Seven of the No. 1 seeds in the San Diego Section boys’ and girls’ playoff divisions of five each made it through the four rounds to championships.
Most of the surprises were in boys Division V, a distant bracket appealing mostly to friends and relatives of the competing teams. The computer, from which most pairings are determined, obviously wasn’t tuned in.
Consider: Valley Center, a No. 11 seed, which ended the season with a 10-20 record, beat three teams with combined records of 45-15 before finding its level in a 68-36 loss in the finals to No. 1 seed St. Joseph.
The Jaguars topped No. 6 Ocean View, 54-42, No. 3 San Diego Jewish, 83-57, and No. 2 Southern California Yeshiva, 73-31.
THERE WERE OTHERS
La Jolla Country Day, a 4 seed, clipped No. 1 Francis Parker, 63-59, in the boys’ D-I semifinals. Mt. Carmel, another 4, edged No. 1 Montgomery, 68-67, in the D-II semis.
No. 4 Scripps Ranch girls overcame No. 1 Carlsbad, 66-62, in the D-I semifinals. No. 4 Rancho Buena Vista ousted No. 1 Oceanside in D-II, 75-68, and No. 9 Calipatria, with a historically strong program, took a 13-16 record into a 63-31, opening-round win over No. 1 and 19-5 Bayfront Charter.
The most impressive boys run was by Coach Terry Tucker and the San Ysidro Cougars. The seventh-ranked South Bay squad toppled No. 2 San Marcos, 66-52, and No. 3 Torrey Pines, 69-67, and made a second-half run in the final against St. Augustine, losing, 81-76, after trailing, 56-39, at the break.
SAN DIEGO SECTION CHAMPIONS
BOYS
Number before team names represents bracket seeding.
| DIV | WINNER | RUNNER-UP | SCORE | NOTABLE |
| OPEN | 1 St. Augustine (23-7) |
7 San Ysidro (23-8) |
81-76 | Saints’ Dixon won a title 3 seasons ago at San Ysidro. |
| D-I | 2 Carlsbad (21-11) | 4 La Jolla Country Day (19-10) | 52-42 | Lancers’ fifth title, third this century, first since 2019. |
| D-II | 4 Mt. Carmel (23-9) | 2 Otay Ranch (18-12) |
77-61 | SunDevils broke away with 47-29 second half. |
| D-III | 1 San Dieguito (20-7) |
3 Scripps Ranch (21-11) | 57-46 | John Hapgood, 25 points |
| D-IV | 1 Monte Vista (24-5) |
2 Victory Christian (21-11) | 54-36 | Isaiah Hilke 26 points, 19 rebounds. |
| D-V | 1 St. Joseph (20-9) | 11 Valley Center (10-20) | 68-36 | Mikey Moore, 31 points. |
GIRLS
| DIV | WINNER | RUNNER-UP | SCORE | NOTABLE |
| OPEN | 1 La Jolla Country Day (24-2) | 2 Mission Hills (24-7) | 68-53 | Bamford’s Torreys on 16-game wining streak. |
| D-I | 2 Del Norte (22-10) |
4 Scripps Ranch (22-6) | 68-59 | Nighthawks’ all-time best record. |
| D-II | 1 Fallbrook (24-6) |
3 Imperial (24-6) | 29-23 | Warriors’ first title since 1982. |
| D-III | 3 Maranatha (18-10) |
4 Rancho Buena Vista (17-11) | 65-45 | Emmy Stout, 34 points, 22 rebounds. |
| D-IV | 1 Victory Christian (17-11) | 3 Steele Canyon (17-14) | 44-20 | Knights won D-V title in 2021 |
| D-V | 4 Blythe Palo Verde Valley (18-11) |
6 Sweetwater (11-9) | 55-45 | Dagnino sisters, 23 points combined. |
