Westchester Awaits No. 1 Oak Hill
The top-ranked boys’ basketball team in the country, Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy, will play Westchester, ranked No. 1 in the Southland by The Times, at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday as the featured game of the nine-game Nike Extravaganza at Loyola Marymount.
Oak Hill played Los Angeles Fairfax in December and won, 78-55, in a semifinal game of the Iolani (Hawaii) Classic. Coach Harvey Kitani said the Warriors are one of the best teams he has seen in 23 years at Fairfax.
“All five guys are capable of putting up 25 to 30 points on any given night,” Kitani said.
Oak Hills’ starting frontcourt features three seniors who have signed with major Division I programs. Josh Smith, considered among the top five seniors in the nation, has signed with Indiana but may opt for the NBA draft. Brian Johnson has signed with Louisville and DayShawn Wright with Syracuse.
Fairfax, ranked No. 2 by The Times and Westchester’s opponent on Wednesday, will also participate on Saturday, playing No. 19 Huntington Beach Ocean View at 6 p.m.
The other games: 8:30 a.m. -- Anaheim Servite vs. Nogales; 10 -- No. 9 L.A. Crenshaw vs. No. 16 Lake Forest El Toro; 11:30 -- No. 12 Santa Ana Mater Dei girls vs. No. 5 San Clemente girls; 1 p.m. -- No. 22 Santa Margarita vs. Long Beach Millikan; 3 -- Orange Lutheran vs. L.A. Verbum Dei; 4:30 -- No. 6 Long Beach Poly vs. Villa Park; 9 -- No. 3 Santa Ana Mater Dei vs. Oakland Bishop O’Dowd.
Dan Arritt
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A rematch involving teams that played in a Southern Section championship game last year, a meeting involving two of the Southland’s top 25 teams, and a game involving intersectional powers highlight girls’ basketball Saturday at the Chino Hills Ayala Extravaganza.
The marquee matchup at 6 p.m. features No. 10 Fullerton Rosary against No. 18 Long Beach Millikan. It is preceded by an intersectional game at 4:30 involving No. 11 Riverside North and Bakersfield North, a power from the Central Section.
And in a rematch of last year’s Division III-A title game, No. 14 Santa Margarita will look to avenge its 57-55 loss to Lakewood Artesia at 1:30 p.m.
The other games: 9 a.m. -- Moreno Valley vs. Glendale Holy Family; 10:30 -- Chino Hills vs. La Jolla Country Day; noon -- Alhambra Keppel vs. Rialto Eisenhower; 3 p.m. -- Anaheim Esperanza vs. Sylmar; 7:30 -- Capistrano Valley vs. No. 23 Torrance Bishop Montgomery; 9 -- Ayala vs. Riverside Ramona.
-- Martin Henderson