Nick Barkett was determined to improve his lot in the Hoover basketball program after serving as the fifth of five guards on the 26-2 team of the 1959-60 Cardinals.

“He lived at Muni Gym all Summer with (John) Bocko,” remembered Cardinals coach Charlie Hampton.

Barkett and Bocko spent many days, and evenings, in the vintage emporium, Bocko preparing for his college career at San Diego City College and Fresno State, and Nick striving to take his game to a higher level and earn a starting role in his senior year at Hoover.

Barkett, who passed away recently at age 81, did not just improve.  He etched his name in the lore of Hoover’s great basketball history.

The skinny, 6-foot guard became a lean, almost 6-foot 2-inch forward and led the 1960-61 Cardinals to a 24-3 record and the first San Diego Section championship. Nick also was the first CIF San Diego Section Section player of the year, scoring 356 points for a 13.2 average.

Barkett was a starter on the 25-5 San Diego City College squad that was runner-up to Fresno City in the 1962-63 state junior college championship game and he started for two seasons at Cal Poly-Pomona.

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.

San Diego Section boys teams exited early from the Southern California regional tournament, but No. 4 seed Carlsbad stuck around and almost knocked out No. 1.

Coach Clark Allard’s Lancers lost a semifinal battle, 73-72, at Studio City Harvard-Westlake, the same team that had routed Carlsbad, 83-44, in the season’s first game.

The Lancers led by as much as 13 points at 32-19 in the second quarter and were ahead, 41-33, at halftime.  The Wolverines nudged ahead, 55-52, in the third quarter and were in front, 65-58 in the fourth quarter before Carlsbad clawed back in the waning moments.

Boys’ Division I teams were disappointments, not only in the 0-5 record.  Examples:  No. 13 seed Redondo Beach Redondo Union ousted 4 Montgomery, 84-69.  No. 12 La Verne Damien beat 5  St. Augustine, 69-44.

The boys’ season, Open to Division V, ended After 7 seed University City lost, 68-55, to 3 Mission Hills Bishop Alemany in the D-III semifinals.  San Diego teams were 9-17 overall.

Only games with a San Diego section team are listed. Complete brackets are here.
All games played at higher (low number) seed.

	Round 1 Teams Tuesday, February 27	Round 2 Teams Thursday, February 29	Semifinals Saturday, March 2
Open Division  Wednesday, February 28		5 Downey St. Pius X-St. Matthias (24-7) Southern 72 4 Carlsbad (30-2) 75, overtime	4 Carlsbad (30-3) 72 1 Studio City Harvard-Westlake (31-3) Southern 73
Division I	9 La Jolla Country Day (23-7) 59 8 L.A. Windward (29-4) Southern 74
	10 Torrey Pines (21-8) 47 7 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (30-3) Southern 89
	11 La Habra (30-4) Southern 79 6 Cathedral (19-11) 68
	12 Pomona Damien (27-5) Southern 69 5 St. Augustine (25-6) 44
	13 Redondo Beach Redondo Union (25-6) Southern 84 4 Montgomery (28-4) 69
Division II	9 Mission Bay (22-11) 57 8 Corona Del Mar (25-8) Southern 55	9 Mission Bay (22-12) 69 1 Northridge Heritage (25-9) L.A. City 74
	13 Ventura St. Bonaventure (24-10) Southern 63 4 La Costa Canyon (20-8) 75	12 Bakersfield Christian (21-11) Southern 75 4 La Costa Canyon (20-9) 68
Division III	9 Santa Barbara (24-9) Southern 81 8 San Marcos (25-7) 85	16 L.A. Price (21-12) Southern 55 8 San Marcos (26-7) 74	8 San Marcos (26-9) 60 3 Rosemead Bosco Tech (26-9) Southern 79
	11 L.A. Southern California Yeshiva (20-12) Southern 52 6 Scripps Ranch (21-12) 60	6 Scripps Ranch (21-13) 62 3 Mission Hills Alemany (22-15) Southern 76
	10 Cerritos (22-11) Southern 65 7 University City (25-8) 68	7 University City (26-8) 52 2 Hesperia (24-10) Southern 51	7 University City (26-9) 55 3 Mission Hills Alemany (23-15) Southern 68
Division IV	9 Costa Mesa Estancia (24-9) Southern 50 8 Monte Vista (23-10) 42
	11 Mission Hills (21-9) 58 6 Corona Centennial (21-13) Southern 77
	13 Rancho Buena Vista (24-9) 83 4 Rosemead Bosco Tech (24-9) Southern 87
	14 Olympian (28-4) 46 3 Mission Hills Bishop Alemany (21-15) Southern 57
Division V	12 Del Lago (21-11) 43 5 L.A. Garfield (25-3) L.A. City 66	7 Sherman Oaks Buckley (21-11) L.A. City 64 2 Mount Miguel (24-9) 53
	15 L.A. New Designs (9-7) L.A. City 39 2 Mount Miguel (24-8) 53

Only games with a San Diego section team are listed. Complete brackets are here.
All games played at higher (low number) seed.

	Round 1 Teams Tuesday, February 27	Round 2 Teams  Thursday, February 29	Regional Semifinal  Saturday, March 2	Regional Final  Tuesday, March 5	Final  Saturday, March 9
Open Division	5 Mission Hills (23-9) 47 4 Santa Ana Mater Dei (25-7) Southern 71
Division I	13 Orange Lutheran (21-9) Southern 42 4 La Jolla Country Day (25-7) 64	5 Garden Grove Orangewood (22-10) Southern 39 4 La Jolla Country Day (26-7) 42	4 La Jolla Country Day (26-8) 60 1 Torrance Bishop Montgomery (21-5) Southern 74
	14 Westview (19-12) 41 3 Lake Balboa Birmingham (25-6) L.A. City 49
Division II	14 Westview (19-12) 41 3 Lake Balboa Birmingham (25-6) L.A. City 49	8 Del Norte (20-11) 51 1 Oak Park (21-7) Southern 62
	9 Alhambra Mark Keppel (21-12) Southern 59 8 Del Norte (20-10) 64
	12 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (20-13) Southern 58 7 Poway (19-10) 50
Division III	16 Cathedral (22-11) 54 1 Dana Hills (27-6) Southern 45	16 Cathedral (23-11) 61 8 Anaheim Canyon (22-12) 54	16 Cathedral (23-12) 51 5 Granada Hills Charter (21-11) L.A. City 54
	9 Scripps Ranch (17-10) 60 8 Anaheim Canyon (23-11) Southern 68
	11 Torrance (16-15) Southern 46 6 Rancho Bernardo (19-10) 48	14 Palos Verdes Peninsula (25-8) Southern 51 6 Rancho Bernardo (21-10) 67	6 Rancho Bernardo (21-11) 52 2 Bakersfield Christian (28-7) Central 74
	10 Francis Parker (21-9) 59 7 Santa Monica St. Monica (22-11) Southern 46	10 Francis Parker (21-10) 46 2 Bakersfield Christian (27-7) Central 58
Division IV	12 Victory Christian (22-8) 59 3 Los Angeles Crenshaw (17-10) L.A. City 65	5 L.A. Crenshaw (18-11) 51 L.A. City 4 Grossmont (25-8) 57	4 Grossmont (26-8) 57 1 Newbury Park (27-8) Southern 39	7 Fallbrook (26-9) 52 4 Grossmont (27-8) 56	1 Eureka St. Bernards (30-5) 47 4 Grossmont (27-9) 29 @ Golden 1 Center
	13 Santa Paula (22-10) Southern 41 4 Grossmont (24-8) 60
	11 Oceanside (20-9) 55 6 Sun Valley Poly (18-8) L.A. City 45	14 Chatsworth (19-13) 42 L.A. City 11 Oceanside (21-9) 51	11 Oceanside (21-10) 35 7 Fallbrook (26-8) 42
	10 Granada Hills Kennedy (26-5) L.A. City 47 7 Fallbrook (24-8) 61	7 Fallbrook (25-8) 58 2 Woodland Hills El Camino Real (15-13) L.A. City 48
Division V	16 Temecula Prep (16-10) Southern 27 1 Montgomery (22-11) 88	8 La Mirada (22-7) Southern 41 1 Montgomery (23-11) 75	4 Reedley Immanuel (26-10) Central 39 1 Montgomery (24-11) 41	6 Escondido Charter (24-12) 51 1 Montgomery (25-11) 55	13 Oakland (23-10) 56 1 Montgomery (25-12) 50
	12 Escondido (19-13) 44 5 Sage Creek (20-10) 60	5 Sage Creek (20-11) 40 4 Reedley Immanuel (26-9) Central 51
	11 L.A. Foshay (16-6) L.A. City 24 6 Escondido Charter (22-11) 66	6 Escondido Charter (23-11) 67 3 Antelope Valley (17-7) Southern 60	6 Escondido Charter (24-11) 44 2 Anaheim Savanna (26-8) Southern 37

John Maffei’s weekly, final regular-season Union-Tribune poll and the final  Max-Preps and Cal-Hi Sports ratings, inclusive of the state playoffs.

Others receiving votes
Scripps Ranch (20-12, 17 points), San Marcos (24-7, 156), Olympian (28-3, 10), University City (24-8, 10), Mount Miguel (23-9, 1).

First-place votes in parenthesis.
Points on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
Bold entries in columns are up-to-date rankings followed by previous.
Cal-Hi Sports’ and Max Preps’ represent state rankings. NR—Not ranked.

Records as of Monday, Feb. 5

VOTING PANEL

• John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune
• Aaron Burgin, Fulltime Hoops
• Steve Brand, Eric Williams, Freelance writers
• John Kentera, Freelance Contributor
• Rick Smith, partletonsports.com
• Adam Paul, eastcountysports.com
• Bodie DeSilva, scorebooklive.com
• Braden Surprenant 97.3 FM The Fan
• Steve Dolan, Mountain Country 107.9-FM
• Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez, CIF San Diego Section.
• Rex Johnson, CIF Advisory Committee
• Joe Evangelist, San Diego Coaching Legends Committee.
• Tom Helmantoler, Advisor Southern Conference
• Christian Pedersen, San Diego Sports Association
• MaxPreps

Jake Hall’s two, late three-point baskets got No. 1 seed Carlsbad past Montgomery, 56-47, Saturday, February 24, for the San Diego Section Open Division championship.

The victory, before more than 3,000  persons at U.C. San Diego’s LionTree Arena avenged a 63-55 loss to the No. 3 Aztecs (28-3) in December, was the Lancers’ 19th straight victory and 29th, against two losses. Also included was a 75-74 win over No. 2 St. Augustine in December.

Carlsbad’s only loss was 83-44 in the season opener at Studio City Harvard-Westlake.

Hall, who scored 19 points, buried a three-pointer with 1:52 remaining in the game to open some space in what was a two-point Lancers lead and then cranked another 3 a minute later to seal the victory.

Montgomery, which had won 15 in a row, including a 56-39 rout of St. Augustine in the semifinals, will take a 28-3 record along with Carlsbad and the six other Open Division playoff squads into the Southern California regionals, pairings of which will be announced Sunday, February 25.

Playoff scores below.

Open Division	Saturday, February 17	Wednesday, Feb 21	Saturday, Feb 24
	8 Cathedral (19-9) 64 1 Carlsbad 104	1 Carlsbad 77 5 La Jolla Country Day (23-6) 65	3 Montgomery (28-3) 47 1 Carlsbad (29-2) 56 @ U.C. San Diego
	5 La Jolla Country Day 46 4 Torrey Pines (21-8) 45
	3 Montgomery 49 6 Mission Hills (21-8) 41	3 Montgomery 56 2 St. Augustine (25-5) 39
	7 La Costa Canyon (19-8) 48 2 St. Augustine 67
Division I Wednesday, February 14	Saturday, February 17	Wednesday, February 21	Friday, Feb 23
16 San Ysidro (6-23) 44 1 Santa Fe Christian 74	8 Scripps Ranch 60 1 Santa Fe Christian (21-9) 51	8 Scripps Ranch 64 4 El Camino (16-15) 62	8 Scripps Ranch (20-12) 43 2 Mission Bay (21-11) 57 @ Otay Ranch
9 Francis Parker (15-14) 62 8 Scripps Ranch 64
12 Bonita Vista (14-15) 37 5 Hoover 65	5 Hoover (18-12) 65 4 El Camino 67
13 Otay Ranch (10-18) 66 4 El Camino 81
11 Lincoln 65 6 Mater Dei (16-13) 55	11 Lincoln (11-19) 52 3 San Marcos 73	3 San Marcos (24-7) 42 2 Mission Bay 54
14 Madison (9-20) 39 3 San Marcos 86
10 San Diego (9-20) 44 7 Del Norte 59	7 Del Norte (16-13) 44 2 Mission Bay 52
15 Poway (10-19) 44 2 Mission Bay 74
Division II Wednesday, February 14	Saturday, February 17	Wednesday, February 21	Friday, February 23
16 Calexico (12-14) 52 1 Rancho Buena Vista 87	8 Mt. Carmel (17-13) 57 1 Rancho Buena Vista 84	1 Rancho Buena Vista 62 5 Sage Creek (17-14) 59	1 Rancho Buena Vista (24-8) 57 3 University City (24-8) 72 @ San Marcos
9 Patrick Henry (18-11) 62 8 Mt. Carmel 73
12 Ramona (12-16) 52 5 Sage Creek 56	5 Sage Creek 55 4 Vista (20-10) 51
13 San Dieguito (5-22) 45 4 Vista 85
11 Helix (13-16) 49 6 Eastlake 69	6 Eastlake (17-13) 51 3 University City 57
14 Canyon Crest (11-18) 63 3 University City 74
10 The Bishop's (13-15) 52 7 Christian 56	7 Christian (19-8) 50 2 Victory Christian 84	3 University City 66 2 Victory Christian (20-10) 63
15 Coronado (7-23) 54 2 Victory Christian 91
Division III Wednesday, February 14	Saturday, February 17	Tuesday, February 20	Friday, February 23
16 Mission Vista (9-18) 35 1 Olympian 81	8 St. Joseph (19-10) 59 1 Olympian 78	1 Olympian 60 4 Mira Mesa 21-10) 33	1 Olympian (28-3) 50 3 Monte Vista (23-9) 36 @ Clairemont
9 Steele Canyon (15-14) 68 8 St. Joseph 71
12 Imperial 73 5 Point Loma (18-9) 68	12 Imperial (14-16) 68 4 Mira Mesa 77
13 Escondido Charter (16-13) 55 4 Mira Mesa 70
11 Oceanside (11-16) 56 6 Westview 60	6 Westview (18-12) 41 3 Monte Vista 53
14 Granite Hills (13-12) 43 3 Monte Vista 62
10 Maranatha (11-18) 47 7 Calexico Vincent Memorial 65	7 Calexico Vincent Memorial (18-8) 57 15 El Centro Central 61	3 Monte Vista 74 15 El Centro Central (16-13) 67
15 El Centro Central 63 2 La Jolla (15-12) 60
Division IV Wed February 14	Saturday, February 17	Tuesday, February 20	Thursday, February 22
16 Santana (9-20) 55 1 San Diego Southwest 67	8 Valley Center (16-14) 34 1 San Diego Southwest 50	1 San Diego Southwest 74 4 Canyon Hills (20-9) 69	1 San Diego Southwest (28-3) 48 2 Mount Miguel (23-8) 70 @ Otay Ranch
9 Rock (16-10) 53 8 Valley Center 58
12 Crawford 79 5 El Capitan (20-9) 68	12 Crawford (12-16) 42 4 Canyon Hills 56
13 Escondido (10-19) 29 4 Canyon Hills 54
11 Mar Vista (10-15) 37 6 Fallbrook 75	6 Fallbrook (14-15) 55 3 High Tech Chula Vista 62	2 Mount Miguel 80 3 High Tech Chula Vista (23-5) 72
14 Blythe Palo Verde Valley (8-15) 45 3 High Tech Chula Vista 62
10 Brawley (15-14) 46 7 Clairemont 71	7 Clairemont (17-11) 69 2 Mount Miguel 89
15 Sweetwater (11-14) 57 2 Mount Miguel 76
1 Calipatria	8 Chula Vista (9-18) 15 1 Calipatria 60	1 Calipatria 69 4 Coastal (15-6) 25	1 Calipatria (21-4) 43 2 Del Lago (21-10) 59 @ Clairemont
9 Bayfront Charter (14-9) 36 8 Chula Vista 43
12 High Tech North County (13-14) 44 5 O'Farrell 59	5 O'Farrell (16-11) 26 4 Coastal 37
4 Coastal
11 High Tech Mesa 56 6 Holtville (10-13) 53	11 High Tech Mesa (10-19) 66 3 El Cajon Valley 72	3 El Cajon Valley (15-15) 58 2 Del Lago 67
3 El Cajon Valley
10 Mountain Empire (15-8) 33 7 Castle Park 53	7 Castle Park (11-17) 30 2 Del Lago 66
2 Del Lago
Division V-AA Wednesday, February 14	Saturday, February 17	Tuesday, February 20	Thursday, February 22
1 Tri-City	8 Julian (15-10) 20 1 Tri-City 74	1Tri-City 65 4 Bonsall (9-9) 36	1 Tri-City (21-10) 75 3 San Diego Jewish (15-12) 57 @ Canyon Crest
9 Escondido Adventist (6-19) 33 8 Julian 43
12 Borrego Springs (10-13) 32 5 Monarch 53	5 Monarch (17-9) 52 4 Bonsall (17-9) 69
4 Bonsall		3 San Diego Jewish 67 1 The Cambridge (19-3) 47
11 San Diego Academy (8-9) 29 6 Southern California Yeshiva 40	6 Southern California Yeshiva (12-12) 34 3 San Diego Jewish 71
3 San Diego Jewish
10 Ocean View (7-13) 55 7 Warner Springs Warner 57	7 Warner Springs Warner (17-13) 35 2 The Cambridge 57
2 The Cambridge