From a starting lineup of 36 teams, there are two survivors as the San Diego Section season nears the finish line with the State Regional playoff championships Tuesday night, winners of which then moving on to state championships against Northern California opponents in Sacramento March 10-11.

St. Augustine, the last Boys squad to reach the semifinals, was beaten in the Open Division round of four by Corona Centennial, but Del Norte continued to advance in Girls D-I and favored Bonita moved on in Girls D-II.

St. Augustine was eliminated by Corona Centennial, 89-67, and the La Jolla Country Day girls lost in the Open Division semifinals for the second year in a row, to Rancho Cucamonga Etiwanda, 47-42.

The Saints, perhaps winded from a grueling, 63-60 victory over Valencia West Ranch earlier in the week, fell out of contention early, lagging, 24-14 after one quarter and 49-30 at the half.

Del Norte knocked out Orange Lutheran, 67-58, and Bonita Vista edged Temecula Rancho Christian, 70-69. Both San Diego teams will be home for the regional final.

San Diego winners highlighted.

BOYS SEMIFINALS

GIRLS SEMIFINALS

Winning San Diego teams highlighted.

BOYS QUARTERFINALS

GIRLS QUARTERFINALS

First round action in the Southern California regional playoffs saw San Diego’s 36-team Boys and Girls contingent dwindle to 13, which will begin semifinals play tonight.

Wiped out with an 0-8 record in Boys’ Divisions I  & II, it was left to the Open Division’s St. Augustine. The 4 seed Saints rallied to a 63-60 victory over No. 5 Valencia West Hills before a loud, capacity crowd of more than 2,000 and then some.

A drone also floated above the court during pregame warmups and then disappeared as quietly as it arrived.

The host Saints took an early 11-4 lead, fell behind, 19-18, at the end of the first quarter, and then drifted back and forth with deficits up to six points against the tall (University of Texas-bound center Jazz Gardner is 7 feet) Wildcats.  St. Augustine finally went ahead again, 57-56, on Lolo  Rudolph’s basket with 2:50 remaining.

A long looper by Jason Matingou gave the Saints some air at 62-58 and they rode out a tense and scrambling final 1:11.

Most impressive win for San Diego teams  was by coach Robbie Sandoval’s Mount Miguel girls, a 14 seed in D-I.  The Matadors won at No. 3 Los Angeles Windward, 61-60.

La Jolla Country Day’s Open Division No. 2 seed Torreys girls (29-3) will try to repeat a 70-65 victory last month over the Rancho Cucamonga Etiwanda Eagles Saturday night at home.

A story about tonight’s semifinals games and seedings will follow.

San Diego Section winners highlighted:

BOYS

GIRLS

St. Augustine wrapped the San Diego Section season—the Southern California regionals are next–with an 85-53 win over Montgomery before about 3,000 persons at Cathedral Saturday night, finishing off the Aztecs with a 28-11 fourth quarter.

The Saints were the No. 1-seed team in the Open Division and played like it, winning by a combined total of 73 points in their three games.  There were earlier wins of 88-62 over Mater Dei and 82-67 over San Ysidro.

The power ratings, which determined the playoff seeds, saw the favorite emerge in 62 of 80 games, a winning percentage of 78 per cent.  There were six upsets in 38 first-round games, four in 24 quarterfinals, five in 12 semifinals, and three in six championship contests.

The ratings lost some of their power as the playoffs extended.  Only two of six No. 1 seeds earned championships.  And hats off to the Classical Caimans, an eight seed who ran the table in Division V.

St. Augustine (27-4), on a run of 15 victories in 16 games, has lost to just one California team, 84-72, to Sherman Oaks Notre Dame a couple weeks ago in Santa Ana.  The other losses were 79-70 to Las Vegas Bishop Gorman, 84-76 to Kell of Marietta, Georgia, and 71-65, to St. John’s of Washington, D.C.

Hotter than the hot Saints are coach Jeff Harper-Harris’ Lincoln Hornets, who claimed D-II with a 59-54 victory over Otay Ranch,  a team that beat the Hive, 70-54, in the second game of the season.

The Hornets have won 20 in a row, their only other loss, 54-49 to Fountain Fort Carson, a 19-6 team in Colorado.

Championship game results with upsets/surprises highlighted:

Records are current with the finals of the San Diego Section playoffs and does not include CIF State Regional playoff results.

The San Diego Union-Tribune Week 11 final poll

First-place votes in parenthesis.
Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
First-place votes in parenthesis. Last entries in columns indicate previous rank.
Cal-Hi Sports’ and Max Preps’ represent state rankings. NR—Not ranked. Records as of Monday, Feb. 13.

Others receiving votes

Torrey Pines (18-11, 14 points),  Victory Christian (24-8, 9). Del Norte (20-7,4), Otay Ranch (21-11, 2) Ramona (21-10, 2).

• John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune.
• Steve Brand, Terry Monahan, Eric Williams, Freelance contributors.
• Rick Smith, partletonsports.com.
• Adam Paul, eastcountysports.com.
• John Kentera, Braden Supremant (97.3 FM The Fan).
• Bodie DeSilva, scoreboardlive.com.
• Steve (Biff) Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9 FM.
• Christian Pedersen, San Diego Sports Association.
• Todd Cassen, Joe Heinz, Ron Marquez, CIF San Diego Section.
• Rex Johnson, CIF Advisory Committee.
• Joe Evangelist, San Diego Coaching Legends Committee.
• Tom Helmantoler, Southern Conference Advisor.
• Aaron Burgin, fulltimehoops.com.
• Max-Preps.

Montgomery knocked off favored Carlsbad in a battle of Open Division 3 and 2 seeds and 3 seed Ramona edged No. 2 High Tech San Diego in Division III, but the most surprises have been in IV and V, where San Pasqual, Classical, a pair of No. 8 seeds, continued on their unexpected runs in the San Diego Section playoffs.

Underdogs won 4 of 5 semifinal games in D-III, IV, and V, with results below highlighted.

D-III and D-V finals are tonight, with D-III top-ranked Victory Christian meeting Ramona at Mira Mesa High and the No. 8  Classical Caimans taking on No. 6 Santana in D-V at Otay Ranch.

The D-I championship, La Jolla Country Day versus Mission Bay, is Friday at St. Augustine and D-II, Lincoln versus Otay Ranch, is at Mira Mesa Friday.  San Pasqual faces Imperial in D-IV Friday at Otay Ranch. The Open Division title game, Montgomery-St. Augustine, is Saturday night at Cathedral.

Meanwhile, host St. Augustine handled San Ysidro, 83-67, in the second Open Division semifinal last night before a standing-room, sitting-in-the-aisles, watching-from-the upper-concourses crowd of more than 2,000. The scene was reminiscent of  many raucous, where’s-the-fire-marshal winter nights in the old, tiny, and mostly unlamented Daugherty Gym.  The school’s parking garage also was full and parking was at a premium on neighboring streets.

Mikey Williams (12 points) and J.J. Taylor (15) were the main objects of the Saints’ quick, harassing defense, although freshman Ty Ingram sneaked unnoticed for 31 points, including nine three pointers, for the Cougars.  San Ysidro defenders often were absent as coach Mike Haupt’s Saints repeatedly scored from point-blank range.