Skip to content
 Santa Margarita players celebrate a score against Esperanza as they high five their coach Jeff Reinert, left, in the first round CIF-SS Open Division basketball playoff in Santa Margarita on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Santa Margarita players celebrate a score against Esperanza as they high five their coach Jeff Reinert, left, in the first round CIF-SS Open Division basketball playoff in Santa Margarita on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Lose the coin flip and perhaps travel a long distance. Win the coin flip and avoid the trip.

Villa Park won a coin flip that makes the Spartans the home team against Mission Prep of San Luis Obispo in a boys basketball playoff game Tuesday.

That’s a CIF-Southern Section Division 2AA quarterfinal game. How important was it to have the opposing team make the 223-mile trip either Mission Prep or Villa Park had to take?

“I will know exactly how important on Tuesday night at about 10 p.m.,” said Villa Park coach Kevin Reynolds, referring by which the game will be over.

When two teams meet after the first round of the playoffs, the team with the fewest number of home playoff games at that point of the playoffs is the home team. If the two teams have played the same number of home playoff games a coin flip decides the home team.

The CIF-SS in advance completes coin flips for potential matchups that need coin flips to identify the home team.

All 12 CIF-SS divisions continue with quarterfinal round games Tuesday. 

Mater Dei and Santa Margarita won coin flips that have them as home teams for Open Division championship-bracket quarterfinal games. Mater Dei is home against Roosevelt of Eastvale. Santa Margarita is home against fourth-seeded Bishop Montgomery of Torrance.

Corona del Mar won a coin flip to be the home team in a 1A quarterfinal game against Pasadena.

Capistrano Valley will be home against the winner of Saturday’s Saugus-Dos Pueblos of Goleta game. Capo Valley won coin flips made in anticipation of either opponent.

Orange County teams that lost coin flips and will have to travel Tuesday: Esperanza at Oak Park in the Open Division consolation bracket; Buena Park at Cajon in 2AA; Aliso Niguel at Rancho Christian of Temecula in 2A; and Crean Lutheran at Burbank in 3AA.

The CIF-SS requires that Open Division games beyond the first round must be played in a venue with a capacity of at least 2,000. Mater Dei and Santa Margarita have on-campus gyms that hold more than 2,000.

The quarterfinals schedule for the Orange County teams:

Open Division: championship bracket, Roosevelt at Mater Dei; Bishop Montgomery at Santa Margarita; consolation bracket: Esperanza at Oak Park; Alemany of Mission Hills

Division 1AA: Los Alamitos at Etiwanda

Division 1A: Pasadena at Corona del Mar

Division 2AA: Buena Park at Cajon; Mission Prep at Villa Park

Division 2A: Dos Pueblos of Goleta at Capistrano Valley

Division 3AA: Mission Viejo at North Torrance; Crean Lutheran at Burbank

Division 4AA: Rowland of Rowland Heights at Segerstrom

Division 6: Pacific Christian at Cate of Carpinteria

Contact the writer: sfryer@scng.com