Saints, Torreys occupy No. 1 spots to start and finish

The La Jolla Country Day Girls and the St. Augustine Boys finished the season at No. 1 in San Diego.

Both started Season #1.

In a season spanning 30+ games, it’s not often that teams start #1 and finish #1.

While LJCD barely wavered, Saints had an up-and-down start.

“We went through a rough patch over Christmas,” St. Augustine coach Mike Haupt said of a 1-4 stretch, including a loss to Grossmont.

The Saints’ top seven players are underclassmen, and Haupt said “the team’s youth really showed.”

Also, during this time, the Saints have been hit hard by COVID-19 and injuries.

“And we didn’t do well playing with leads,” Haupt said. “But we got healthy, the boys got together and we made it.”

St Augustine’s top scorer Jurian Dixon said: “We didn’t let ourselves fall out of No. 1. And we didn’t let it get to us.

“But to finish 1st, to win the Open Division, means a lot to all of us.”

The Saints (23-7) are ranked No. 6 in the Boys Open and will travel to the No. 3 Sierra Canyon in Wednesday’s Southern California Regionals. The LJCD (24-2) girls, No. 2 of the Open, also host Santa Ana Mater Dei (7) on Wednesday.

Big crowds

The CIF capped attendance at Saturday’s boys’ and girls’ championships at 2,000 for each game.

The Montgomery High gym was packed for the boys’ San Ysidro-Saints game, and fans lined the railings above the court.

The crowd wasn’t quite as big for the girls – LJCD vs. Mission Hills – but the gym was comfortably packed.

There is a good chance that the CIF will continue to hold its championships at school sites and not at colleges.

The stars are out

Some of the county’s top players — nominees for Player of the Year — will serve in the Southern California Regionals.

On the boys’ side, look for Dixon (St. Augustine), freshman Jake Hall (Carlsbad), Martin Flores and Sebastian Medina (San Ysidro), Jaden Label (Cathedral Catholic), Otto Landrum and Logan Huston (Torrey Pines), and Mike Murray ( Victory Christian Academy).

San Marcos star Devon Arlington has a strained Achilles and is hoping to play.

On the girls’ side, McDonald’s All-American Ice Brady (Cathedral Catholic) and Junior Breya Cunningham (LJCD) are headlining.

They are joined by Jessica Grant (Mission Hills), Angelina Robles and Renee Chong (Bishop’s), Mahliya Wilson (Bonita Vista), Amanda Kramer (Scripps Ranch), Emmy Stout (Maranatha Christian) and Madison Huhn (Carlsbad).

hot shooting

In four playoff games, Mt. Carmel’s Jaden Matusalem shot 17 of 29 3-pointers, 59 percent.

He scored 101 points in 87 minutes played.

On the season, he’s 109 of 227 on 3s, 48 ​​percent.

As a team, the Sundevils (23-9), the San Diego Section Division II champions playing tonight in the Southern California Division III Regionals in Dana Hills, made 388 of 1,121 3-point attempts — both CIF records.

In the playoffs, Mt. Carmel had 11 3s against Valhalla, nine against Henry, 15 against Montgomery, and 10 against Otay Ranch.

Hot Shooting II

The Mission Hills girls, who play in the Open Division Regional at Wednesday’s Corona Centennial, have made 389 of 1,160 3-point attempts this season, 34 percent.

Jessica Grant did 157 out of 380, 41 percent.

The Grizzlies made 14 3-pointers against Bishop’s, 11 against Cathedral Catholic, and 14 against La Jolla Country Day in the San Diego Section Open Division Finals.

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