SLUMPING SAINTS KEEP NO. 1 SPOT

With dozens of games canceled, including the entire Mt. Carmel Holiday Classic, and teams that did play doing so shorthanded, the 16 voters in the UnionTribune’s Sportswriters/ Sportscasters Poll were faced with a dilemma.

Should they vote for No. 1-ranked St. Augustine, which went through the top division of the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic without as many as three starters, or cast a first-place vote for a relatively healthy Mission Hills squad that swept through the second flight of the Torrey Pines Classic?

And then there was what to do with San Marcos, which was scheduled to play in the National Division at Torrey Pines, but had to drop out because of COVID-19 issues.

The votes reflected the dilemma with five teams — St. Augustine, San Marcos, Cathedral Catholic, Torrey Pines and Mission Hills — receiving first-place votes.

In the final tally, St. Augustine (9-6), which went 1-4 over the last two weeks, received seven first-place votes and stayed at No. 1. The Saints also got two sixth-place votes and a seventh.

San Marcos (8-3), which won its only two games over the last two weeks, got five first-place votes and moved up a spot to No. 2. The Knights also got a seventhplace vote and a 10th.

Torrey Pines (10-4) went 2-3, including a 67-62 loss to San Ysidro, but got a firstplace vote and is No. 3.

The Falcons also got four fifth-place votes and an eighth.

Cathedral Catholic (12-5) went 4-2, losing to La Costa Canyon, but got a pair of first-place votes and stayed at No. 4.

The Dons got two seventh-place votes, two eighths and a ninth.

Mission Bay (11-4) went 5-1, didn’t get a first-place vote and stayed at No. 5.

Out a possible 160 points, the top five teams all got at least 100 points.

Mission Hills (10-5) was 5-1, got a first-place vote and jumped into the Top 10 at No. 6.

La Jolla Country Day (9-2), which entered the holiday tournament season 8-2, won its only game, beating El Camino, then dropped out of the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic because of COVID-19 issues.

Five teams with doubledigit wins — Bishop’s (11-4), Montgomery (10-2), which won the Aztecs Holiday Hoops Tournament, Mission Vista (11-6), Del Norte (11-4), Monte Vista (12-3) — didn’t receive a vote.

After the flurry of holiday games, schedules settle down with most teams heading into league play or crossleague action.