JCs: Locals set for CCCAA playoffs


Above: Citrus College celebrated a CCCAA men’s basketball state title in 2008. Can the Owls do it again in a few weeks?

There were no surprises Monday when the California Community College Athletic Association released pairings for the state basketball playoffs.
The Citrus College men’s team, ranked as high as No. 1 in the state, received the No. 2 seed in the Southern California Regional as expected, while the women’s and men’s teams at Mt. San Antonio College, also as expected, received the Nos. 3 and 5 seeds, in their respective SoCal Regional tournaments. The Pasadena City women’s team, after beating Mt. SAC, 64-62 last week, moved up from its No. 5 ranking to take the No. 4 seed in Southern California. The Lancers won the CCCAA title last year.
The tournament begins Wednesday with quarterfinal play-in games, with regional semifinals scheduled for Friday and Saturday. This weekend’s winners advance to the regional finals on March 6, with the CCCAA Elite Eight tournament slated for March 11-14 at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.
Citrus (26-2), which won a CCCAA title in 2008 and advanced to the regional finals last season, will face either Santa Ana (12-14) or Los Angeles Trade Tech (14-8) Saturday at 7 p.m.
Mt. SAC will host a doubleheader on Friday. The women’s team (22-6), which has won four CCCAA titles since 2004, faces Mt. San Jacinto (23-5) at 5:30 p.m. The men’s team (24-4) faces Cerritos (18-10) at 7:30.
PCC (23-4) will host No. 12 Irvine Valley (20-7) at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Continue reading “JCs: Locals set for CCCAA playoffs” »

Facebook Twitter Plusone Digg Reddit Stumbleupon Tumblr Email

BRAVEHEART: If you haven’t jumped on the Braves Bandwagon, this is your chance to root for neighborhood kids on a dream run

With all due respect to Damien, Bishop Amat, and La Verne Lutheran, Baldwin Park is the feel-good story of the 2010 boys basketball playoffs. For one, they’re the only area public school left in CIF playoffs that are designed to benefit the rich private and public school powerhouses, which is why the best teams in the Southern Section are spread over so many divisions, making sure the best programs have the easiest roads to the finals, which is the best way for CIF to fill up its seats at the big venues and make its money. It’s awful, but that’s the way it is, which is why what Baldwin Park is doing is such a breath of fresh air. And look how they did it, squeezing out a 54-53 win over Eastside followed by another clutch 88-87 overtime victory on the road at Villa Park for their first playoff victories since 1984. Yes, 26 years! My goodness, now they get Keppel in the quarters at home on Tuesday, and though Keppel is extremely quick and talented, they’re not physically over-powering. The Braves have a shot, they really do. Keppel historically is a great home team with incredible fans, and they will bring it. Hopefully the city of Baldwin Park shows up on Tuesday, they will need every student, alumni, teacher and fan of the town to rock the house and make the Aztecs as uncomfortable as possible. The Braves (24-4) are 8-1 at home and four out of five of Keppel’s (23-5) losses have come on the road. If the Braves win, they could have the ridiculous task of having to face Pasadena in the semifinals, but enjoy this first. There might not be another season like this in Braveheart Country for years, so if you’re going to attend just one game, this is it.

Baldwin Park’s record-setting season
All these are bests in school hisotry

3 – Tournament Wins
24 – Most Wins in a Season
101 – Most points scored in a game
1,979 – Most points in a season
70.0 – Highest scoring average in a season.

Facebook Twitter Plusone Digg Reddit Stumbleupon Tumblr Email

Playoffs, the second week: Four left in boys and girls hoops; Soccer looking strong after first round

Boys Basketball
Tuesday’s CIF-SS Quarterfinal Matchups
All games at 7 p.m.
Division 2A

No. 12 University Irvine at No. 4 Damien
No. 3 Keppel at No. 11 Baldwin Park
Division 4A
No. 4 Bishop Amat at No. 12 Lawndale
Division 5AA
No. 6 Brentwood at No.2 La Verne Lutheran

Girls Basketball
Wednesday’s Quarterfinals
All games start at 7 p.m.
Division 2A

No. 1 Diamond Ranch at No. 7 Anaheim Canyon
Division 3AA
No. 6 Sonora at No. 3 Bishop Amat
Division 3A
No. 1 Santa Margarita at No. 8 Sierra Vista
No. 5 Palos Verdes at No. 4 Bonita

Boys Soccer
Tuesday’s Second-Round
All games start at 3 p.m.

Division 2
Glendora at Riverside Poly
Division 4
Cathedral at Sierra Vista
North Torrance at Diamond Ranch
Santa Monica at Los Altos
Division 5
Baldwin Park at Desert Hot Springs
Division 6
El Monte at Oak Hills
Mountain View at Cerritos Valley Christian

Girls Soccer
Wednesday’s Second Round
All games at 3 p.m.
Division 2

Flintridge Sacred Heart vs. St. Lucy’s at Damien HS
Division 4
Bishop Amat at Rim of the World
Los Altos at California
Division 6
San Dimas at Calvary Murrieta
Division 7
Azusa at CAMS
Laguna Blanca at Arroyo
South El Monte vs. Alverno at Rio De Los Angeles Park
St. Matthias at Sierra Vista at 5 p.m.

Girls Water Polo
Wednesday’s Semifinals
Division 3

Riverside Poly vs. St. Lucy’s at Wm. Woolet Aquatics, 2 p.m.
Division 6
Los Altos vs. Chadwick at Mira Costa HS, 3:15 p.m.
Walnut vs. Malibu, 3:15 p.m.

Facebook Twitter Plusone Digg Reddit Stumbleupon Tumblr Email

Wrestling: Area’s best bring home 8 CIF-SS titles

Here’s my story from Saturday’s CIF-SS divisionals, which proved to be quite productive for area competitors:

South Hills High School, after finishing in a three-way tie in the San Antonio League and losing a coin flip, didn’t get the opportunity to compete for a CIF-Southern Section dual championship last week.
The Huskies made up for it Saturday, finishing a solid third at the CIF-SS Southern Division championships at Chaparral High. Redlands East Valley won the meet with 212 points, with traditional power Temecula Valley second at 192.5 and the Huskies third at 181. West Covina was fourth at 138.5.

Continue reading “Wrestling: Area’s best bring home 8 CIF-SS titles” »

Facebook Twitter Plusone Digg Reddit Stumbleupon Tumblr Email

Girls Basketball: Sierra Vista wins thriller; Bonita, Bishop Amat, Diamond Ranch advance; South Hills, St. Lucy’s, Northview all fall

Sierra Vista squeaks by
By Fred J. Robledo

Feeding off a rowdy home crowd, the Monrovia High School girls basketball team nearly knocked off a league champion for the second consecutive time in the CIF-Southern Section Division 3A playoffs, but eighth-seed Sierra Vista held on for a 47-46 second-round victory on Saturday.


Above: Sierra Vista High School’s Dakota Fabro (22) ,left, celebrates with Stephanie Franco (55) as Sierra Vista beat Monrovia.

Girls Basketball
Tonight’s CIF-SS Second Round
All games at 7 p.m.

Division 2A
Diamond Ranch 58, Moorpark 24
Division 3AA
Bishop Amat 68, Cerritos 22
Division 3A
Sierra Vista 47, Monrovia 46
Bonita 58, Gahr 36
Citrus Hill 72, South Hills 55
Division 4AA
Harvard-Westlake 76, St. Lucy’s 54
Orange Lutheran 53, Northview 30

Continue reading “Girls Basketball: Sierra Vista wins thriller; Bonita, Bishop Amat, Diamond Ranch advance; South Hills, St. Lucy’s, Northview all fall” »

Facebook Twitter Plusone Digg Reddit Stumbleupon Tumblr Email