2022-23 Week 7: St. Augustine Wins National Game in Massachusetts

Trailing, 30-23, St. Augustine took charge in the second half and defeated East Catholic of Manchester, Connecticut, 67-57, last week in the Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mass.  San Ysidro was beaten in the same event by Florida’s Miami Columbus, 74-67.

Locally, most impressive was Montgomery, which zipped past  Mater Dei, 77-58, and replaced the Crusaders as the section’s third-ranked team, moving from fifth, while Mater Dei dropped to seventh.

Carlsbad remained second with an 83-80 win over La Costa Canyon.

The San Diego Union-Tribune Week 7 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.

# TEAM RECORD POINTS PREV MAX-PREPS CAL-HI SPORTS
1 St. Augustine 16-3 (19) 190 1 4/5 6/6
2 Carlsbad 16-4 171 2 42/52 Bubble/Bubble
3 San Ysidro 9-8 128 4 104/113 Bubble/Bubble
4 Mission Bay 15-5 123 5 89/121 NR/NR
5 Montgomery 15-3 117 7 57/80 NR/NR
6 Torrey Pines 13-6 68 6 77/67 NR/NR
7 Mater Dei 15-5 66 3 90/58 NR/NR
8 Santa Fe Christian 15-5 64 8 96/88 NR/NR
9 Lincoln 18-2 38 10 143/156 NR/NR
10 La Costa Canyon 9-8 25 NR 92 NR/NR

Others receiving votes

San Diego (12-6, 14 points), Otay Ranch (12-6, 14), El Camino (13-5, 6) Victory Christian (13-5, 4), West Hills (17-2, 4) Mission Hills (11-8, 3, Coronado (17-5, 3) Del Norte (10-5, 2),  Canyon Crest (13-5, 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.


2022-23 Week 8: Saints’ Busy Week Ends With Nike Event

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.

# TEAM RECORD POINTS PREVIOUS MAX-PREPS CAL-HI SPORTS
1 St. Augustine 18-3 (19) 190 1 5/5 6/6
2 Carlsbad 18-4 171 2 38/42 Bubble/Bubble
3 San Ysidro 12-8 142 3 66/104 Bubble/Bubble
4 Montgomery 17-3 124 5 52/57 NR/NR
5 Mission Bay 16-6 113 4 79/89 NR/NR
6 Torrey Pines 15-6 98 6 61/77 NR/NR
7 Mater Dei 16-6 65 7 99/90 NR/NR
8 Lincoln 20-2 51 9 147/143 NR/NR
9 Santa Fe Christian 17-4 28 8 103/96 NR/NR
10 La Costa Canyon 11-9 25 NR 73/92 NR/NR

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.


2022-23 Week 6: Cross-country trips for No. 1 Saints, No. 4 San Ysidro

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.

# TEAM RECORD POINTS PREV MAX-PREPS CAL-HI SPORTS
1 St. Augustine 14-3 (19) 190 1 5/5 6/7
2 Carlsbad 14-4 169 2 52/61 Bubble/Bubble
3 Mater Dei 15-3 134 4 58/77 NR/NR
4 San Ysidro 8-7 115 3 113/105 Bubble/23
5 Mission Bay 13-5 105 5 121/130 NR/NR
6 Torrey Pines 12-5 99 6 67/59 NR/NR
7 Montgomery 14-3 88 7 80/99 NR/NR
8 Santa Fe Christian 13-3 54 8 88/90 NR/NR
9 El Camino 12-4 34 10 102/110 NR/NR
10 Lincoln 15-2 21 NR 156 NR/NR

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.


2022-23 Week 6: Cross-country Challenges for No. 1 Saints and No. 4 Cougars

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.

# TEAM RECORD POINTS PREV MAX-PREPS CAL-HI SPORTS
1 St. Augustine 14-3 (19) 190 1 5/5 6/7
2 Carlsbad 14-4 169 2 52/61 Bubble/Bubble
3 Mater Dei 15-3 134 4 58/77 NR/NR
4 San Ysidro 8-7 115 3 113/105 Bubble/23
5 Mission Bay 13-5 105 5 121/130 NR/NR
6 Torrey Pines 12-5 99 6 67/59 NR/NR
7 Montgomery 14-3 88 7 80/99 NR/NR
8 Santa Fe Christian 13-3 54 8 88/90 NR/NR
9 El Camino 12-4 34 10 102/110 NR/NR
10 Lincoln 15-2 21 NR 156 NR/NR

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.


2022-23 Week 5: The Saints Are Still Marching In

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.

# TEAM RECORD POINTS PREV MAX-PREPS CAL-HI SPORTS
1 St. Augustine 12-3 (19) 190 1 5/7 7/10
2 Carlsbad 14-3 149 4 45/33 NR
3 San Ysidro 7-6 134 2 71/91 23/21
4 Mater Dei 12-3 111 7 76/130 NR
5 Mission Bay 12-5 109 3 81/73 NR
6 Torrey Pines 10-5 108 5 59/27 NR
7 Montgomery 12-3 92 6 95/94 NR
8 Santa Fe Christian 11-3 52 9 91/155 NR
9 La Costa Canyon 8-6 33 NR 106 NR
10 El Camino 10-4 18 NR 124 NR

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.


2022-23 Week 4: 80 Teams (from 55 cities, 10 states) Converge for Torrey Pines Event

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.

# TEAM RECORD POINTS PREV MAX-PREPS CAL-HI SPORTS
1 St. Augustine 9-2 (18) 189 1 9/6 /10
2 San Ysidro 6-3 (1) 162 4 91/144 /21
3 Mission Bay 11-2 147 5 73/73 /NR
4 Carlsbad 11-2 133 2 33/31 /NR
5 Torrey Pines 9-2 113 3 27/25 /NR
6 Montgomery 8-3 71 6 94/111 /NR
7 Mater Dei 9-2 55 9 130/104 /NR
8 Otay Ranch 8-3 49 8 113/112 /NR
9 Santa Fe Christian 8-2 27 NR 155/NR NR
10 Del Norte 6-3 23 10 107/99 /NR

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.