St. Augustine, priming for what it hopes will be a deep run in the postseason playoffs, has a pair of Western League  games this week and a final, tough intersectional test against Sherman Oaks Notre Dame Saturday in the Nike Extravaganza at Santa Ana Mater Dei.

The Saints have a home game Wednesday against Hoover (11-9) and are at San Diego (15-7) Friday.  Then they’ll play the next day at 5 p.m. against the Notre Dame Knights, ranked seventh by Cal-Hi Sports (St. Augustine is sixth) and 14th by MaxPreps (the Saints are fifth), the two major state polls.

Notre Dame is 16-8 and was beaten by San Ysidro, 87-82, here in December.  The Knights play in the powerful Mission League, which includes Studio City Harvard-Westlake (23-1) and Chatsworth Sierra Canyon (18-5).

The Saints and Knights are the only teams to have defeated San Ramon Dougherty Valley, a 19-2 team from the North Coast Section.  St. Augustine has a 62-58 victory and Notre Dame a 65-53 win over the Wildcats.

The Mesa League picture should come into more focus Wednesday when Montgomery, 6-0 in league play, 18-3 overall, and averaging 74.8 points, visits San Ysidro, 5-0 in league, 12-8 overall, and averaging 83.3 points.

The San Diego Union-Tribune Week 8 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.

Others receiving votes

La Jolla Country Day (17-6, 13 points), West Hills (19-2, 7), Otay Ranch (13-7, 7), Del Norte (12-5, 6), San Diego (15-7, 5), Otay Ranch (12-6, 14), Victory Christian (15-5, 4), Mission Hills (12-9, 1).

VOTING PANEL

• 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.

San Diego Section No. 1-ranked St. Augustine and  No. 4 San Ysidro go national this week, traveling to Western Massachusetts for  games in the Spalding HoopHall event at Springfield College.

The Saints will meet Max Preps‘ No. 2 team in Connecticut, Manchester East Catholic (7-0 in reported games), at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. The Cougars (8-7) take on Miami Christopher Columbus (13-3), Max’s No. 1 in Florida, at 7:30 p.m.

Times are Eastern.

Coach Mike Haupt’s Saints chilled last week, save for a Tuesday evening, 75-59 win over La Costa Canyon.  The Saints have what appears to be no more than a light, Eastern League  exercise tonight against  Patrick Henry  (3-11).

Defensively-challenged San Ysidro has allowed at least 90 points in five of its last six games, including a 100-89 loss to Carlsbad last week after leading, 71-63, at the end of three quarters. The Cougars meet 10-7 Bonita Vista  in a Metro Mesa battle Wednesday.

What price travel?  St. Augustine and San Ysidro will fly approximately 2,900 miles through three time zones.  Manchester East Catholic has a 32-mile hike up Interstate 91 and Miami Columbus will log about 1,400 miles.

The San Diego Union-Tribune Week 6 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.

Others receiving votes

La Costa Canyon (8-7, 15 points), San Diego (11-5, 12), Otay Ranch (11-6, 4), Coronado (15-5, 2) Del Norte (8-5, 10), Victory Christian (11-5, 2), West Hills (15-2, 1).

VOTING PANEL

• 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.

San Diego Section No. 1-ranked St. Augustine and  No. 4 San Ysidro go national this week, traveling to Western Massachusetts for a  games in the Spalding HoopHall event at Springfield College.

The Saints will meet Max Preps‘ No. 2 team in Connecticut, Manchester East Catholic (7-0 in reported games), at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. The Cougars (8-7) take on Miami Christopher Columbus (13-3), Max Preps‘ No. 1 in Florida, at 7:30 p.m.

Times are Eastern.

Coach Mike Haupt’s Saints chilled last week, save for a Tuesday evening, 75-59 win over La Costa Canyon.  The Saints have what appears to be no more than a light, Eastern League  exercise tonight against  Patrick Henry  (3-11).

Defensively-challenged San Ysidro plays 10-7 Bonita Vista in a Metro Mesa game Wednesday and has allowed at least 90 points in five of its last six games, including a 100-89 loss last week to Carlsbad after leading, 71-63, at the end of three quarters.

What price travel? St. Augustine and San Ysidro will fly through three time zones and about 2,900 miles to their contests.  East Catholic has a 32-mile hike up Interstate 91 and Miami Columbus will log 1,414 miles.

The San Diego Union-Tribune Week 6 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.

Others receiving votes

La Costa Canyon (8-7, 15 points), San Diego (11-5, 12), Otay Ranch (11-6, 4), Coronado (15-5, 2) Del Norte (8-5, 10), Victory Christian (11-5, 2), West Hills (15-2, 1).

VOTING PANEL

• 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.

Exhausted from a week of travel and tip-ins at numerous venues and in numerous events, San Diego Section teams now gear for league play and some “classics”, such as on Martin Luther King weekend later this month.

So busy and so competitive was last week, today’s Union-Tribune poll revealed a seldom-seen jockeying for position.  Only St. Augustine, which lost 71-65, to powerful St. John’s of Washington D.C.,  in finals of the 32nd Torrey Pines Classic, retained its No. 1 ranking.

The second  through 10th teams sat in different slots last week.

St. Augustine, No. 5  statewide in Max Preps and No. 7 by Cal-Hi Sports, takes on newly-anointed and visiting No. 9 La Costa Canyon, far down the list, according to Max Preps and out of sight by Cal-Hi Sports, in a potential trap game  Tuesday night.

(La Costa Canyon led the Saints, 45-43, in the third quarter, but St. Augustine pulled away for a 75-59 victory).

The San Diego Union-Tribune Week 5 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.

Others receiving votes

San Diego (10-4, 17 points), Otay Ranch (10-5, 13), Lincoln (13-2, 10), Del Norte (8-5, 10), Victory Christian (9-3, 3) Mission Hills (10-5, 1) Coronado (11-4, 1).

VOTING PANEL

• 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.

Dozens of tournaments and nonleague games make the weekly vote for the top 10 in San Diego County almost superfluous. Action is daily and will be through the end of the year, notably with the massive, 32nd Torrey Pines Holiday Classic, which began this morning at several venues.

No.1 St. Augustine (9-2) opens at home at 7 p.m. against the 9-2 Centennial Coyotes of Peoria, the 25th-ranked team in Arizona. No. 2 San Ysidro (6-3) plays Monterey Trail (4-5) of Elk Grove, near Sacramento, at 7 at Torrey Pines.

San Diego High (7-3) got post-Christmas action started last night with a 74-67 loss in the LaVerne Damian Tournament to 9-3 Lawndale Leuzinger.

Results from last week’s Week 4 posting was a prelude to this week’s vote

The San Diego Union-Tribune Week 4 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.

Others receiving votes

La Costa Canyon (5-5, 22 points), San Diego (7-2, 21 points), Lincoln (9-2, 14), Mission Hills (8-3, 11), El Camino (7-3, 6).

VOTING PANEL

• 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.

While the St. Augustine boys and La Jolla Country Day girls competed against the best this week, Montgomery came home with a championship, of sorts.

The Aztecs (8-3), won the Baller TV consolation bracket in the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas, defeating  Las Vegas schools Sierra Vista, 71-46; Valley, 60-58, and Clark, 54-36, after a first-round loss to eventual champion Layton, Utah, 70-60.

St. Augustine, in the Platinum Bracket, was 2-2 in the Tark and the Torreys 3-1 in the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix.

The Saints (9-2) opened with a 56-51 victory  over Orlando Oak Ridge (7-3), then the No. 2 team in Florida. They defeated Cleveland St. Ignatius, 62-54.  They dropped a 79-70 decision to 6-2 Las Vegas Bishop Gorman, Nevada’s No. 1 squad.

The Gorman Gaels lost, 67-62, in the Tarkanian final to 12-0 Valencia West Ranch, which had defeated Carlton Kell of Marietta, Georgia, 65-55, and Santa Ana Mater Dei, 60-55.

St. Augustine’s final game was an 84-76 loss to 11-1 Kell, an Atlanta suburban team ranked second in the state.

FIRST DEFEAT

La Jolla Country Day (13-1), ranked No. 5 in the U.S. by Max Preps, was defeated by Long Island Lutheran of Brookville, N.Y., 63-50, in the Tournament Of Champions final.

Breya Cunningham scored 23 points for the Torreys, who fell behind, 18-6, after one quarter, rallied to a 29-27 halftime deficit, and fell behind again, 45-33, after three quarters.

The LuHi Crusaders, No. 1 team on the state’s eight-million population peninsula, featured 6-foot, 5-inch center Kate Koval from Ukraine.  Koval had 10 points and nine rebounds.

SET SHOTS

Mikey Williams scored 35 points and San Ysidro (5-3) defeated  Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (7-3) in a non-tournament game, 89-82…the visiting Knights’ other losses were 66-64 to Valencia West Ranch and 94-77 to Duncanville, Texas…Otay Ranch was in the Visit Mesa Tournament at Westwood High in Mesa, Arizona, winning, 68-59, over Aurora of Overland, Colorado; losing to Sunnyslope, 62-33, and winning, 65-38, over Westwood….Coach Terry Bamford’s La Jolla Country Day Torreys return in January, beginning the New Year on Saturday, Jan. 7, at Chatsworth Sierra Canyon, the team that edged the host Torreys, 63-62, in the state regional playoff semifinals in 2021-22…St. Augustine will be back in action on Tuesday, Dec. 27, in the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic with a game on the Saints’ home court against the 9-2 Centennial Coyotes of Peoria, Arizona….