This week’s Orange County high school boys basketball rankings.
Notable: Santa Margarita finished the regular season with five straight wins, including victories over St. John Bosco and Mater Dei, to move into the No. 1 position. … The season’s final rankings will be released after the CIF-SS Finals. … The playoff pairings will be released Saturday at noon. … Los Alamitos solidified its standing as Orange County’s best public-school team by going 12-0 in the Sunset League.
BOYS BASKETBALL TOP 25
(Records through Thursday, Feb. 6)
1. Santa Margarita 22-5: The Eagles tied St. John Bosco for the Trinity League championship with an 8-2 record. Led by Orange County player of the year candidate Kaiden Bailey, the Eagles will play in the Open Division of the CIF Southern Section playoffs.
Previous ranking: 2
2. JSerra 21-7: The Lions finished third in the Trinity League with a 6-4 league record. They swept Mater Dei for the first time. JSerra, a deep team with BJ Davis Ray playing well at both ends of the floor, is likely to be in the Open Division of the playoffs.
Previous ranking: 3
3. Mater Dei 20-8: The Monarchs tied JSerra for third place in the Trinity League with a 6-4 league record. They were swept by JSerra in two league games, so Mater Dei is the league’s No. 4 playoff representative, which means the Monarchs can only qualify for the playoffs as an at-large team. Junior guard Luke Barnett is a sure-thing All-County first-team player again and a player of the year candidate.
Previous ranking: 1
4. Los Alamitos 20-8: The Griffins went 12-0 in the seven-team Sunset League for a second consecutive league championship. Seniors Liam Gray, Samori Guyness, Trent Minter and Wes Trevino have been taking turns being the leading scorer for Los Alamitos.
Previous ranking: 4
5. Crean Lutheran 15-11: The Saints, led by junior forward Jacob Majok, won the Crestview League championship with a 7-1 league record. They won five of their six final regular-season games, with the loss to Mater Dei.
Previous ranking: 5
6. La Habra 20-8: The Highlanders beat Canyon and Foothill in Crestview League games in the final week of the regular season, must-win games for them as they captured a guaranteed playoff berth. Junior point guard Acen Jimenez and senior guard Jaedon Anderson have been among La Habra’s more consistent contributors.
Previous ranking: 11
7. Canyon 20-9: Canyon lost by two points to Crean Lutheran on Tuesday and came back the next day to beat Cypress 64-56 to grab the Crestview League’s third and final guaranteed playoff berth. Senior forward Brandon Benjamin, the county’s leading scorer and an O.C. player of the year candidate, scored 29 points against Cypress with 10 rebounds and five assists.
Previous ranking: 6
8. Pacifica Christian 19-7: The Tritons tied Fairmont Prep for the San Joaquin League championship with a 5-1 league record. They beat Fairmont Prep 67-55 on Jan. 28 led by 15 points from Michael Noel and 14 points from EJ Spillman.
Previous ranking: 8
9. Fairmont Prep 17-9: The Huskies won eight of their final nine regular-season games, with the loss to Pacifica Christian in a San Joaquin League game. They tied Pacifica Christian for the league title with a 5-1 league record. Junior guard Leroy Davis scored 15 points with five 3-point baskets in the loss to Pacifica Christian.
Previous ranking: 7
10. San Clemente 23-5: The Tritons beat San Juan Hills 52-45 on Tuesday to win the South Coast League championship behind sharpshooter Porter Hansen’s 18 points. San Clemente won the league title for the second year in a row.
Previous ranking: 13
11. Cypress 18-11
Previous ranking: 9
12. San Juan Hills 19-9
Previous ranking: 12
13. Edison 17-11
Previous ranking: 14
14. Orange Lutheran 14-14
Previous ranking: 15
15. Foothill 14-14
Previous ranking: 10
16. Irvine 26-2
Previous ranking: 16
17. Corona del Mar 20-8
Previous ranking: 19
18. Fountain Valley 16-9
Previous ranking: 17
19. Marina 17-11
Previous ranking: 18
20. Newport Harbor 17-11
Previous ranking: 20
21. Tesoro 18-10
Previous ranking: 23
22. Servite 14-14
Previous ranking: 22
23. Tustin 22-6
Previous ranking: 24
24. Yorba Linda 21-6
Previous ranking: 25
25. Capistrano Valley 21-6
Previous ranking: Not ranked
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