Starting this week, league games will dominate the boys basketball schedule until the CIF Southern Section playoffs begin in early February.
The biggest game this week is St. John Bosco at Santa Margarita on Friday at 7 p.m. It is a Trinity League opener for both teams.
St. John Bosco (11-4), led by 6-6 senior Christian Collins, is ranked No. 3 in CIF-SS in the computer rankings.
Santa Margarita (19-2), led by senior guard Kaiden Bailey (Georgia Tech signee), is No. 2 behind top-ranked Sierra Canyon.
In the CalHiSports.com state rankings, Santa Margarita is No. 3 and St. John Bosco is No. 5. Sierra Canyon is No. 1 there, too.
Orange Lutheran (14-5), which is No. 10 in the Orange County rankings, plays at county No. 3 JSerra (13-8) on Friday in another Trinity League opener.
The schedule for Tuesday has some standout league matchups. In the Crestview League, O.C. No. 6 Canyon (11-6) is at No. 2 Crean Lutheran (14-5) and No. 14 La Habra (15-4) is at No. 8 Cypress (14-7).
In the Freeway League on Friday, No. 18 Sonora (15-5) plays at No. 15 El Dorado (16-2).
ORANGE COUNTY NOTES
The first version of the computer rankings that the CIF-SS will use for the creation of the playoff divisions were released last week. The second posting is due this week and the rankings will continue each week through Feb. 2. …
Canyon and No. 17 Esperanza (18-1) play each other in a nonleague game Monday, Jan. 12, at Intuit Dome, the home of the Clippers. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. …
Los Alamitos senior Tyler Lopez was named MVP of the Diamond Division for The Classic at Damien. The Griffins’ Joseph Ojeda and Isaiah Williamson were named to all-tournament. Los Alamitos beat Auburn of Washington in the division final. Canyon, Fairmont Prep and La Habra also were in the Diamond Division. …
Esperanza was the champion of the Bronze Division in The Classic at Damien. …
Calvary Chapel defeated Jurupa Hills 63-61 in the Iron Division final of The Classic. Calvary’s Micah Francisco was named division MVP and the Eagles’ Ephraim Coffin was named all-tournament. …
Los Amigos went 3-1 in the Bronze Division of The Classic at Damien. …
Orange Lutheran went 3-1 and won the consolation championship in the Silver Division at The Classic. Lancers Josh King and Noah Zeola were selected to the all-tournament team. King is averaging 24 points a game. …
Fountain Valley won the championship of the Oxford Academy tournament. Barons senior guard Kenneth Nguyen scored 30 points in a 79-53 win over Pacifica in the championship game. He was the tournament MVP. …
Crean Lutheran 6-11 senior Chadrack Mpoyi was named all-tournament in The Classic at Damien. …
Newport Harbor went 4-0 in the Gold Division of The Coast Classic tournament at Estancia. The division had a round-robin format without a championship game. Newport’s Owen Saukkola was named all-tournament. …
The Coast Classic’s Silver Division was played in the 16-team bracket style. Godinez beat Cabrillo 58-57 in the championship game. Jaiden Torres of Godinez was division MVP. …
Cypress won the Governors Division championship of the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic. Guard Ryan Gov was named division MVP. He scored 32 points in the Centurions’ 83-73 win over Poway in the division final. …
Zain Majeed is averaging 25 points a game for Mater Dei since becoming eligible Dec. 26. He is a 6-8 junior who transferred from IMG Academy in Florida. …
Not all teams post stats at MaxPreps.com. Of those that do, Brea Olinda senior Logan Severson is the California leader in 3-point baskets with 67 in 19 games.
