Junior guard Josh Camper lets loose last week during victory by new state No. 14 St. John Bosco over previous No. 4 Mater Dei of Santa Ana. Photo: @sjbathletics / Twitter.com.
Our new boys hoops rankings see our top two ranked teams lose in MLK Day showcase games in Massachusetts in back-to-back games, but it doesn’t impact the top of the state pecking order. Other weekend showcase results from around the state do change things and we have three newcomers in our special edition MLK rankings, including surging St. John Bosco of Bellower, a team that had a big week despite its injuries.
CAL-HI SPORTS UPDATED TOP 20
BOYS BASKETBALL STATE RANKINGS
(Previous rating in parentheses; through games of Monday, Jan. 21)
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1. (1) Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) 21-2
The Trailblazers were looking to score an avenging victory over national power Montverde Academy of Florida on MLK Monday at the Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mass., and get back in the mythical national title picture. They didn’t come up with the necessary performance, however, falling 77-58 in a game that was not even as close as the score indicates. It was their second loss to Montverde Academy this season, as Sierra Canyon remains unbeaten versus in-state foes. Cassius Stanley, who is a strong candidate to be named to the McDonald’s All-American Game, led the Trailblazers with 25 points in a losing effort. Recently he also stated he will make his college announcement April 17. Earlier in the week, Sierra Canyon had two Gold Coast League tests and passed them with flying colors over L.A. Windward (77-57) and Crossroads of Santa Monica (72-43). Against underclass-dominated Windward, Stanley went for a game-high 22 points and K.J. Martin had 19. Stanley had 19 points while Martin went for 16 in the win over Crossroads. Coach Andre Chevalier’s club has three more league games and then faces No. 2 Rancho Christian on February 2 at a site to be determined.
