Favorites advance in California playoffs

A huge Thursday night of playoff basketball in California set up a final eight in the Division I bracket that will feature three nationally-ranked teams. Regional semifinal games will be played Saturday.

No. 6 Long Beach Poly (Long Beach) survived Etiwanda 66-63 behind 17 points from USC-bound guard Alexis Moore. The Jackrabbits' next opponent, No. 21 Mater Dei (Santa Ana), also struggled to advance against Loyola (Los Angeles). The Monarchs trailed by as many as nine points in the second half before escaping with a 72-70 victory.

On the bottom half of the Southern California bracket, No. 18 Taft (Woodland Hills) will take on Centennial (Corona) Saturday after both notched impressive quarterfinal wins.

In Northern California, Castro Valley will meet Oakland and Sheldon (Sacramento) takes on De La Salle (Concord) in regional semifinal play Saturday.

The Golden State's Division II state tournament also features a nationally-ranked team. No. 7 Lincoln (San Diego) throttled Clovis North (Fresno) 71-49, moving on to Saturday's regional semis.

The highest-ranked team in action Thursday also moved one step closer to its season-long goal in Georgia. No. 3 Milton dominated Tift County (Tifton) 75-53, getting 27 points from Furman signee Jordan Loyd. The Eagles now get a rematch with Norcross, a team they beat in November and controversially in last season's AAAAA regional final.

Xcellent 25 state tournament scoreboard

Georgia Class AAAAA semifinal
No. 3 Milton 75, Tift County (Tifton) 53
Jordan Loyd, Milton: 27 points

California Division I regional quarterfinals
No. 6 Long Beach Poly (Long Beach) 66, Etiwanda 63
Alexis Moore, Long Beach Poly: 17 points

California Division II regional quarterfinals
No. 7 Lincoln (San Diego) 71, Clovis North (Fresno) 49

California Division I regional quarterfinals
No. 18 Taft (Woodland Hills) 65, La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad) 43

California Division I regional quarterfinals
No. 21 Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 72, Loyola (Los Angeles) 70

Texas Class 4A semifinal
No. 23 Kimball (Dallas) 50, Cedar Park 36
Jalen Jones, Kimball: 19 points