I told you I had a feeling Damien felt like Diamond Ranch in football, nice to see the Spartans confident and moving on. In fact, check it out, we have seven teams in the quarterfinals, and most of them did it on the road.

Above: Kos Russell’s 3-pointer lifted Glendora in round one. Russell had another big night, scoring 23 points in the Tartans’ 68-65 win over San Bernardino. The Magic continues …

Friday’s second-round results
Division II-AA
Simi Valley 67, Rowland 53
Glendora 68, San Bernardino 65
Division II-A
Damien 49, La Habra 47
Division III-AA
Apple Valley 55, Charter Oak 54
Nogales 73. West Torrance 70
Santa Margarita 72, South HIlls 63
Division III-A
Diamond Ranch 41, Fullerton 38
Bonita 61, Garden Grove Pacifica 45
Division IV-AA
Serra 93, South El Monte 65
Northview 80, Citrus Hill 57
San Luis Obispo 43, Bishop Amat 40
Division IV-A
Cathedral 70, Workman 50
Division V-A
La Verne Lutheran 79, Bloomington Christian 51

Charter Oak loses heartbreaker: Seconds away from dancing to the next round, the Charter Oak High School boys basketball watched it slip away. Literally.
Clinging to a one-point lead with the clock winding down and the game on the line, Charter Oak got exactly what it wanted, forcing Apple Valley guard Absalom Smith to take a running off-balance shot with Chargers guard Eric Rogers draped all over him.
For a moment it appeared Rogers grabbed the rebound, but the 5-foot-11 Smith reached in and wrestled it away, then drew a foul with four seconds left.
Smith calmly sank both free throws to finish with a game-high 23 points, and the Chargers couldn’t get a shot off before time expired, watching painfully as Apple Valley celebrated a 55-54 victory in the second round of the CIF-Southern Section Division III–A playoffs on Friday.