"Courtside Chaos" ... that's a wrap (Jan. 2)

COURTSIDE CHAOS: LOOK BACK AT THE WEEK THAT WAS

Basketball a lot like football: It’s not as well known nationally in boys basketball as it is in football, but when it comes to Orange County, the Trinity League reigns supreme.

Three of the top four teams in the O.C. top 10 are Trinity teams. Orange Lutheran and Servite are both top-25 worthy. The Friars won the Katella Klassic last week, and the Lancers finished third in the Torrey Pines Invitational.

As Mater Dei sets out on its annual undefeated trek through the county, there might be two worthy league contenders: Santa Margarita and JSerra. There is a reason Mater Dei coach Gary McKnight wasn't enthusiastic about having to face the Lions, who were not completely overmatched in their 14-point loss to the Monarchs last week, before league play.

And Santa Margarita, which edged Fairfax in the Lynwood Tournament, has beaten two top-10 teams and some good non-county teams.

Ballers of the week:
•Jerime Anderson, Canyon
•Demetrius Walker, JSerra
•Gary Franklin, Mater Dei
•Chris Manresal, Tesoro
•Klay Thompson, Santa Margarita
•Junior Eko, Sonora
•Ian Loftus, Capo Valley
•Tim Davis, El Modena
•Grant Heineken, Mission Viejo
•Jordan Sachs, La Habra
•Adam Mooney, Trabuco Hills
•Ryan Lawler, Laguna Beach
•Zach Torres, Wittier Christian
•Ryan Hill, Dana Hills
•Connor Crabtree, Aliso Niguel
•Kyle Fogg, Brea Olinda
•Stephan Torres, Fullerton
•Kyle Wallace, Servite
•Kiril Sergeyev, Irvine
•Junior Huerta, Savanna
•Matthew Cain, Kennedy
•Chad Miller, Foothill
•Trevor Collier, Rancho Alamitos
•Noel Larkins, Valencia
•Julio Cruz, Santa Ana
•Stefan Kaluz, Corona del Mar
•Tyler Stowers, St. Margaret’s
•Dalton Harbaugh, Western
•E.N. Silva, Sunny Hills
•Andre Murillo, El Toro
•Nick Becker, Huntington Beach

Tales of the Top 10:The top-10 teams had quite a week in tournament play. No. 1 Mater Dei won the Orange Holiday Classic again, its third tournament championship this year. ... No. 2 Santa Margarita won the Lynwood Tournament. Santa Margarita might have been No. 2 even had it lost the title game. ... No. 3 El Toro traveled to Orlando to win the KSA Events Classic, a great effort on the road. ... No. 4 JSerra lost in the finals of the Orange Holiday Classic to Mater Dei, this after beating Canyon in the semifinals. ... No. 5 Mission Viejo won a division in the Desert Heat Classic, winning the final three games by less than 10 points. That 35-point loss to Mater Dei makes it difficult to rank the Diablos ahead of JSerra, which lost to the Monarchs by 14. ... No. 6 Capistrano Valley, competing in a different division of the Desert Heat Classic, finished third. ... No. 7 Canyon was the third-place winner of the Orange Holiday Classic. ... No. 8 Huntington Beach won the Spalding Invitational. ... No. 9 Corona del Mar won three of four at the Santa Barbara Holiday Classic. No. 10 Los Alamitos won the Century Holiday Classic.

Contact the writer: amaya@ocregister.com