Boys’ basketball: Open Division quarterfinal showdowns on Friday
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The Southern Section championship games aren’t until next weekend, but the Open Division quarterfinal games will have the same quality and intensity of a championship game.
Here are the matchups for Friday at 7 p.m.:
Santa Ana Mater Dei at Mayfair: Unbeaten Mater Dei barely escaped with an overtime win over Cantwell-Sacred Heart last week. “They were a good team. They were well coached,” Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight said.
What the Monarchs have that no one else can call upon is Stanley Johnson. He will face Mayfair standout point guard Kendall Small. Mayfair played a tough nonleague schedule and should have a vocal home crowd, so the Monarchs better show up with their A game.
Riverside North at Corona Centennial: North hasn’t lost on the court all season and has terrific guards in senior Deshon Taylor, averaging 24.4 points, and sophomore Dikymbe Martin. Centennial counters with its own standout guards in Sedrick Barefield (SMU commit) and Deontae North (Long Beach State.). This game will go down to the final seconds to decide.
Chino Hills at Etiwanda: Get ready for the early UCLA vs. USC point guard rivalry, because it’s UCLA commit Lonzo Ball going against USC signee Jordan McLaughlin. Chino Hills has played as well as any team in Southern California during the month of February. It’s a matter whether Chino Hills is ready for Etiwanda’s relentless man-to-man defense.
Loyola at Redondo: Loyola has had a week to work on dealing with a full-court press, something the Cubs struggled against St. John Bosco. Redondo probably saw that and will test the Cubs. Loyola will need another strong performance from Khalil Bedart-Ghani. Redondo is starting to reach peak form, something it did last season en route to a state Division II championship.
The Open Division consolation games on Friday aren’t too shabby either: Chaminade vs. Cantwell-Sacred Heart at Whittier; Sierra Canyon at Gardena Serra; St. John Bosco at Compton; Bishop Montgomery at Cathedral.
It still appears likely that all 16 teams in the Open Division will be getting selected for the state playoffs.
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