Boys’ Basketball: Nine local teams make CIF
Last Friday, Coach Rich Boyce took his Edison High boys’ basketball team out to lunch. Never did he mention to his players that the Chargers would not be one of the 16 teams selected for the CIF Southern Section Open Division playoffs.
“It never occurred to me to tell them,” Boyce said.
News of the Chargers not making the Open Division had not come out by then, but Boyce said he knew.
“I think if we had beaten Los Alamitos [in our second-to-last regular-season game], we probably would’ve gone in,” said Boyce, whose team lost at Los Alamitos, 54-47, suffering its first setback in the Sunset League and costing Edison an outright league title and a berth into the Open Division. “We probably would’ve been the No. 15 seed and we would’ve gone on a fun ride to Chino [Hills]. Losing always sucks, but I guess it worked out in our case.
“I’m hoping to have a top-four seed [in Division 1AA]. I think we deserve it.”
Two days later, on Sunday, the day the section released the playoff pairings for the rest of the 10 divisions, Boyce and the Chargers waited to see if they earned one of the top four seeds in Division 1AA.
It never came.
Edison, which shared the Sunset League crown with Los Alamitos, instead received a tough opener at home on Wednesday at 7 p.m. In the first round, the Chargers go up against Inglewood (14-12), the third-place team from the Bay League.
Getting back to the section finals for the third straight season will be a difficult task right out of the gate for the Chargers.
Boyce said standout guard Randall Walker, who missed last Thursday’s regular-season finale at Marina, is dealing with a knee issue. Boyce hopes his senior can give it a go against the athletic and fast Sentinels.
“A little surprising how it turned out,” Boyce said of the seeding, adding that the Chargers losing the coin flip to Los Alamitos to determine the league’s No. 1 entry into Division 1AA factored into the selection committee not giving them a top-four seed. “I think they put more credit to who won the coin flip or who got the No. 1 [entry from our league] in the division. Losing a coin flip I would hope wouldn’t make that much of a difference, since we finished [No. 2 in the final Division 1AA poll], after they got all the Open [Division] teams.”
Edison (22-4) had the only chance out of the local schools to make the Open Division. The Chargers are one of nine local programs opening the first round in their respective division on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Corona del Mar (20-7) and Huntington Beach (17-11) are in Division 1A.
The Pacific Coast League champion Sea Kings play host to El Toro (18-9), an at-large entry from the South Coast League. DJ Rodman and Kevin Kobrine lead the Sea Kings against a fourth-place team.
Seeing El Toro surprised CdM Coach Ryan Schachter a little bit.
“There were a couple of other teams that we probably could have been matched up with, ahead of El Toro, [which] was the No. 1 rated at-large team, and we’re the No. 10 [ranked team in the final Division 1A poll],” Schachter said. “They won [18] games and they beat some pretty good teams [like JSerra, which made the Open Division, and San Clemente, ranked No. 13 in Division 1A]. It’s going to be a tough draw. They have a lot of talent.
“From the get-go, I told the kids, ‘Look, there’s not going to be anymore first-round, 30-point wins. Our first-round game is going to be like a second-round or quarterfinal matchup.”
If the Sea Kings get out of the first round, which they have done in nine of the past 10 seasons under Schachter, they get to hit the road to No. 7 Compton Dominguez (21-5-1).
The Dons, who shared the San Gabriel Valley League crown with Cerritos Gahr, have a first-round bye.
“I think Dominguez is really the most miss ranked team in our division,” said Schachter, who handles the Division 1A poll. “They’re good.”
The Oilers, the third-place team from the Sunset League, travel to face a ranked team in Division 1A.
Huntington Beach is at No. 12 Long Beach Millikan (17-9), the runner-up finisher in the Moore League.
Newport Harbor (16-12), an at-large entry from the Sunset League plays at Northwood (19-8), the second-place team from the Pacific Coast League, in Division 2AA.
Ocean View (21-6) and Laguna Beach (18-10) both have Division 3AA home games.
The Golden West League champion Seahawks face Glendora (15-12), an at-large entry from the Palomares League.
The Breakers (18-10), who placed second in the Orange Coast League, get Whittier Pioneer (19-8), which took third in the Del Rio League. The winner travels to No. 2-seeded Crean Lutheran on Friday.
In Division 4AA, Costa Mesa (10-17) goes to Santiago (16-10). The Mustangs finished third in the Orange Coast League and the Cavaliers came in second in the Garden Grove League. The two teams met in a nonleague contest on Jan. 3, when host Santiago won, 65-57.
Sage Hill (17-7), which placed third in the Academy League, has a home date with Palos Verdes Chadwick (12-12), the third-place team from the Prep League, in Division 4A.
The only local team to earn a top-four seed is Pacifica Christian (19-3), which is in its first season playing varsity. The Tritons, a freelance team, are the No. 2 seed in Division 6, and they entertain Bethel Baptist (11-14), the fifth representative from the Express League.
Pacifica Christian’s varsity debut came against Bethel Baptist on Nov. 30. Behind freshman sensation Dominick Harris’ 25 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, five steals and four blocks, the Tritons won the season opener, 86-41.
“We’re excited to honor the moment,” Pacifica Christian Coach Jeff Berokoff said. “I really want these kids to really appreciate this.”
Twitter: @ByDCP
