Orange County usually has an obvious favorite or two in the CIF Southern Section Boys basketball playoffs.
This is not one of those years.
However, there are an unusually large number of county teams that look good enough to get to the semifinals or beyond in their division.
One of those teams is JSerra, which finished the regular season with heat, winning its final six games. The Lancers defeated Trinity League champion St. John Bosco and two other top teams, Orange Lutheran and Santa Margarita, in that stretch.
The Lions have two standout candidates for the All-Orange County team, junior guard Aidan Fowler and junior forward Sebastian Rancik.
JSerra’s path through the playoffs might not be as challenging as the paths of others. The Lions (20-8) play at Great Oak (16-12) in the Division 1 first round on Wednesday. Great Oak was not in the final Division 1 top 16 poll, while JSerra was No. 4, thus, JSerra is seeded No. 4 in Division 1.
Crestview League champion Canyon (23-5), which features sophomore forward Brandon Benjamin, got a first-round bye in Division 1. The Comanches and JSerra could face each other in the quarterfinals.
NOTES
• Mater Dei is not an Open Division team for the first time since the Open Division was added in 2014. The Monarchs (21-6), who finished second to St. John Bosco in the Trinity League, are in Division 1. They will play a first-round home game Wednesday against Long Beach Poly (12-15). If Mater Dei beats Poly, its second-round game would be Friday against the winner of San Juan Hills-Crean Lutheran. Mater Dei defeated both teams in recent weeks — San Juan Hills 63-52 on Jan. 14 and Crean Lutheran 88-65 on Jan. 21 — so the Monarchs could be in an advantageous situation in Division 1.
• Orange Lutheran (16-10) could be well-positioned for a deep run in Division 2AA. Lancers sophomore guard Zion Paleo averaged 16 points and six assists in Trinity League games. The Lancers play a first-round home game Wednesday against…
Read the full article here
