Greater challenges lie ahead, but San Diego Section teams in the Southern California regional playoffs were successful in three of four Open Division quarterfinals games last night.

—The Foothills Christian Knights stunned Santa Ana Mater Dei, dealing the Monarchs their first loss at home in 10 years, 50-46, and moving on to Tuesday’s semifinals and a third shot at Chino Hills, the nation’s No. 1 team.

The 31-0 Huskies defeated Foothills, 106-86, and 85-83, earlier in the season and  their Open quarterfinals, 103-71 victory over Reedley Immanuel tied Chino Hills with the 1995-96 San Francisco Balboa Buccaneers for a state-record, eighteen 100-point games.

Fifth-seeded Foothills (25-4) reversed a 61-53 loss to No. 4 Mater Dei (27-5) five weeks ago, benefitting from the Monarchs 5-for-25 shooting on three-point attempts and closing down low to outrebound their hosts, 34-18.

T.J. Leaf led the winners with 21 points, blocked three shots, and brought down 16 rebounds.

The Knights trailed only at 2-0 and tenaciously kept the Monarchs at a distance in the second half  in the hosts’ big arena game environment of scoring table dasher boards, jumbotron, and almost 2,500 raucous fans.

The Foothills-Chino game will be at Colony High in Ontario Tuesday night at 7.

—Seventh-seeded Cathedral defeated No. 2 Chatsworth Sierra Canyon in overtime, 83-80, in arguably the major boys upset of the postseason.

According to Max Preps, Cathedral was ranked 31^st in the state and 156^th nationally.  Sierra Canyon was fourth in California and ninth in the country.  Cathedral stood 17^{th in} the state, according to Cal-Hi Sports, while Sierra was fourth.

Complicating the Dons’ bid was the absence 6-11 Brandon McCoy, who was on the bench in foul trouble for all but four minutes of the first half.  McCoy, who scored 23 points, led a Dons comeback that had the visitors in front, 73-65, late in the fourth quarter.

Sierra Canyon tied the score at 73 to force the overtime but Cathedral raced to an 83-73 advantage in the extra session and held on.

Cathedral (21-6) now faces the 3 seed, Torrance Bishop Montgomery (27-2), which overcame Los Angeles Westchester, 72-58, in overtime and outscored Sierra Canyon, 78-69, two weeks ago in the Southern Section playoffs.

—The fourth-seed Mission Hills girls (29-3) defeated No. 5 Los Angeles Price, 49-45, and get No. 1-ranked West Hills Chaminade in the San Fernando Valley suburb on Tuesday.

Mission Hills is ranked sixth and Chaminade fourth in the Cal-Hi Sports ratings, but Chaminade is second in California and fourth in the country as seen by Max Preps, which ranks the Grizzlies 23^rd in California and 99^th in the country.

The only Open Division losers from the San Diego Section were the  La Jolla Country Day girls, beaten, 46-39, by host Long Beach Poly.

Despite being seeded in the nether regions of the Southern California regional playoffs, No. 15 Kearny and No. 12 St. Augustine scored significant road victories last night, while most other San Diego Section squads, including all 13 girls’ teams in action, were stowing their gear today.

Kearny (31-3) overcame a 53-47, fourth-quarter deficit to upset No. 2-ranked and host Huntington Beach Edison, 65-58, in Division III.

Martin Tombe’s three-point basket with 21 seconds remaining lifted St. Augustine (23-7) past No. 5 Corona Centennial, 60-59, after the Saints trailed, 42-29, in the third quarter and were down, 59-57, in the final minute.

Following Tombe’s field goal, the Huskies called timeouts at :21, :17, and :11, and never got in position for an offensive thrust.

Coach Mike Haupt’s Saints defenders frustrated the hosts to the point that the game ended with the ball being tipped  into the back court.

Centennial made 22 trips to the free-throw line and converted 10.  Tombe made 3 of St. Augustine’s 5 attempts.

THE MARTIN AND ERIC SHOW

Tombe’s  27 points were complemented by Eric (Vaughn) Monroe’s 15. The four-year varsity veterans were members of the 2012-13, Trey Kell-led Saints, who won the state D-III title.

St. Augustine gets a home game Saturday evening, possibly at a venue other than its 600-seat  Daugherty Gymnasium, against lower seed (13) Eastvale Eleanor Roosevelt (23-8), a 56-55, double-0vertime winner over No. 4 Los Angeles Fairfax.

Kearny has another daunting challenge. The Komets will travel almost 150 miles north through routinely brutal Los Angeles traffic to take on the 7 seed, 25-7 Calabasas Coyotes, who ushered out No. 10 Fresno Roosevelt, 55-52.

St. Augustine and Eleanor Roosevelt faced one common opponent. The Mustangs  were 1-2 against Corona Centennial, winning, 56-55, and losing, 73-61, and 83-55.  The latter was in a Southern Section playoff consolation game.

Meanwhile, there was total devastation in the San Diego Section Girls’ brackets, low-lighted by No. 1-ranked The Bishop’s 57-52 loss to visiting Westlake Village Oaks Christian.

OTHER RESULTS

BOYS

D-I

No. 9 Torrey Pines 50, @Inglewood 66.

D-II

No. 11 Mission Bay 58,  @No. 6 Rancho Santa Margarita 73.  No. 12, Army-Navy 62, @Orange Lutheran 63. No. 13 Poway 58, @No. 4 Los Alamitos 67.

D-III

No. 11 La Jolla Country Day 48, @No. 6 LaVerne Bonita 52.

D-IV

No. 8 El Camino 90, No. 9 Rancho Mirage 66. No. 13 San Marcos 61, @No. 4 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 69.

D-V

No. 9, Bonita Vista 59, @No. 8 Capistrano Valley Christian 46.  No. 11 Mission Vista 52, @No. 6 Saddleback Valley Christian 53.  No. 14 O’Farrell 46, @No. 3 Temecula Rancho Christian 84.

GIRLS

D-I

No. 10 Santa Barbara 69, No. 7 Torrey Pines 60.

D-II

No. 9 La Cresenta Crescenta Valley 57, No. 8 Mount Miguel 55. No. 10 Manhattan Beach Mira Costa 61, No. 7  Westview 54,    No. 13 Serra 34, @No. 4  Anaheim Fairmont Prep 56.

D-III 

No. 10 Lake Elsinore Lakeside 47, No. 7 Eastlake 38.  No. 14 Horizon 61, @No. 3 Norco 64.  .

D-IV

No. 9 L.A. Notre Dame Academy 66, No. 8 Poway 51. No. 10 La Costa Canyon 45, @7 Newport Beach Corona del Mar 54.  No. 12, Imperial 34, @L.B. St. Anthony 68.

D-V

No. 9 Mira Mesa 35, @No. 8 Sun Valley Village Christian 64. No. 10 Escondido Adventist 34, @No. 7 Cypress Oxford Academy 39.  No. 12, Grossmont 43, @L.A. Price 53.

Records through Monday, March 7:

**Forfeited 73-64 victory over Manhattan Beach Mira Costa Dec. 26.                                    *Forfeited 57-37 victory Dec. 5 over Horizon.                                                                                  Points awarded on basis of 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.

Others receiving votes, including record: San  Marcos (22-7, 11), Grossmont (22-7, 4); La Jolla (19-11, 2); Bonita Vista (20-12, 1); Helix (19-11, 1).

Eleven media representatives vote, including John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune; Steve Brand (San Diego Hall of Champions), Terry Monahan, Jim Lindgren, Union-Tribune correspondents; Bill Dickens, Adam Paul, EastCountySports.com; Rick Willis, KUSI-TV; Rick Smith, partletonsports.com; Bodie DeSilva, sandiegopreps.com; Lisa Lane, San Diego Preps Insider; Aaron Burgin, fulltimehoops.com.

San Diego’s eternal quest for respect from the Southern Section renews this week with opening rounds of the state regional playoffs.

Respect still is to be earned.

Only one of 15 boys teams is seeded higher than its opponent in the six divisions, Open and I-V, brackets for which were announced yesterday by the state CIF office in Sacramento.

El Camino (27-5)  is eighth in D-IV and plays host to No. 9 Rancho Mirage (30-1) on Wednesday.

San Diego Section girls fared better.

No. 5 Los Angeles Windward (20-6) will visit No. 4 Mission Hills (28-3) in the Open Division, which begins play Friday.

The Bishop’s is top seed in D-I and will take on No. 16 Westlake Village Oaks Christian (20-8) on Wednesday and No. 7 Torrey Pines (22-8) plays host to 10 Santa Barbara (26-4).

No. 8 Mount Miguel (21-11) entertains No. 9 Crescenta Valley and 7 Westview (25-6) receives 10 Manhattan Beach Mira Costa (22-9) in D-II.

No. 7 Eastlake (26-6) plays host to No. 10 Lake Elsinore Lakeside (25-5) in D-III.  No. 8 Poway (19-11) is home to No. 9 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (16-15) in D-IV.

Thirty squads, 15 girls, 15 boys, will be in action this week.

Boys matchups to watch:

OPEN DIVISION

No. 5 seed Foothills Christian (24-4), seventh-ranked in California and 23^rd in the country by Max Preps and fifth in the state by Cal-Hi Sports, gets another shot at Santa Ana Mater Dei (27-4), which beat the Knights, 61-53, a couple weeks ago and hasn’t lost a home game in 10 years…Mater Dei, Max Preps’ state No. 4 and U.S. No. 8, and Cal-Hi Sports’ No. 4, is recovering from one of the worst defeats in school history, 102-54, to Chino Hills in the Southern Section semifinals a week ago…the winner will be “rewarded” with another shot at Chino Hills, the No. 1 team  in the United States…Foothills lost to the Huskies, 106-86 in December and 85-83 in January and is one of the few to test this squad, which has surpassed 100 points 14 times…Thomas Jefferson of Brooklyn lost a 91-90 decision and Montverde Academy of Florida was edged, 83-82…St. Patrick’s of Elizabeth, N.J., also came close but lost, 66-60, and Torrance Bishop Montgomery fell, 71-67 to Chino Hills…Cathedral (20-6) is seeded seventh and gives the San Diego Section two of the eight Open berths, compared to 4 for the Southern and one each for the Los Angeles City and Central sections…the Dons will make a 140-mile jaunt to Chatsworth and meet No. 2-ranked Sierra Canyon, a ballyhooed club that Max Preps ranks third in the state and seventh in the U.S. and is coming off a 105-83 loss to Chino Hills…the 26-4 Trailblazers defeated tough Redondo Beach Redondo Union, 74-70, and Bishop Montgomery, 78-69, in the Southern playoffs and had losses to national powers Oak Hill Academy of Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, 49-48, and Montverde Academy, 81-67…Cathedral is ranked 28^th in the state by Max Preps….

DIVISION III

What am I missing?  Kearny (30-3) has been dismissed as a 15 seed..the Komets visit second-ranked Huntington Beach Edison (24-9), which played a predominantly Orange County schedule with no great wins and two bad losses, 83-44 to Santa Ana Mater Dei, and 72-52 to Villa Park. Kearny lost one game by forfeit and another when star player Takoda Browne was absent..the Komets are quick, have a decent big man, defend, and hustle at both ends of the court….

Girls matchups to watch:

OPEN DIVISION

Mission Hills (26-3) and La Jolla Country Day (24-5) are the fourth and sixth seeds, respectively, and San Diego has two teams in the elite division, compared to 4 for the Southern and 1 each for the Los Angeles City and Central sections…’Day, coached by Terry Bamford, who has taken the Torreys to four state championships, opens at Long Beach Poly (25-4)…the Jackrabbits lost, 72-63, to West Hills Chaminade, the No. 1 seed, in the Southern finals but also hold a 50-39 victory over Chaminade…the Poly environment shouldn’t bother the La Jolla team, which has been steeled over the years with big games and intersectional schedules…Mission Hills’ 68-64 win over ‘Day in the San Diego finals elevated the Grizzlies…they have a home game against No. 5 Los Angeles Windward (20-6).

Other pairings:

BOYS

El Camino (27-5)  is eighth in D-IV and plays host to No. 9 Rancho Mirage (30-1) on Wednesday.

GIRLS

The Bishop’s is top seed in D-I and will take on No. 16 Westlake Village Oaks Christian (20-8) on Wednesday and No. 7 Torrey Pines (22-8) plays host to 10 Santa Barbara (26-4).

No. 8 Mount Miguel (21-11) entertains No. 9 Crescenta Valley and 7 Westview (25-6) receives  10 Manhattan Beach Mira Costa (22-9) in D-II.

No. 7 Eastlake (26-6) plays host to No. 10 Lake Elsinore Lakeside (25-5) in D-III.  No. 8 Poway (19-11) is home to No. 9 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (16-15) in D-IV.

Open Division teams, representing the elite of San Diego Section basketball as determined by the power ratings system, don’t get under way in the  playoffs until Friday (Girls) and Saturday (Boys).

Divisions I-V begin play tonight (Girls) and tomorrow (Boys).

Several factors go into the power ratings, administered by assistant commissioner John LaBeta, who heard some complaints regarding North County teams, which receive the majority of coverage in The San Diego Union-Tribune.

.El Camino boys coach Tom Tarantino thought the Wildcats should have been in the Open Division.  His team defeated Open No. 5 seed Army-Navy, 64-53.

In defense of the ratings, Army-Navy was 7-3 in intersectional play.  El Camino was 2-5. In Max Preps’ extended, computerized ratings, Army-Navy is ranked 63rd in California, El Camino 84th.

One of El Camino’s out-of-section losses was 65-52 to Temecula Valley, a team Army-Navy defeated 77-71.

The Mission Hills girls, ranked sixth in the state by Cal Hi-Sports, were seeded fourth in the open division.

The Grizzlies are 5-1 against the best girls’ teams in the area, La Jolla Country Day (state No. 7, according to Cal-Hi Sports), The Bishop’s (16th), and Torrey Pines (on bubble).

Working against Mission Hills were its opponents in the  Avocado East, in which the Grizzlies played multiple games against weaklings.

Unsolicited advice to unhappy coaches:  Play a good, tough nonleague schedule.  You can’t control your league competition.

Boys poll and records through Monday, Feb. 22:

Eleven media representatives vote, including John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune; Steve Brand (San Diego Hall of Champions), Terry Monahan, Jim Lindgren, Union-Tribune correspondents; Bill Dickens, Adam Paul, EastCountySports.com; Rick Willis, KUSI-TV; Rick Smith, partletonsports.com; Bodie DeSilva, sandiegopreps.com; Lisa Lane, San Diego Preps Insider; Aaron Burgin, fulltimehoops.com.

Assistant commissioner John LaBeta will be up into the early morning hours Saturday and, hopefully after a few hours sleep, at it again when the sun rises.

Basketball’s most important weekend is at hand.

LaBeta is the ratings maven for the San Diego Section.

The regular season ends Friday night and teams will have until midnight to get their results to the CIF office, where LaBeta will make the final ratings computation for the first of three tiers of postseason play: San Diego Section, Southern California Regional, and State championships.

Seedings, brackets, and divisional placements probably will be announced by early afternoon Saturday.

From the Apollo to the Valley, there are 123 boys teams in 23 leagues and 120 girls squads in 22 circuits. The only difference in boys’ and girls’ competition is that ten boys teams play in the Frontier North and Frontier South leagues, while seven girls squads comprise one Frontier League.

LaBeta, commissioner Jerry Schniepp, and other members of the CIF staff are sporting bloodshot eyes and the beginnings of cauliflower ears from all the time they’re spending in front of their computers and on the telephones this week.

The universal basketball participation demonstrates the game’s popularity. By comparison, in 2015 a total of 83 schools fielded football teams, a sport not favored by all of the section’s institutions.

The ratings system, now an accepted fixture in California prep sports, was altered again this year, hopefully ensuring no repeat of 2015, when girls champion Horizon and boys titlist Escondido were not allowed to proceed beyond the San Diego Section tournament.

Meanwhile, Foothills Christian continues to dominate the Union-Tribune poll and is fifth in the state top 20 as ranked by Cal-Hi Sports. Mission Hills is seventh, La Jolla Country Day eighth, and The Bishop’s 17th in the girls’ top 20.

Boys poll and records through Monday, Feb. 15:

*Forfeited 57-37 victory Dec. 5 over Horizon. **Forfeited 73-64 victory over Manhattan Beach Mira Costa Dec. 26.                                     Points awarded on basis of 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.

Others receiving votes, including record:   Mission Bay (18-6, 11), San  Marcos (18-6, 9), West Hills (19-5, 4).

Eleven media representatives vote, including John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune; Steve Brand (San Diego Hall of Champions), Terry Monahan, Jim Lindgren, Union-Tribune correspondents; Bill Dickens, Adam Paul, EastCountySports.com; Rick Willis, KUSI-TV; Rick Smith, partletonsports.com; Bodie DeSilva, sandiegopreps.com; Lisa Lane, San Diego Preps Insider; Aaron Burgin, fulltimehoops.com.