St. Augustine moves from No. 7 to No. 4 after big win over Sierra Canyon in CIF SoCal Open Division. Damien of La Verne also is now at No. 8 and looking strong in CIF SoCal Division I bracket.
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(Through games of Saturday, March 11; Previous ranking in parentheses)
1. (1) Bishop Montgomery (Torrance) 28-2
After a little bit of a slow start, the Knights cruised to a 64-49 win over San Diego Section Open Division runner-up Torrey Pines in their SoCal Open Division opener. They play No. 3 Chino Hills next in the semifinals on Tuesday night at El Camino College.
Gelo Ball grabs rebound for Chino Hills during 2016 CIF Open Division state final at Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento. Photo: Phillip Walton/SportStars.
2. (2) Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 32-2
The ability to have a rematch with either Bishop Montgomery or Chino Hills should prevent the Monarchs from looking past San Diego St. Augustine in Tuesday’s CIF SoCal Open Division semifinals. Mater Dei, which already has two wins this year over the Saints, topped Westchester of Los Angeles 74-60 last Friday.
3. (4) Chino Hills 30-2
Due to the upset loss by Sierra Canyon to St. Augustine, the Huskies are now ahead of Sierra Canyon in the rankings for the first time this season. In their 130-110 shootout win vs. Birmingham last Friday, Li’Angelo Ball poured in 52 points.
4. (7) St. Augustine (San Diego) 28-4
For knocking off previous No. 3 Sierra Canyon and becoming one of the final four in the CIF SoCal Open Division, the Saints get to jump to fourth in this week’s rankings. It may be an even bigger upset for them to beat Mater Dei on Tuesday only because the Monarchs have already beaten them twice.
5. (5) Woodcreek (Roseville) 30-2
The Timberwolves got hopped this week by St. Augustine, but didn’t drop below Sierra Canyon in this week’s rankings. They will face defending NorCal Open Division champ De La Salle on Tuesday after winning their NorCal opener 68-66 vs. Capital Christian.
6. (3) Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) 27-3
By the time the season is over and all of the Open Division games are in the books, the Trailblazers’ overall season resume should put them higher in the rankings. Right now, though, they have to drop behind teams still playing.
7. (8) Sheldon (Sacramento) 2893
The Huskies fell one spot after their loss to Woodcreek by two points in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section D1 final and now get that position back. If they win in Tuesday’s NorCal Open semis over Archbishop Mitty, they might play Woodcreek again.
8. (9) Damien (La Verne) 31-4
This is the highest-ranked team that is not in the Open Division, but is considered No. 1 in the state among those going for the D1 state title. Damien just beat Fairfax of L.A. 60-44 and plays Corona Centennial on Tuesday in D1 South semifinals.
