The Mission League will be well-represented in the CIF Southern Section boys basketball playoffs, as all eight teams made the postseason.
But there was a big shock Sunday as Notre Dame was omitted from the Open Division.
Instead, Notre Dame was named the top seed in the Division 1 bracket and will start its CIF-SS playoff journey on the road against Crean Lutheran. Notre Dame defeated Crean Lutheran 63-51 in the State Preview Classic on Jan. 20.
The Knights had an undefeated record going until they lost their last three games of the regular season. The first loss was to Sierra Canyon in a game they held a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter, followed by a loss to Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas, but they were without their starting backcourt of Mercy Miller and Lino Mark.
Notre Dame lost to Harvard-Westlake, a team they had beaten two weeks prior, Wednesday in the semifinals of the Mission League Tournament.
The Wolverines came away victorious against Crespi in the tournament championship game Friday and earned the No. 1 seed in the Open Division.
Harvard-Westlake is coming off winning the State Open championship last year, but missed out on winning the Southern Section Open Division title.
“Our goal at the start of the season was to win all three. Last year we won two out of three, we didn’t win CIF, so this year that’s what we’re aiming for,” Harvard-Westlake senior Christian Horry said after Friday’s win. “Monday we get back to work, start practicing and focusing on CIF.”
Sierra Canyon joins Harvard-Westlake in the Open Division. The Trailblazers are the only boys basketball team that has made the CIF-SS Open Division playoffs every year since its inception.
Sierra Canyon and Harvard-Westlake are grouped in Pool A and will play each other along with last year’s Open Division champions Centennial and runner-up St. John Bosco.
The Trailblazers beat Harvard-Westlake and Notre Dame in the regular season but fell to Crespi in an upset in the…
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