-Ala have been the go-to guys on offense for the top-seeded Knights. Renaissance Academy, in its fifth season, has one of the top players in the division in senior forward Leif Williams, and freshman Justin Cook is coming off a 26-point performance in a 68-65 semifinal victory over Lancaster Antelope Valley Christian.

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-- Dan Arritt