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The Long Beach State women's volleyball team received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament field this afternoon.
The 49ers (25-7) will take on West Coast Athletic Conference champion San Diego (23-5) Friday evening in the Galen Center, with No. 6 seed and host USC (25-4) face at-large choice New Mexico (20-9) in the other first-round match at that site.
Alemany cruises, 42-21.
It should be a heck of a semifinals between the unbeaten champions of the Serra (Alemany) and Trinity (Servite) leagues next Saturday night.
Alemany has broken out to a 35-14 lead in the third quarter . . . a semifinal game between 12-0 Alemany and Servite teams is now looking very likely.
Servite, Mater Dei and Mission VIejo are all winning at halftime of the other Pac-5 games.
And that Lancers are within 21-14 late in the second quarter.
No details on how but Alemany has gone up, 21-7, with eight minutes to go in the second quarter.
And the team from the Serra League puts up another TD . . . 14-7
Tyler Schultz to Malik Gilmore for 64 yards and a score.
I'm relaying texts from Robert Morales . . .
Alemany goes up on Lakewood, 7-0, after blocking a punt and returning it for a score
All games tonight:
UPPER BRACKET
No. 1 Mission Viejo (11-0/South Coast 1) vs. Santa Margarita (9-2/Trinity 2) at Saddleback College
FRANK SAYS: This is the game everyone would want to see if they good squeeze into the stadium (they may be tail-gating already) and didn't have a rooting or professional interest in any other game tonight. As I've surmised since the playoff bracket was unveiled on Nov. 14, the Eagles could be the last team the Diablos face with a decent opportunity of upending the division's top seed.
Prediction: Mission Viejo, 24-20
Mater Dei (7-4/Trinity 3) at Tesoro (8-3/South Coast 3)
FRANK SAYS: Tesoro (starting eight or nine sophomores) was thought to be a year away from a significant playoff run but its win at Bishop Amat last week proved otherwise. The Titans could have beaten a better last week than they're facing tonight on their home field - especially if, as expected, Monarchs' wide receiver Victor Blackwell isn't able to play tonight.
Prediction: Tesoro, 28-21
LOWER BRACKET
No. 3 Alemany (11-0/Serra 1) at Lakewood (10-1/Moore 2)
FRANK SAYS: The Lancers faced only two decent teams all season - one of those (St. John Bosco) finished fifth in the Trinity League and the other (Poly) was bounced out in the first round by Mater Dei last week. Alemany's resume (wins over Oaks Christian, Taft, Crespi and Bishop Amat) dictates that the Warriors are by far the most daunting challenge the Lancers have encountered this season.
Prediction: Alemany, 24-14
No. 2 Servite (11-0/Trinity 1) at Crespi (8-3/Serra 3)
FRANK SAYS: The Friars don't appear to be quite as good as they were a year ago when they upset Edison in an Angel Stadium Mud Bowl to win the Pac-5 title. They are facing Coach Troy Thomas' alma mater and the program he was the coach of before coming to Servite. The Friars' pass rush and secondary is good enough to limited Crespi's passing attack.
Prediction: Servite, 28-14
The Poly-Mater Dei score - and the Monarchs, minus their most gifted player (wide receiver Victor Blackwell, sidelined with a shoulder injury - handled the host Moore League-champion Jackrabbits, 26-10 - may have startled you.
But it shouldn't have.
The Tesoro-Bishop Amat score - the third-place team from the South Coast League went into the home of the division's No. 4 seed prevailed, 31-21 - should have startled you, or maybe even shocked you.
It wasn't hard to see the Poly "upset" coming. After all, even Jackrabbits' coach Raul Lara said Sunday that he really wasn't sure how good his team was because it was hard to gauge against the less-than-stellar quality of opposition in the Moore League.
Well, his question was answered Friday night - the Jackrabbits played one exceptional game (relative to the quality of opponent) and that 27-14 victory over the Lakewood Lancers is what got them the Moore League title. What could be judged from their dominance of the other Moore League teams? Nothing, since Lakewood is the only other program within the league that is competitive against other Pac-5 programs.
But the Tesoro victory came strictly out of left field. Bishop Amat's Lancers weren't like the Jackrabbits - they were a team that played at a high level every week (the Trinity League, home to Alemany and Crespi, which advanced to the second round).
And Coach Brian Barne's team was coming off back to back thumps at the hands of South Coast League foes Mission Viejo and San Clemente.
And does there remain any doubt that the Trinity continues to be the toughest football league in Southern California?
Friday night Trinity champion (and defending section champion) Servite (41-14 against Jordan) and runner-up Santa Margarita (49-3 following its shellacking of Edison) joined forces with the third Trinity team (third-place Mater Dei) to outscore their first-round opposition, 116-27.
That's impressive.
The Lancers knocked off San Clemente, 24-7.
And Poly was trailing 26-10 with the clocking ticking down on its season at Vets . . .
The Jackrabbits are now down, 27-10 ...with very little time left to their season.
Lakewood just scored to go up, 24-17, with three minutes to go.
Dominguez edged st. Francis, 28-25.
The Jackrabbits trail, 19-10, with a little more than five minutes to go at Vets Stadium.
The Lancers about to punt with 8:16 to go while holding a 17-7 lead ...
No update on Poly . . .
Poly just scored to get to within 13-10 in the third quarter.....
Lakewood just made it 17-0 but lost Todd Barr (whiplash?) and Dupree Jordan-Roberts (knee?) on back to back plays.
Lakewood leads San Clemente 10-0 and the advantage should be larger but the Lancers passed on an easy opportunity to go for a field goal and tried for a TD and came up short.
Poly trails Mater Dei and, according to Bob Keisser, can't move the ball at all.
In other Pac-5 scores:
Jordan (vs. Servite) and Wilson (vs. Mission Viejo) are both being dominated -- to surprise -- by 21-0 scores (in first period).
Tesoro is shocking host Bishop Amat, 14-0.
Alemany leads Newport Harbor, 14-0.
And Santa Margarita is pounding Edison, 28-3.
A drive stalled but Alex Boy kicked a 22-yard field goal.
Mission VIejo is up 21-0 in the first period against Wilson, Jordan is down 14-zip to Servite in the first quarter.
Tyler Schultz to Todd Barr, 17 yards for a TD, first play of second period.
The Monarchs returned an interception 55 yards to the Poly 18 and scored a TD to go up, 7-3.
Lakewood and San Clemente are scoreless after one period.
....according to Bob Keisser.
Come back here often and I'll give you as many scores as possible from my vantage point in the Lakewood High press box...
First Pac-5 partial of the night: Santa Margarita 21, Edison 0 . . .late in the first quarter.
It was anything but in the "Paradise" Jam for the Long Beach State men's basketball team this afternoon, which just lost to Clemson, 69-54.
A glance at the box score: the 49ers committed 21 turnovers, hit just three of nine free throws and were out-rebounded 24-16 (interesting stats . . . someone was missing rebounds).
Clemson, considered a team likely to finish somewhere in the upper tier to middle of the ACC, shot 50 percent from the field -- including 10 on 3's.
This has to be an extremely disappointing performance, from both the perspective of the 49ers and their coaches, to the fans who so desperately want this program to "turn the corner".
Right there is isn't even a "corner" in sight . . .
Long Beach State men's basketball program signed Ventura College sophomore James Ennis to a national letter of intent earlier this week. He demonstrated why Thursday afternoon.
The 6-foot-7, 190-pound Ennis scored 23 points (nine of 17 from the field, including two of three 3s, and four of five from the FT line) to go with 17 rebounds, seven assists and three steals to lead his team past Cerritos, 88-80, in a first-round game during the Irvine Valley College Tournament.
Ventura plays Imperial Valley College in a 5 o'clock semifinal today, with Long Beach City College playing College of the Canyons at 7 in the other semi.
Crespi's 28-14 "upset" (a very mild one, in reality) over Sunset League champion Los Alamitos confirmed a couple of things: 1, The Serra League (where Crespi finished third) was, at worst, the second best league in the conference this season and, 2, The Sunset League was definitely DOWN this season.
On to tonight's upper bracket, where the only viable "upset" possibility will be in the game played at Veterans Stadium - as was the case in the lower bracket, as was confirmed Thursday night in the same location.
UPPER BRACKET
Wilson (5-5/Moore 4) at No. 1 Mission Viejo (10-0/South Coast 1)
FRANK SAYS: The Bruins surrendered 160 points over their final three Moore League games and the Diablos, if they were so inclined, could probably light them up for 60-plus tonight. But, with a game with a very good Santa Margarita team on tap next Friday night, Mission Viejo Coach Bob Johnson will go deeply into his bench tonight.
Prediction: Mission Viejo, 56-7
Edison (7-3/Sunset 3) vs. Santa Margarita (8-2/Trinity 2) at Tesoro HS
FRANK SAYS: If the Chargers could line up the team they had year ago, this would be a heck of a game. This could be a lot more lopsided than most imagine.
Prediction: Santa Margarita, 31-14
Mater Dei (Mater Dei (6-4/Trinity 3) vs. Poly (8-2/Moore 1) at Veterans Stadium
FRANK SAYS: The sense at the Southern Section office in Los Alamitos Sunday was that Mater Dei's star receiver, Victor Blackwell (shoulder injury) would NOT play against the Jackrabbits. Now the word out of Santa Ana is that it will be a "game-time decision". Whether he plays or not, Poly will have to turn in a performance comparable to the one displayed in the win over Lakewood to get to the second round.
Prediction: Poly, 21-17
Tesoro (7-3/South Coast 3) at No. 4 Bishop Amat (9-1/Serra 2)
FRANK SAYS: Tesoro is a very young team (supposedly six or seven sophomores play extensively) and could do some Pac-5 playoff damage a year from now. But not tonight.
Prediction: Bishop Amat, 31-10
The Honolulu Star-Adviser is reporting that the University of Hawaii -- currently a member in the Western Athletic Conference for all sports -- has been invited (and, apparently, will accepted) to join the Mountain West Conference for football only.
According to the report, the school's other teams would compete in the Big West Conference.
The move for the non-football programs to the Big West has been seen a real possibility -- if not a downright likelihood -- for several months.
The school has scheduled a press conference for 7 o'clock Hawaii Time (and 10 Pacific Time) tonight to discuss the news.
Here are my predictions on the four first-round games in the lower bracket of the CIF Southern Section's Pac-5 football playoffs . . . check back soon for the upper bracket!
LOWER BRACKET
Newport Harbor (6-4/Sunset 3) at No. 3 seed Alemany (10-0/Serra 1)
FRANK SAYS: The Sailors' Jeff Brinkley is one of the best coaches in Southern California - but so is Alemany's Dean Herrington. But the Warriors have more talented and dominated a better league than Newport Harbor played in.
Prediction: Alemany, 31-14
San Clemente (8-2/South Coast 2) at Lakewood (9-1/Moore 2)
FRANK SAYS: The Tritons have quite an offense, led by 6-foot-6 junior quarterback Travis Wilson. But they don't have enough offense to slow down a better offense.
Prediction: Lakewood, 35-21
Crespi (7-3/Serra 3) vs. Los Alamitos (8-2/Sunset 1) at Veterans Stadium, THURSDAY
FRANK SAYS: With the apparent absence (shoulder injury) of Mater Dei wide receiver Victor Blackwell, the Griffins could be facing the Pac-5's toughest third-place team. The Celts' only losses came to teams (Dominguez, Alemany and Bishop Amat) that are a combined 28-2! Left-handed quarterback Kenneth Stenhouse has a highly recruited target in wide receiver Devin Lucien. Los Alamitos' secondary will be severely tested, and the Griffins' running attack will have to keep the team's defense off the field.
Prediction: Los Alamitos, 24-21
Jordan (6-4/Moore 3) vs. Servite (10-0/Trinity 1)
FRANK SAYS: The Panthers had down-to-the-wire wins over Wilson and Cabrillo to earn the playoff bid but the fun will end quickly in Saturday. It's going to be one of those ``Servite can win as much as it wants''-kinds of deals. But getting into the playoffs in the first season under Coach Thomas Barnes is quite the accomplishment.
Prediction: Servite, 52-7
Here are a list of the other first-round matchups involving teams from the Press-Telegram's circulation area:
SOUTHEAST DIVISION
Upper Bracket
Bellflower (5-5/Suburban 4) at No. 1 West Covina (9-1/Hacienda 1)
Burbank (7-3/Pacific 3) at Santa Fe (6-4/Del Rio 2)
Diamond Ranch (5-5/Hacienda 3 vs. Mayfair (6-4/Suburban 2) at Bellflower High
El Rancho (6-4/Del Rio at-large) at No. 4 Burbank Burroughs (6-4/Pacific 1)
Lower Bracket
Muir (6-4/Pacific 4) at No. 3 La Mirada (7-3/Suburban 1)
California (3-7/Del Rio 3) at Bonita (9-1/Hacienda 2)
Norwalk (6-4/Suburban 3) at Arcadia (7-3/Pacific 2)
Walnut (6-4/Hacienda 4) at No. 2 La Serna (9-1/Del Rio 1)
WESTERN DIVISION
Upper Bracket
Beverly Hills (6-4/Ocean at-large) at No. 1 Serra (10-0/Mission 1)
Camarillo (7-3/Pacific View 2) at Dos Pueblos (7-3/Channel 1)
Downey (6-4/SGVL 2) at Inglewood (8-2/Ocean 1)
Oxnard (8-2/Pacific View at-large) at No. 4 Paso Robles (8-2/Pac-7 1)
LOWER BRACKET
Culver City (6-4/Ocean 2) at No. 3 Chaminade (9-1/Mission 2)
Ventura (6-4/Channel 2) at Atascadero (8-2/Pac-7)
Arroyo Grande (8-2/Pac-7 at-large) at Rio Mesa (6-4/Pacific View 1)
St. Francis (6-4/MIssion at-large) at No. 2 Dominguez (9-1/SGVL 1)
NORTHWEST
Lower Bracket
Centennial (5-5/Pioneer 3) at Oak Park (6-4/Tri-Valley 2)
I've revamped the brackets to indicate that the Los Alamitos-Crespi game will be played Thursday night at Veterans Stadium, and that Santa Margarita will face Edison at Tesoro High (in Rancho Santa Margarita).
Not to look a week ahead of ourselves but . . . Poly and Lakewood won coin-flips for the right to play host to potential second-round foes Bishop Amat and Alemany, respectively.
Amat (9-1), which lost to Alemany, 38-30, in the Friday night Serra League championship showdown, got the No. 4 seed over Poly -- according to CIF Southern Section Associate Commissioner Rob Wigod -- based upon a better overall record and the Serra League being rated over the Moore League by the Southern Section's football advisory committee.
UPPER BRACKET
Wilson (5-5/Moore 4) at No. 1 Mission Viejo (10-0/South Coast 1)
Edison (7-3/Sunset 2) vs. Santa Margarita (8-2/Trinity 2) at Tesoro High
Mater Dei (6-4/Trinity 3) vs. Poly (8-2/Moore 1) at Veterans Stadium
Tesoro (7-3/South Coast 3) at No. 4 Bishop Amat (9-1/Serra 2)
LOWER BRACKET
Newport Harbor (6-4/Sunset 3) at No. 3 Alemany (10-0/Serra 1)
San Clemente (8-2/South Coast 2) at Lakewood (9-1/Moore 2)
Crespi (7-3/Serra 3) vs. Los Alamitos (8-2/Sunset 1) at Veterans Stadium (Thursday)
Jordan (6-4/Moore 3) vs. No. 2 Servite (10-0/Trinity 1) at Cerritos College
OK . . . all the regular-season games have been played . . . here we go:
UPPER BRACKET
1. Mission Viejo (South Coast #1) vs. Jordan (Moore #3)
8. Santa Margarita (Trinity #2) vs. Edison (Sunset #2)
5. Poly (Moore #1) vs. Mater Dei (Trinity #3)
4. Bishop Amat (Serra #2) vs. Tesoro (South Coast #3)
LOWER BRACKET
3. Alemany (Serra #1) vs. Newport Harbor (Sunset #3)
6. Lakewood (Moore #2) vs. San Clemente (South Coast #2)
7. Los Alamitos (Sunset #1) vs. Crespi (Serra #3)
2. Servite (Trinity #1) vs. Wilson (Moore #4)
We'll see how close this is at about 11 a.m. Sunday at the Southern Section office in Los Alamitos!
Forward Al-Farouq Aminu is joining fellow rookies Eric Bledsoe and Blake Griffin in the starting Clippers lineup tonight for their game with Detroit in the Staples Center.
Aminu and Bledsoe are 20, Griffin 21 and third-year guard Eric Gordon (who returns to the starting lineup after suffering the left shoulder injury at Utah last Saturday) 21.
That makes forward Ryan Gomes the "old man" in the starting lineup. And he turned 28 on Sept. 1.
Well, the Sunset and South Coast League pecking orders have been determined so let's take a another stab at a Pac-5 playoff bracket projection, shall we????
UPPER BRACKET
No. 1 Mission Viejo (South Coast No. 1) vs. Jordan (Moore No. 3)
No. 8 Mater Dei (Trinity No. 2) vs. Edison (Sunset No. 2)
No. 5 Poly (Moore No. 1) vs. Santa Margarita (Trinity No. 3)
No. 4 Bishop Amat (Serra No. 2) vs. Tesoro (South Coast No. 3)
LOWER BRACKET
No. 3 Alemany (Serra No. 1) vs. Newport Harbor (Sunset No. 3)
No. 6 Lakewood (Moore No. 2) vs. San Clemente (South Coast No. 2)
No. 7 Los Alamitos (Sunset No. 1) vs. Crespi (Serra No. 3)
No. 2 Servite (Trinity No. 1) vs. Wilson (Moore No. 4)
Notes:
*The 1s and 2s from same league have to be in opposite bracket
*The Southern Section tries to avoid rematches of regular-season games (but I've projected one of them: Mater Dei vs Edison)
*The Serra League reps are projections
The Press-Telegram's 32nd Basketball Best in the West team will be unveiled on Sunday.
Get a glimpse at who 53 coaches and scouts believe are the best senior high school basketball players are, a few days before the NCAA's Fall Signing Period begins.
Here we go . . . another Pac-5 playoff first-round projection:
UPPER BRACKET
1. Mission Viejo (South Coast #1) vs. Jordan (Moore #3)
8. Mater Dei (Trinity #2) vs. Crespi (Serra #3)
5. Poly (Moore #1) vs. Santa Margarita (Trinity #3)
4. Bishop Amat (Serra #2) vs. Edison (Sunset #2)
LOWER BRACKET
3. Alemany (Serra #1) vs. Wilson (Moore #4)
6. Los Alamitos (Sunset #1) vs. San Clemente (South Coast #3)
7. Lakewood (Moore #2)) vs. Tesoro (South Coast #2)
2. Servite (Trinity #2) vs. Newport Harbor (Sunset #3)
