MaxPreps Southern California Top 25 boys basketball rankings

A loss hurts a lot less to a team when everyone else is losing.

This week's rankings feature a boatload of teams that lost this previous week. It made things difficult because most of the losses were to other ranked teams. Here's a list of the teams that dropped games but stuck around in the rankings: Westchester, St. John Bosco, Centennial, Loyola, Mission Viejo, El Toro, Calabasas and Foothill.

Rancho Cucamonga, Chino Hills and Lutheran (La Verne) enter the rankings this week as well. It's the final push for the Southern Section, and the other sections have two weeks of regular season play left.

MaxPreps Southern California Boys Basketball Rankings

1. (1 last week) Mater Dei (Santa Ana), 24-1, 8-0
Division: Southern Section I-AA
Freeman Rankings: 1 state, 6 national

The Monarchs passed yet another test with a week that featured two big-time games and another against a former state champion. An 82-71 triumph over St. John Bosco secured the Trinity League title, and the Monarchs looked great on their home floor in the Nike Extravaganza, besting Eisenhower (Rialto) 78-63 and holding off Westchester 63-60 thanks to clutch free throw shooting down the stretch. All that's left are home games against Orange Lutheran and Servite before the postseason.

2. (2) Bishop Montgomery (Torrance), 25-0, 7-0
Division: Southern Section IV-AA
Freeman Rankings: 2 state, 9 national

Serra was the final tough test for the Knights and they persevered, posting a 72-66 triumph to keep their record unblemished. They have the Del Rey League title locked up, and La Salle and St. Bernard's shouldn't be any problem for the Knights as they prepare for the Division IV playoffs, almost assuredly holding the top seed.

3. (3) Long Beach Poly, 22-2, 10-0
Division: Southern Section I-AA
Freeman Rankings: 3 state, 12 national

The Jackrabbits are the Moore League champions and they added another great nonleague win over the weekend at the Nike Extravaganza, holding St. John Bosco to its second-lowest scoring title of the season in a 60-54 victory. They also bested Lakewood 71-37 the night before. Wilson and Millikan are the only teams left on the schedule, and they weren't able to slow Poly down in the first round of league play.

4. (5) Etiwanda, 21-1, 8-0
Division: Southern Section I-AA
Freeman Rankings: 4 state, 17 national

We won't say the Eagles are underrated. But oh man did they put on a show Saturday at the Nike Extravaganza, showing a killer instinct on the way to a 51-24 victory. Loyola scored 11 points in the first quarter, then 13 the rest of the way. Nine players scored in the blowout, led by 11 from Jordan McLaughlin. Even though Etiwanda is 8-0 and highly ranked, there is no guarantee of even a share of the Baseline League crown. A trip to play Rancho Cucamonga (7-1) will determine their fate. Win Tuesday and it's an outright league title, but a loss would create a tie up top with one game left for each. Etiwanda hosts Glendora on Thursday.

5. (8) Brentwood School (Los Angeles), 22-2, 9-1
Division: Southern Section IV-A
Freeman Rankings: 20 state, 146 national

The Eagles haven't let up since climbing atop the Alpha League. They've been consistent and spectacular. But if they want the outright league title, they're likely going to need wins in their final two contests, against 8-2 Windward and 3-7 Paraclete. They got a big scare last week, needing overtime to pass by Campbell Hall, 83-78. They also beat Viewpoint 60-47. Leland King poured in an amazing 37 points in the Campbell Hall victory.

6. (9) El Camino Real (Woodland Hills), 23-2, 8-0
Division: Los Angeles City Section I
Freeman Rankings: 11 state, 67 national

The Conquistadors are just smothering the West Valley League. Need proof? An 86-51 win over Birmingham and an amazing 64-15 triumph over Chatsworth. Eight players scored against Birmingham and nine did so against Chatsworth. That's 17 straight wins after a loss to Brentwood School, and it's going to be interesting to see whether ECR or Westchester will get the top seed for the City Section playoffs. The Conquistadors are already the WVL champions, too.

7. (7) Westchester (Los Angeles), 22-6, 10-0
Division: Los Angeles City Section I
Freeman Rankings: 14 state, 86 national

A loss would normally bump a team down, but the loss was to Mater Dei by three points, and Centennial lost to a lesser opponent, so a spot opened up. The Comets played Mater Dei extremely tough at the Nike Extravaganza, taking a tie game into the fourth quarter before succumbing 63-60 thanks in part to 14 Mater Dei free throws in the final quarter. Furthermore, Westchester blasted Venice 58-38, Palisades 65-42 and Hamilton 60-23. A win against Fairfax or University this week will officially wrap up the Western League title.

8. (6) St. John Bosco (Bellflower), 17-6, 6-2
Division: Southern Section III-A
Freeman Rankings: 5 state, 40 national

Playing Long Beach Poly and Mater Dei in one week is not fun for anyone. The Braves got a little taste of what the state playoffs are like when they faced two of the nation's best squads and lost to both. So we have another team taking only a minor tumble after losing. Part of the reason is that the 60-54 loss to Long Beach Poly came without star Isaac Hamilton (coach's decision), and nobody from California has been able to beat Mater Dei this year. The loss to Mater Dei was 82-71. Things should get a whole lot better this week, with Servite and Santa Margarita on the schedule.

9. (4) Centennial (Corona), 23-2, 7-1
Division: Southern Section I-AA
Freeman Rankings: 6 state, 44 national

The Huskies failed to secure the outright Big VIII title when they dropped a 75-71 game to 14-11 King (Riverside), a surprising loss that will hurt during playoff seeding. Their 83-49 win over Norco was certainly not surprising. All Centennial needs to do to win the Big VIII title is beat Roosevelt or Santiago this week. Sam Finley scored 28 and Deontae North added 24 in the loss to King. Why didn't the Huskies move much farther down? Because they beat Bullard earlier this season and there were copious losses by teams in the rankings last week.

10. (10) Bullard (Fresno), 20-2, 6-0
Division: Central Section I
Freeman Rankings: 16 state, 97 national

The Knights finally got a little bit of a challenge from a local team, as they beat Edison 66-61. The 74-26 triumph over Madera South was definitely the norm. Bullard has four games left this season, including one against Edison on the final date. We don't see much of a chance for a loss until then.

11. (12) Tustin, 23-2, 10-0
Division: Southern Section III-AAA
Freeman Rankings: 38 state, 263 national

The Tillers found a way to win a low-scoring slugfest against Cypress, 39-33, and that means they are the Empire League champions. Wins over El Toro and Village Christian make up for what has been a weak league schedule. Can they get the top seed in the III-AAA playoffs? Hart will have something to say about that.

12. (15) JW North (Riverside), 22-3, 10-1
Division: Southern Section II-AA
Freeman Rankings: 26 state, 197 national

The Huskies ripped off three Inland Valley League victories, none more important than the 57-49 win over Rancho Verde that avenged an earlier loss and also created a tie atop the IVL standings. Each team has one game left, so a shared title is looking very probable. A 15-8 third quarter advantage pushed JW North into a big lead and Deshon Taylor led the way with 31 points for JW North. The Huskies have won 11 of 12 now, so they're hot at the right time of the year.

13. (16) Pacific Hills (Los Angeles), 19-4, 9-2
Division: Southern Section IV-A
Freeman Rankings: 15 state, 90 national

The Bruins bounced back after their tough week, winning 70-53 over Sierra Canyon and 59-46 over Paraclete. What does that mean? It means they are still alive for the Alpha League title, though it's convoluted. Brentwood School is a half-game ahead and Windward is a half-game back. All that's left is a game against Viewpoint, and then it's a matter of scoreboard watching.

14. (19) Price (Los Angeles), 20-3, 1-0
Division: Southern Section IV-AA
Freeman Rankings: 22 state, 158 national

The Knights won 59-56 over Renaissance Academy and have just one game left, vs. Ribet Academy. They have won seven straight.

15. (22) La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad), 20-4, 6-0
Division: San Diego Section II
Freeman Rankings: 31 state, 213 national

The Mavericks showed some serious fight in their loss against Etiwanda two weeks ago, and showed no ill effects this past week as they breezed through El Camino 61-53 and Vista 75-44. It's hard to expect a letdown in the second round of league play.

16. (23) Hart (Newhall), 23-1, 7-1
Division: Southern Section III-AAA
Freeman Rankings: 44 state, 312 national

The Indians just keep on winning, and their loss total obviously looks like it belongs higher in the rankings. But the nonleague schedule just isn't tough enough to go into that upper echelon. Still, you have to like Hart's chances at being a playoff contender. Saugus fell 60-50 and Golden Valley went down 75-50 (Lewis Stallworth scored 28), which puts the Foothill League in a likely co-champions scenario since Hart and West Ranch split their two meetings. Valencia and Canyon are left on the schedule for Hart.

17. (24) Cathedral Catholic (San Diego), 20-3, 8-0
Division: San Diego Section III
Freeman Rankings: 19 state, 130 national

The Dons blew out University City 63-43 in their only contest of the week, with Xavier Williams and Niksha Federico each scoring 14 points. Scripps Ranch and Mission Bay are on the slate this week.

18. (13) Loyola (Los Angeles), 19-6, 9-2
Division: Southern Section I-AA
Freeman Rankings: 10 state, 64 national

Let's just get this out of the way: Loyola got absolutely blasted by Etiwanda, 51-24. Other than that, though, positives actually abound for the Cubs. They went on the road to beat St. Francis 55-44 and Crespi 53-46 with a fourth-quarter comeback before that Etiwanda debacle, and then they bounced right back with a double-overtime triumph over nemesis Harvard-Westlake, 56-52. And Parker Jackson-cartwright is finally back after an ankle injury. So the blowout hurt, but these battle-tested Cubs only need to beat Alemany this week in their only game to secure the Mission League title.

19. (11) Mission Viejo, 20-2, 4-1
Division: Southern Section I-AA
Freeman Rankings: 13 state, 75 national

The Diablos dropped a tough one at the Nike Extravaganza, falling short 57-55 against Colony (Ontario). It put a damper on what was a huge positive earlier in the week: beating El Toro 66-60 and tying the South Coast League in the loss column. This looks like another split league title situation, as Mission Viejo has one league game left against Tesoro plus a nonleague contest with Trabuco Hills, while El Toro has two league games. Guard Evan Zeller hurt his foot, so that could be something to watch for.

20. (NR) Rancho Cucamonga, 21-4, 7-1
Division: Southern Section I-AA
Freeman Rankings: 40 state, 289 national

The Cougars are here this week, but they'll need to pull off a stunner to stay. At 7-1 in the Baseline League, they have managed to stay within striking distance of Etiwanda even though the Eagles beat them twice earlier this season. It's not so much quality wins that got Rancho Cucamonga here, it's that they are flawless except for the two Etiwanda games, against JW North and Mission Viejo.

21. (21) El Toro (Lake Forest), 21-5, 5-1
Division: Southern Section I-A
Freeman Rankings: 35 state, 236 national

Mission Viejo got its revenge upon the Chargers, winning 66-60 and making a tie atop the South Coast League a real possibility. They beat Tesoro 77-53 to make up for the loss. And since so many other teams lost, their ranking doesn't change. El Toro has had a couple not-so-great losses this season but has the top record in Division I-A. Aliso Niguel and Capistrano Valley await this week.

22. (18) Calabasas, 21-4, 11-2
Division: Southern Section III-AAA
Freeman Rankings: 46 state, 335 national

The Marmonte League is just an absolute mess when it comes to figuring out which is the best team. Here we are in the final week of the season and Calabasas, Royal, Thousand Oaks and Westlake are all in the league title picture. Royal spanked Calabasas 59-43 last week, making a statement. Then the Coyotes whacked Moorpark 72-53 after trailing 20-0 to start the game. They they beat Thousand Oaks 49-46. Now is where it gets tricky: Calabasas has wins against all three of the other title contenders and the best overall record. But Thousand Oaks and Royal play this week, and Westlake faces Royal and Calabasas, and has the best Freeman Rankings spot of the four. Cases could be made for all four, but we like the Coyotes today.

23. (NR) Chino Hills, 21-4, 8-0
Division: Southern Section I-AA
Freeman Rankings: 29 state, 208 national

The Huskies are in the rankings for the first time this season, as they have suffocated the Sierra League and bounced back from two losses in the season's first four games. Last week featured their closest league game of the season, 81-70 over Claremont. They have now won 12 in a row. If they beat either Damien or South Hills this week, the Huskies will be league champions.

24. (20) Foothill (Santa Ana), 20-2, 8-1
Division: Southern Section I-AA
Freeman Rankings: 34 state, 232 national

It's back to 24th for the Knights, who lost 59-42 to De La Salle (Concord) at the Nike Extravaganza. They beat El Dorado 59-50 earlier this week and have Brea Olinda and Canyon later in the week. It's looking like Foothill and Villa Park may end up splitting the Century League title as both have the same record and split the season series.

25. (NR) Lutheran (La Verne), 21-6
Division: Southern Section IV-AA
Freeman Rankings: 47 state, 339 national

The freelance Trojans are on a 14-game winning streak and have their first crack at the rankings. A win over Oak Park on Jan. 26 was a nice feather in their caps as they prep for the playoffs now that the season is over. They beat Cathedral 66-65 in the final game of the season and three of their losses are to out-of-state teams.