DIVISION I AND II PREVIEWS

Boys

AT THE GALEN CENTER

Division I: Santa Ana Mater Dei (32-1) vs. Los Angeles Westchester (30-3), 8 p.m. -- Westchester won an L.A. City Section semifinal and championship in the Galen Center this year. “That gives them a huge advantage,” Mater Dei guard Gary Franklin Jr. said. Although both teams have top-notch guards, the Comets in senior Reggie Murphy have one thing the Monarchs don’t: a true big man. The 6-foot-9 forward averages 12 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.1 blocks. “I feel like he’s the X factor,” Westchester guard Kareem Jamar said.

Division II: Compton (21-13) vs. San Diego Lincoln (27-2), 4 p.m. -- Unseeded Compton knocked off top-seeded and defending state champion Rialto Eisenhower, 64-61, in a semifinal to get within one victory of its first appearance in a state title game. “We were written off a long time ago,” said Tarbabes Coach Tony Thomas, whose team finished second in the Moore League behind Long Beach Poly and lost to Murrieta Valley in the Southern Section Division 2AA championship. Thomas said Lincoln’s 81-45 semifinal victory over Pasadena “shook me up pretty good” because of how highly he regarded the Bulldogs.

-- Ben Bolch

Girls

AT THE GALEN CENTER

Division I: Long Beach Poly (31-2) vs. Fresno Clovis West (27-4), 6 p.m. -- Long Beach Poly has won four consecutive Division I state titles. Clovis WestA is making its first Division I Regional final appearance. The Jackrabbits have multiple weapons, while the Eagles are equipped with 6-foot-3 senior center Janae Coffee and senior guard Brianna Orlich. Both teams can shoot and handle the ball well, but the Jackrabbits have an edge with their big-game experience.

Division II: Brea Olinda (31-2) vs. Santa Ana Mater Dei (30-1), 2 p.m. -- This rematch features two of the best teams in the nation. Brea Olinda has dealt the Monarchs their only two losses the last two seasons. The Ladycats won last year’s Regional final, 44-38, and grabbed aA 47-43 victory in January. This time around things may be different because Brea Olinda junior point guard Alexis Perry recently suffered a torn knee ligament. It is questionable whether the Ladycats will be able to overcome the Monarchs’A press without their star ballhandler. Brea Olinda is very deep, though, and is led by sophomore forwards Keitra Wallace and Jeanier Olukemi and senior guard Kelsey Harris. Mater Dei has junior guard Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and sophomore point guard Jordan Adams.A

-- Melissa Rohlin