Boys’ basketball: Cantwell-Sacred Heart, Cathedral showed they belong

When the Open Division playoff pairings came out, it was clear that the Camino Real League wasn’t treated very nicely. The league champion, Cathedral, was seeded No. 15 and had to open against No. 2 Etiwanda. The runner-up, Cantwell-Sacred Heart, was seeded No. 16 and faced unbeaten Santa Ana Mater Dei.

Well, the two underdogs gave their opponents big scares and earned lots of respect. Cantwell-Sacred Heart came close to pulling off the biggest upset of the season before losing in overtime to Mater Dei, 66-59. E.J. Mejia had 18 points.

Cathedral led Etiwanda by five points late in the third quarter before losing, 55-45.

The lesson learned is seedings mean nothing and matchups are everything in the Open Division.

Another strange part of the Open Division is that you can throw out the old idea that one loss means elimination. For the first time maybe ever, a first-round defeat doesn’t end your season. There’s a consolation bracket that begins on Friday. The winner of the tournament earns an automatic state playoff berth, but this season, even if you lose twice, you’re likely to still get a state playoff berth.

Cathedral is hosting Bishop Montgomery and Cantwell-Sacred Heart is playing Chaminade at Whittier on Friday night.

So if Cathedral and Cantwell-Sacred Heart are returned to their old divisions (Divisions 3 and 4) in a couple of weeks for the state playoffs, beware.

Eric.sondheimer@latimes.com