Mason Hooks (44) on far left and Brase Dottin (13) were among those who played well for Harvard-Westlake in win last week over previous state No. 12 Loyola that pushed the Wolverines up into this week’s State Top 20. Photo: @HWHoops / Twitter.com.
After the result of a huge No. 1 vs. No. 2 state showdown from last Saturday, there is a new . 1 as Rancho Christian of Temecula takes down previous No. 1 Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth in a possible preview of the CIF Southern Section Open Division and CIF SoCal Open Division title games down the line. There are some other changes and three newcomers as the postseason kicks off in the CIF L.A. City and Southern Sections with one more week of the regular season still to go elsewhere in the state.
CAL-HI SPORTS UPDATED TOP 20
BOYS BASKETBALL STATE RANKINGS
(Previous rating in parentheses; through games of Saturday, Feb. 2)
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1. (2) Rancho Christian (Temecula) 23-4
All season long, Eagles’ coach Ray Barfield felt the play of Gonzaga commit Dominick Harris could be the difference in the big games as the season winds down. His proclamation turned out to be true, as the junior guard had a big scoring night when Rancho Christian won the regular season-ending No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown versus Sierra Canyon, 61-58, before 1,500 fans at Pasadena City College on a rainy Saturday night in the San Gabriel Valley. Harris scored a game-high 23 points, as the Eagles stormed back from a late nine-point deficit and closed the game on a 12-0 run to win the highly-anticipated game. His scoring output (on 8-of-16 shooting) on a day when the Mobley brothers, Isaiah and Evan, didn’t have big scoring outputs and the team shot 40 percent from the field was key. The Mobleys combined for 16 points, with Evan Mobley going for six points. Even though his scoring was down, the top-ranked junior in the country made three key plays during the decisive run, blocking a shot and getting back in the offensive play on the other end and throwing a kick out pass to junior Luke Turner (15 points) on a 3-pointer to give Rancho Christian a 59-58 lead with 1:30 remaining. Evan Mobley also deflected an in-bounds pass with 22 seconds remaining that Sierra Canyon’s Terren Frank caught out of bounds. Turner then made two free throws to close out the scoring. Isaiah Mobley, a McDonald’s All-American selection, finished with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks after going for 57 points, 15 rebounds, and 11 assists on senior night in a 126-37 victory over Temecula Prep. As the top seed in the CIFSS Open Division playoffs, the Eagles were “rewarded” by opening pool play with No. 8 seed and state No. 10 Bishop Montgomery. All three games in Rancho Christian’s pool will be against state-ranked teams and the one against Montgomery could be as tough as the following two versus No. 8 Etiwanda (February 12) and No. 7 Rancho Verde (February 15).
