RECAP:
California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section and City Section Open Division had their first set of games on friday and it did not disappoint.
Most of the top seeds prevailed in their first games of pool play.
(click here to read more about the playoff format for CIF-SS Open Division).
Overall number one seed, Sierra Canyon, routed eighth seed St. John Bosco 67-37. Also in Pool A, Etiwanda defeated St. Anthony 71-55. UCLA commit Jaylen Clark had 15 points.
The only upset of the week was in Pool B. Seventh seed Mater Dei beat second seed Corona Centennial by the score of 66-58. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo commit Aidan Prukop stepped up when the Monarchs needed him most. He scored a game high 22 points with starting point guard and Kentucky commit Devin Askew in foul trouble.
Third seed Rancho Christian also took care of business against Harvard-Westlake, winning a close one 67-62.
There are two games left in pool play, which are set for Tuesday and Friday. There is plenty of basketball to be played and it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for a lower seed to run the table like Bishop Montgomery did last season.
These are my predictions for which teams will play at Cal State Long Beach on February 28.
Pool A
Prediction: Sierra Canyon
They are the most nationally televised team from California for a reason. The star-studded Blazers handled an “upset alert” type of game against Bosco with ease. TCU commit Terren Frank lead scores with 19 points and Kentucky commit BJ Boston had 18.
The biggest for the Blazers pool play is Etiwanda on Friday. The two faced off in December with Sierra Canyon coming on top 57-53 but both teams were without their transfers. Now the Eagles will have UCLA commit Jaylen Clark and the Blazers will have 5 star Ziaire Williams.
It will be a close game, but Sierra Canyon’s stars will be too much for the defenses of Etiwanda and St. Anthony. They will go 3-0 in pool play.
Pool B
Prediction: Mater Dei
They got their big win this last week and have the momentum that they’ve been lacking throughout the season. Although they are in an unfamiliar spot as underdogs, this group has what it takes to make it to Long Beach.
Centennial, the surprise team of the year, saw their chances plummet after the loss to the Monarchs. Next they face a Harvard-Westlake team who beat them by 13 in December. This game could end the Huskies run.
For Mater Dei, tonight they play a Rancho Christian team whom they matchup well with. Four star center Wilhelm Breidenbach will have his hands full with Five star Evan Mobley. However, the Monarchs have the size to compete with the dominant center. Expect USC commit Harrison Hornery and Junior Nick Davidson to contribute a lot in this game.
In the backcourt, Gonzaga commit Dominick Harris and Askew will face off, both are top point guards in the country.
In this game I expect the big-men for Mater Dei to have great games defensively and for Askew to have a much better game then the first against Centennial.
The Monarchs could potentially drop one to Harvard-Westlake, but will win on a tie breaker. They will go 2-1 in pool play.
The Beat @APU 
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