Preps: Jason Kidd
CIF state boys basketball finals preview
Tim Haddock / For ESPNLosAngeles.com
Joe Shashaty scored 10 points and was one of four players from Village Christian who scored in double figures against Renaissance Academy in the Southern California Regional Division V final.
Division I
Mater Dei of Santa Ana vs. Sheldon of Sacramento
Mater Dei (33-2) has a 20-game winning streak and hasn’t lost since Jan. 7 to Gill St. Bernards from New Jersey. The Monarchs are the Southern Section Division 1A champions and won the Southern California Regional championship, 85-66, over the surprising Bullard team from Fresno. Mater Dei has won eight state championships and is in search of a record-setting ninth. Sheldon (29-5) has an 11-game winning streak and won the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 1 championship, 49-44, over Jesuit. Sheldon played Jesuit again in the Northern California Regional final and won 61-56, erasing a 17-point deficit in the second quarter.
Division III
Alemany of Mission Hills vs. Sacred Heart Cathedral of San Francisco
After losing its Mission League finale to Harvard-Westlake, Alemany (32-4) has won nine playoff games in a row, including the Southern Section Division 3A championship, 72-60, over Oak Park. The Warriors had to hold off St. John Bosco in the Southern California Regional Division III final, 62-61, to advance to their first state championship game in school history. Nevada-bound Marqueze Coleman scored 24 points against St. John Bosco and had 31 against Cathedral Catholic from San Diego in the Southern California Regional semifinal. Sacred Heart Cathedral (28-5), the top seed in the Northern California Regional playoffs, beat Bishop O’Dowd, 61-57, in the Division III championship game. Josh Fox scored 21 points and had 13 rebounds for Sacred Heart. Taylor Johns had a double-double as well with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
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Blair Angulo
Blair Angulo is a general contributor for ESPNLA.com, is a co-author of the UCLA blog and also has covered the Angels, Dodgers, Sparks and soccer, among other things. He also was an intern at the L.A. Daily News.
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Dan Arritt
Dan Arritt has covered preps in SoCal for 17 of the last 19 seasons, beginning with the L.A. Times Orange County edition in 1993 and moving downtown from 2001-2008. A graduate of Long Beach State, he also covers the Kings for ESPNLA and Clippers home games for NBA.com. Follow him on Twitter.
Sean Ceglinsky
Sean Ceglinsky has covered sports in Southern California the past 15-plus years, including preps and colleges for the Los Angeles Times and L.A. Daily News, among others. Follow him on Twitter.
Tim Haddock
Tim Haddock is a writer and radio broadcaster who has covered preps, college sports and motor sports for the Los Angeles Times, L.A. Daily News and Long Beach Press-Telegram. Follow him on Twitter.
Martin Henderson
Martin Henderson is a local editor for Patch.com. He was a reporter for 18 years with the Los Angeles Times, and wrote on preps for the Orange County Register as well.
Jim Barrero
Jim Barrero is an editor for ESPNLA.com. He began covering preps in 1989 for the Pasadena Star-News, where he later became prep editor. He also worked for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, covered soccer for The Sporting News and was an editor-writer at the Los Angeles Times for 10 years.