Highs and lows in the San Diego Section’s opening round foray into the state regional playoffs.
The highs:
Torrey Pines coach John Olive maintained a genial presence despite three straight losses in December to San Diego Section teams Mission Bay, San Marcos, and La Jolla Country Day.
A 14-1 finish for a 23-6 record, with a benign intersectional schedule, resulted in the Falcons taking a 15-seed punch in the nose into their first round game against 2 seed Orange County power Rancho Santa Margarita.
The Falcons responded with a 66-59 road victory. Torrey was behind, 23-14 after one quarter. A strong mid-game and 19-9 fourth quarter pushed Olive’s club to the most surprising first-round win by any team in Division I.
St. Augustine coach Mike Haupt also did some maintaining. The Saints got off to a 3-12 start as some personnel was injured or unavailable.
Haupt’s club rallied with a 15-2 January-February run and continued with a 60-40 win over visiting Canyon Country Canyon in a match between 9 and 8 seeds in D-II.
Westview’s girls were 14th in a D-I matchup with the Hamilton Yankees of Los Angeles. The Wolverines’ stout defense held Hamilton to a 23 per cent field goal percentage in a 45-42 win.
The Lows:
Fourteen seed Los Angeles Washington stunned host and third-ranked Eastlake, 46-45, in Boys Division III.
Number 13 Garden Grove Pacifica ousted 4 seed Maranatha, 55-50, in Boys D-IV.
Montgomery and Mission Hills were blown out in boys’ and girls’ Open Division games and No. 2 Grossmont was stung by No. 15 Alhambra Mark Keppel in Girls’ D-II.
Overall, San Diego Section boys teams were 6-10 against opponents from the vast Southern Section and the L.A. City and Central sections.
Girls were 6-7 against the Southern and L.A. City.
Tougher opponents loom.
Upsets highlighted below.
BOYS FIRST ROUND
TUESDAY, MARCH 4
D-I
9 Mission Bay 60 (21-10), @8 Santa Barbara, Southern, 72 (26-7).
12 Anaheim Fairmont Prep, Southern, 55 (22-10), @5 Carlsbad 59 (26-6).
13 San Marcos 56 (25-5), @4 San Juan Capistrano JSerra, Southern, 80 (23-10).
11 Cathedral 72 (20-11), @6 Los Alamitos, Southern, 84 (26-8).
15 Torrey Pines 66 (24-6), @2 Rancho Santa Margarita, Southern, 59 (23-9).
D-II
16 Sage Creek 52 (21-10), @1 Riverside Poly, Southern, 80 (23-10).
9 Canyon Country Canyon, Southern, 40 (24-10), @8 St. Augustine 60 (19-14).
13 Victory Christian 50 (18-15), @4 Santa Fe Christian 55 (23-7).
11 Irvine, Southern, 62 (29-4), @6 Francis Parker 63 (19-11).
15 La Jolla Country Day 47 (17-14), @2 Westchester, L.A. City, 70 (23-9).
D-III
14 Washington, L.A. City, 46 (18-9), @3 45 Olympian (26-7).
10 San Dimas, Southern, 57 (20-13), @7 Mira Mesa 60 (27-6).
D-IV
9 Riverside Ramona, Southern, 64 (27-7), @8 San Diego Southwest 62 (25-8).
13 Garden Grove Pacifica, Southern, 55 (23-11), @4 Maranatha 50 (17-16).
14 Tri-City 54 (20-10), @3 Sun Valley Poly, L.A. City, 60 (23-10).
D-V
15 Santa Ana Saddleback, Southern, 48 (14-15), @2 Pacific Ridge 65 (29-2).
OPEN DIVISION
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5
6 Montgomery 56 (29-3), @3 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, Southern 76 (26-7).
QUARTERFINALS PAIRINGS
THURSDAY, MARCH 6
D-I
5 Carlsbad (26-6), @4 San Juan Capistrano JSerra, Southern (23-10).
15 Torrey Pines (24-6), @7 Manhattan Beach Mira Costa, Southern (30-4).
D-II
5 Bakersfield Christian, Central, (22-8), @4 Santa Fe Christian (23-7).
6 Francis Parker (19-11), @3 Chatsworth, L.A. City (23-8).
8 St. Augustine (19-14), @1 Riverside Poly, Southern (23-10).
D-III
15 Lake Balboa Birmingham, L.A. City (16-13), @7 Mira Mesa (27-6).
D-V
7 L.A. Math & Science College Prep, L.A. City (23-7), @2 Pacific Ridge (29-2).
GIRLS FIRST ROUND
TUESDAY, MARCH 4
D-I
9 Studio City Harvard-Westlake, Southern 60 (24-7), @8 Francis Parker (20-10) 57.
14 Westview 45 (21-9), @3 Hamilton, L.A. City 42 (26-3).
11 La Jolla Country Day 63 (17-12), @6 L.A. Brentwood (Southern) 74 (26-8).
D-II
12 Victory Christian 46 (18-14), @5 Irvine Portola, Southern 62 (18-15).
13 Rancho Buena Vista 54 (23-10), @4 El Capitan 62 (24-6).
14 Hesperia Oak Hills, Southern 52 (18-13), @3 Cathedral 53 (20-9).
10 Fullerton Rosary, Southern 35 (18-14), @7 Rancho Bernardo 38. (22-7).
15 Alhambra Mark Keppel 51 (25-9), Southern @ 2 Grossmont 46 (22-5).
D-III
12 Bakersfield Liberty 40 (17-13), Southern @5 Mater Dei 66 (18-13).
13 Escondido Charter 63 (23-10), @4 Carlsbad 73 (20-12).
9 Cerritos 58 (17-17), Southern @8 Christian 67 (25-4).
D-V
16 Santana 45 (25-7), @1 La Palma Kennedy (18-13), Southern 55.
11 Crawford 49 (18-14), @6 Ojai Nordhoff 36 (18-8), Southern.
OPEN DIVISION
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5
5 Mission Hills 26 (23-9), @4 Chatsworth Sierra Canyon 71 (28-2), Southern.
Thank you, Rick for the great job.
A lot of info .
Keep doing the good work, sincerely
Appreciate it, Manny. Thank you.