A reaction to what has happened in the boys basketball playoffs and a look toward this week’s championship games:
1. The Sixth Man.
JSerra had six players on the court for a few seconds of their CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinals playoff home game Friday against Inglewood.
Which, of course, is against the rules.
The result: Inglewood got a technical foul.
To explain …
JSerra was coming out of a timeout. Godschoice Eboigbodin was supposed to be replaced by a substitute. Because of a miscommunication Edoigbodin took the court with five teammates.
JSerra inbounded the ball, six JSerra players went into the frontcourt against five Inglewood defenders. Despite the man advantage, JSerra lost the ball on a turnover. When the teams moved to the other half of the court, JSerra coaches noticed that Eboigbodin was still on the floor, and called him over to the bench.
Inglewood coach Jason Crowe tried to alert the game officials that JSerra had six players on the court. In his effort to get their attention, Crowe lightly grabbed an official’s arm, and was assessed a technical foul for doing so.
JSerra had a 24-20 lead at the time. JSerra’s Jaden Bailes made both technical foul free throws to make it 26-20. Jason Crowe Jr. made a 3-point basket at the buzzer to cut the Lions lead to 26-23 going into the second quarter.
JSerra won, 103-91, to advance to the CIF-SS Division 1 championship game against Crean Lutheran on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Toyota Arena in Ontario.
2. Sea View can see two finalists.
The Sea View League is represented by two teams in CIF-SS championship games.
League champion Aliso Niguel (24-8) plays Murrieta Mesa (22-10) in the Division 3 final at Toyota Arena on Saturday at 1 p.m. Second-place Trabuco Hills (20-12) plays Colony (19-12) in the Division 4 final at Azusa Pacifica University on Friday at 6 p.m.
Aliso Niguel went 8-0 in the Sea View League. Trabuco Hills was 5-3. The Mustangs league losses were to Aliso Niguel, twice, and to Beckman.
Aliso Niguel is on a 13-game winning streak. Aliso Niguel coach Keith Barnett is the father of Mater Dei All-Orange County senior guard Luke Barnett.
Colony is coached by Tony Davis who was the Servite coach for three seasons, the 2022-23 through 2024-25 seasons.
3. Laguna Hills reaches the top.
The Hawks are playing their best basketball at the right time to do so. They play Ramona in the Division 6 championship game at Azusa Pacific University on Saturday at 8 p.m.
Laguna Hills 6-8 junior forward Myles Mittelsteadt is averaging 19 points a game. Hawks 6-4 senior guard Jackson Burnham is scoring 17 points a game.
The Hawks went 7-1 in the Golden West League to win the league championship. They played a challenging nonleague schedule that includes a loss to CIF Los Angeles City Section Open Division finalist Cleveland.
4. The matchup.
JSerra (23-12) vs. Crean Lutheran (28-7) is a game hoped for since November.
In the latest Orange County Top 25, Crean Lutheran is No. 2 behind No. 1 Santa Margarita. Crean Lutheran is No. 3.
Outstanding players will be all over the court.
JSerra senior guard Jaden Bailes is a cool, smooth high-scoring guard. Lions sophomore forward Ryan Doane is an outstanding inside scorer. Earl Bryson is a terrific point guard for JSerra.
Crean Lutheran has two excellent guards, Hunter Caplan and Caden Jones. Chadrack Mpoyi at 6-11 is a game-plan nightmare for any opposing coach.
It should be a great one.
