Open Division: Harvard-Westlake (32-3) vs. Richmond Salesian (31-1), Saturday, 8 p.m. These teams played twice in the offseason and know each other well. Harvard-Westlake is the defending state champion and has been relying on USC commit Trent Perry, who has made 26 consecutive free throws and scored 42 and 28 points in his last two games. Salesian’s only loss came to St. John Bosco in overtime at the Classic at Damien.
Division I: St. John Bosco (27-7) vs. San Ramon Valley (29-7), Friday, 8 p.m. St. John Bosco has found its mojo after a disappointing effort in the Southern Section Open Division. Brandon McCoy, Jack Turner, Kade Bonam and Elzie Harrington are starting to share the ball again. San Ramon Valley made 21 of 23 free throws in its regional final win.
Division III: Bishop Alemany (24-15) vs. Santa Cruz (27-6), Friday, 4 p.m. Alemany comes from the same Mission League as Harvard-Westlake and has been using strong rebounding and great guard play from Michael Lindsay. Santa Cruz has strong fan support and top players in 6-foot-6 Ben Dotten and 6-5 Demarco Hunter.
Division IV: Chatsworth (20-14) vs. Monterey (24-6), Saturday, noon. Sophomore Alijah Arenas, averaging 33 points, takes his show to his biggest stage yet. How will Monterey deal with him? Monterey, as with Chatsworth, came back to reach the state final after losing in its section tournament. Monterey has a top shooter in Ryan Roth, who had 23 points in the regional final.
Division V: Verdugo Hills (25-11) vs. Athenian (27-8), Friday, noon. The Dons won the City Section Division II championship. Coach Jared Gibson returned a veteran team, scheduled some competitive nonleague games and now has the chance for a first state title. Athenian from Danville has two players averaging 16 points, Surya Devasenapathy and Evan Lucas.
