2023-24 Basketball Week 11: Happy Trails, San Diego Section Ballers

The girls from Grossmont and Montgomery closed the San Diego Section basketball season on losing notes in championship games in Sacramento.

Montgomery (25-12) dropped a 56-50 decision to Oakland High (23-10) in the Division V final and Grossmont (27-8) was beaten in D-IV, 42-29, by Eureka St. Bernard (30-5).

But a losing performance probably was the highlight of the boys’ and girls’ 2023-24 season.

Studio City Harvard-Westlake (33-3) won the  state Open Division championship, 50-45 over Richmond Salesian after edging Eastvale Roosevelt, 63-59, for the Southern championship that followed an epic battle in the Southern semifinals with Carlsbad.

‘Westlake survived the Lancers, 73-72.  Carlsbad’s  performance, after losing to the same team, 83-44, in the season opener, was such that it climbed from 16^th to 10th in the weekly Cal-Hi Sports poll and is ranked eighth in the state by Max-Preps.

Carlsbad’s other loss was to Montgomery. 63-55, in December.

Junior Jake Hall led the Lancers with a 20.7 scoring average.

Hall (23) and Carlsbad Lancers were 30-3. Courtesy, Max-Preps.

Angel Ochoa of St. Joseph was the San Diego Section scoring champion with a 35.3 average and 1,024 points for the 19-10 Crusaders.

Mount Miguel’s girls team was 4-21, but not because of Jaelene Hughes, who averaged 38.7 points and scored 903.