High School

CIF-SS Basketball Wrap-Up: Open Division Quarterfinals, Divisions 1-9 Semis Set

The CIF Southern Section is just one week away from section finals.

Tarek Fattal

Sierra Canyon's Jerzy Robinson has the Trailblazers eyeing another CIF Southern Section Open Division crown.
Sierra Canyon's Jerzy Robinson has the Trailblazers eyeing another CIF Southern Section Open Division crown. / Photo Credit: Hoopfest Basketball

Welcome to the 'CIF Southern Section Basketball Wrap-Up'.

Every week, High School on SI senior reporter Tarek Fattal will recap the CIF Southern Section's best basketball performances, notable headlines and scores. This week's edition continues coverage of the final third of the high school basketball season: the playoffs.

During the playoffs, High School On SI provides the closest thing to college basketball's 'March Madness' with a high school's 'February Frenzy', which allows you to predict the winners of playoff brackets in boys and girls basketball. Fill out the bracket and see how your bracket stacks up against others by keeping tabs on the leaderboard. (PICK 'EM)

This week's wrap-up is highlighted by updated playoff brackets showing matchups for the CIF Southern Section Open Division knockout games and semifinals games for Divisions 1 through 9.

The wrap-up will look at one of the biggest stories of the week, which transpired in the City Section when a player threw punches at an official.

Plus, Paul George's high school coach retires and a local high school coach stands up for UCLA's Steven Jamerson after being embarrassed at Michigan State by coach Mick Cronin.

UPDATED BOYS PLAYOFF BRACKETS

Pool play is finished and the quarterfinals in the Southern Section's Open Division are set for Friday night:

-Santa Margarita at Sierra Canyon
-Centennial at Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks

-Crespi at Harvard-Westlake
-La Mirada at Redondo Union

Knockout games for CIF State berth:

-Corona del Mar at St. John Bosco
-Etiwanda at Damien

FINAL STANDINGS IN POOL PLAY

POOL A: Sierra Canyon (2-0), Crespi (2-1), Corona del Mar (0-2)

POOL B: Santa Margarita (1-1), Harvard-Westlake (2-0), Damien (0-2)

POOL C: Redondo Union (2-0), Corona Centennial (1-1), Etiwanda (0-2)

POOL D: Notre Dame (2-0 ), La Mirada (1-1), St. John Bosco (0-2)

See all the semifinal matchups in all the subsequent divisions by clicking the division below:

GIRLS HOOPS, OPEN DIVISION

Quarterfinal matchups:

Fairmont Prep at Ontario Christian
Oak Park at Sage Hill

Rancho Christian at Etiwanda
Mater Dei at Sierra Canyon

Knockout games for CIF State berth:

Redondo Union at JSerra
Corona Centennial at St. Joseph/Lakewood

PLAYER SWINGS AT OFFICIAL

In the LA City Section, a Dorsey basketball player attempted to punch an official after the Dons' playoff loss. The moment created news and the video from the incident hit social media.

Both coaches were reached for comment by High School On SI. (FULL STORY)

2026 COMPOSITE RANKINGS?

Many coaches and administrators have gripes about the computer system, and CIF assistant commissioner Jerry De Fabiis is actively listening. In fact, on Feb. 7De Fabiis shared tweaks the CIF Southern Section could make as soon as next season. One being a composite ranking that would combine Massey ratings, High School On SI ratings, and MaxPreps ratings.

With that said, I took the liberty of looking at all three rating systems once the 2025-26 regular season concluded and simply asking ChatGPT to create a composite ranking using all three systems for the Top 100 teams in the CIF Southern Secton.

Here's what they looked like: TOP 100 COMPOSITE

PAUL GEORGE'S PREP COACH RETIRES

Tom Hegre says he's retiring from being a teacher, athletic director and coach at Pete Knight where he coached Paul George many moons ago.

Tom Hegre
Palmdale Pete Knight coach Tom Hegre announced his retirement after the 2025-26 season and 20 years at the helm. / Kyusung Gong

Hegre has notched more than 500 career wins with an overall record of 515-274 after the Hawks lost in the opening round of the CIF Southern Section Division 3 playoffs to Aquinas Wednesday night.

He's most notably known for coaching current NBA superstar Paul George when he was a high schooler. When George was a senior, he helped the Hawks reach the Division 2AA final in 2008, but fell to Rancho Verde 62-51 at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

SOMETHING UNEXPECTED

Never have you seen a headline with high school athletics and the Mexican drug cartel woven together, but here we are ...

IMG attracts elite athletes from across the country. Those athletes now receive training on to handle potential NIL riches.
IMG Academy will pay a fine of almost $2 million for accepting fees from a third party linked to the Mexican drug cartel. / Stacy White

IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. has reportedly been fined close to $2 million for accepting tuition fees linked to drug cartels. (FULL STORY)

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Tarek Fattal, SBLive Sports
TAREK FATTAL

Tarek Fattal has been covering high school sports since 2015 in Southern California and primarily in Los Angeles, covering notable athletes such as Bronny James, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Alyssa Thompson. He was with the LA Daily News for eight years, which included being the beat reporter for the UCLA men's basketball team. Tarek can be seen on TV regularly on CBS/KCAL as a sports analyst with Jim Hill.

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