Bishop Montgomery, Mira Costa, Leuzinger lead area teams into the CIF-SS playoffs
The Bishop Montgomery boys basketball team's road to a potential CIF Southern Section Open Division final will begin with its first two games at home.
The Knights (25-2) received the No. 4 seed in the eight-team division and is in Pool A along with No. 1 seed Corona Centennial.
First, the Knights will be home Friday night against No. 5 Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, and then they will host No. 8 Sierra Canyon Feb. 14. The Knights conclude pool play Feb. 17 against Centennial.
St. Bernard is the No. 7 seed and will be on the road for its three games in Pool B. The Vikings will open Friday at No. 2 Harvard-Westlake and then face No. 3 West Ranch (Feb. 14) and No. 6 St. John Bosco (Feb. 17).
The winners of each pool will meet in the championship game Feb. 25 at Honda Center.
Bay League champion Mira Costa (25-2) is the No. 3 seed in Division 1. The Mustangs have a first-round bye and will host Fairmont Prep or Brentwood in the second round Friday.
Rolling Hills Prep (22-5) is also in Division 1 and will host Cajon in the first round Wednesday.
Redondo and Palos Verdes are in Division 2AA. The Sea
Hawks (19-9) finished second in the Bay League and will host Bishop Diego Wednesday. The Sea Kings (17-10) received an atlarge entry after finishing fifth in the Bay League. They will be at Prep League champion Providence in the first round.
West Torrance (13-15) is the lone South Bay area team in the Division 3AA bracket. After winning Friday's Pioneer League tiebreaker, West will be at No. 2 seed Orangewood Academy in the first round.
A pair of Pioneer League teams are in Division 3A. Lawndale (14-14) will be on the road against top-seeded Paraclete in the first round, and Wiseburn Da Vinci (19-9) opens at home against Valley View.
Also in 3A, Inglewood (1410), the third-place team out the Ocean League, will be at No. 2 La Habra in the first round.
Leuzinger (20-8) is the top seed in Division 4A. The Olympians won the Ocean League title and will host Crossroads Christian in the first round.
North Torrance, the Pioneer League champions, is the No. 2 seed in Division 5AA. The Saxons will open at home against New Roads.
Mary Star (18-11) is also in 5AA. The Stars will be on the road against Fillmore in the first round.