CIF BOYS BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS: All-county games and crosstown match-up on tap

On By tim-burt-oc-sports-zone

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Senior center Emmanuel Lemus leads Santa Ana into the CIF playoffs. (Photo: Fernando M. Donado, For OC Sports Zone).

Analysis from OC Sports Zone on Wednesday’s openers.

There are some potentially very exciting all-Orange County match-ups Wednesday in the opening round of the CIF boys basketball playoffs, including San Juan Hills at Crean Lutheran and Santa Margarita at Los Alamitos in Division 1; Orange Lutheran at Aliso Niguel, Villa Park at Edison and Marina at Tesoro in Division 2AA; and Laguna Hills at Newport Harbor in Division 3A. In addition, Portola plays at No. 2 seed Pacifica Christian in Division 2A.

Also on the schedule is a game between two Santa Ana rivals, Santa Ana and Segerstrom in Division 4A. The game is at Segerstrom at 7 p.m.

Segerstrom, led by first-year coach Eddie Andrade, won the Golden West League title (the first league title since 2011) while Santa Ana, led by first-year coach Zach Johnson, took fourth in the Orange Coast League.

The teams met in a consolation round game at the Estancia Coast Classic with Santa Ana winning 63-52. Both teams finished the regular season strong with Segerstrom (14-11 overall) going 10-1 since the loss to Santa Ana.

Santa Ana (18-7) won its final four league games.

Both teams have outstanding players. Emmanuel Lemus is a standout center and Jack Rivera an excellent guard for Santa Ana. Segerstrom’s top players have been Isiah Velasquez, who is averaging about 12 points a game and Jalen Cervantes, who is averaging six points and five rebounds.

This should draw quite a crowd at Segerstrom and looks to be a close one and perhaps a defensive battle.

To see the slide show, click on the first photo:

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….Crean Lutheran High School’s boys basketball team has had quite a season. The Saints. led by their outstanding freshman guard Kaiden Bailey, won their third Empire League title in a row and their league winning streak is now at 31 dating back to the 2020 season. Coach Nate Klitzing notched his 100th career victory and the Saints have played a very challenging schedule. If Crean Lutheran can get past San Juan Hills in the opener, the Saints will likely face Mater Dei on Friday. Mater Dei defeated Crean Lutheran 88-65 at the State Preview Classic last month. Mater Dei opens up with Long Beach Poly Wednesday.

If Crean Lutheran and Mater Dei play Friday, the game would be played at Mater Dei since Mater Dei won the coin flip.

……Sage Hill, led by 6-8 junior center Carter Bryant, is looking for a long run in the 4A playoffs. The Lightning was tested in the Pacific Coast League tournament last week, capturing wins over University, Portola and Laguna Hills. Bryant is a tremendous player and could take the Lightning deep into the playoffs. Sage Hill hosts Whittier in the opening round.

….Some other teams to watch out for are JSerra, an at-large entry in Division 1; Pacifica Christian, the No. 2 team in 2A, Orangewood Academy, the No. 3 seeded squad from the 3AA division and St. Margaret’s, the No. 3 team in 4A.

Tustin, led by Ringo Bossenmeyer, has had quite a season led by Eli Nyeazi and Josh Birket and the Tillers could make some noise too in the 3AA playoffs. Tustin hosts Gahr Wednesday night.

No. 2-seed Mater Dei is starting to put it together too just in time for the playoffs. The Monarchs aren’t in the open division but figure to be in the chase for the Division 1 title.

…..Mike Moore of Moore Management believes that Tesoro’s Carson Brown is the best player in Orange County. Brown’s coach at Tesoro, Steve Garrett would probably agree. The Titans, seeded third in 2A, could have a long playoff run too.

….Cypress has a tough opener in the Division 2A bracket. The Centurions, the No. 2 team from the Empire League, play at No. 4-seed Downey. But Coach Derek Mitchell’s team was tested in the Empire League and nearly ended Crean Lutheran’s long league winning streak at Crean Lutheran. The Centurions also have a couple very good players up front, 6-5 junior Michael Wright and 6-6 senior Kason White. Look for the Centurions to put up a battle on the road.

….Six of eight Pacific Coast League teams advanced: Sage Hill, Woodbridge, Northwood, Woodbridge, Beckman and Laguna Hills. Sage Hill is the only team however that earned a home game.

.…Foothill High School senior Carlo Billings has committed to play college basketball at Chapman University, Coach Yo Etemadi said on Twitter Tuesday. Foothill (24-5) takes on Heritage Christian of Northridge (17-11) in the opening round of the Division 1 playoffs at The Dungeon, the name of Foothill’s gymnasium.

….Irvine, which finished 14-13 overall and finished fifth in the final CIF 5AA poll, did not advance because there were no at-large entries in that division. The Vaqueros were without their top player, Cooper Stearns, who was injured last week during the PCL Tournament. Coach Harry Meussner noted on Twitter though that the program had made progress, pointing to the Estancia Tournament title the Vaqueros won.

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—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com