The CIF Southern California Regionals offer a second chance for a postseason championship for teams that lost in CIF-Southern Section finals.
Losing in the section finals before winning a CIF State championship has been done before by Orange County teams.
Mater Dei did not win CIF-SS championships in 2011 and ’13 but took off in the regionals and went on to win state titles those years. Santa Margarita turned the trick in ’08.
A look at Orange County boys basketball:
• The Open Division of the regionals, which includes top-seeded Mater Dei, begins with first-round games Friday, continues with semifinals March 18 and concludes with finals at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario on March 22.
• The other five divisions begin with first-round games Wednesday, continue with second-round games Saturday and semifinals March 18. The regional finals are March 22 at Citizens Business Bank Arena for divisions 1 and 2 and the Open Division, and at Colony High of Ontario for divisions 3, 4 and 5. CIF State Championships for all divisions are March 28 (divisions 1, 3 and 5) and 29 (Open and divisions 2 and 4) at Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento.
• Admission to regional games is $9 for adults and $5 for children and for students with valid student identification.
• County schools that have won state boys basketball championships: Mater Dei, 10; Santa Margarita, 2; and one each for Estancia, Orange, Servite, Tustin and Woodbridge. Orange won its state title in 1920. Basketball state championships were curtailed after the 1928 season then resumed in 1981.
• Villa Park’s Luke Selway and Lamont Tyler had good two-game outputs last week. Selway, a senior guard, scored 15 points with four steals in the Spartans’ 1A semifinals win over Temecula Valley, and scored 12 with five rebounds in the championship game loss to M.L. King of Riverside. Tyler, a 6-foot-10 senior, scored 15 points with seven rebounds against Temecula Valley and scored 26 points with nine rebounds against King.
• Stanley Johnson’s week: The Mater Dei senior and Arizona signee scored 15 points with 11 rebounds in an Open Division semifinals win over J.W. North of Riverside. In the championship game win over Chino Hills, he scored 28 points with 15 rebounds. MJ Cage was the Monarchs’ top player in the North game, scoring 24 points with 14 rebounds.
• Mission Viejo senior Chandler Hutchison scored more than half of his team’s points Saturday in the Diablos’ loss to Long Beach Poly in the 1AA championship game. Hutchison, who signed with Boise State, scored 27 points in the 54-46 loss.
• Canyon’s Anthony Ballestero scored 12 points with six assists in the Comanches’ 2AA semifinals win over Canyon of Canyon Country. The senior guard scored 20 points with six assists in the championship game win over Westlake of Westlake Village.
• Sonora junior guards Ben Rico and Josh Rodriguez were good last week, too. Rico scored 18 points with 10 rebounds in the Raiders’ win over Oak Hills of Hesperia in the 2A semifinals and scored 12 points with 10 rebounds in the finals loss to Calabasas. Rodriguez scored 17 points against Oak Hills and 15 points with five assists against Calabasas.
• Devonte Klines was Santa Margarita’s only player in double-figures scoring in its 3AA championship game win over Brea Olinda. He scored 15 with five assists.
• Neither Brea nor Santa Margarita shot well in the 3AA final. Santa Margarita, the 53-46 winner, was 17 for 53, for 32 percent. Brea was 16 for5 55 for 29 percent.
• Mission Viejo made six turnovers in the first quarter and seven in the second quarter of its loss to Long Beach Poly in the 1AA final. The Diablos settled down in the second half, making four turnovers in the third quarter and two in the second.
• Combined attendance for the six games at Honda Center on Saturday was 15,943, among the better turnouts for the CIF-SS finals that have been at Honda Center for most seasons since 1994.
