Matadors, Monarchs seek history revisal

By Nick Pellegrino
Updated: February 22, 2024

Editor’s Note: All game times listed on CIFSDS and other websites vary, and no one tolod us either.

2023-24 EAST COUNTY PREP BOYS BASKETBALL

ECS staff report

Previews of lower division finals in the CIF San Diego Section boys basketball championship:

Mount Miguel (22-8) at SD-Southwest (28-2), 7 p.m.

NESTOR — The rains of springtime have arrived just in time for the annaul trek through the CIF basketball layoffs for the Mount Miguel Matadors.

Wait!

These are no longer “Los Matadores” or “The Mount” of the Mount Miguel girls basketball program. We’re talking about the Matadors boys hoopsetrs, which will play for the San Diego Section Division 4 championship.

However, the Matadors face their toughest assignment of the season, going to the South Bay to face top-seeded Southwest. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

The host Raiders, better known as a soccer scjool, have made strides in both basketball and football in recent seasons, In fact, football finished with their second-most wins in a season in more than 30 seasons.

To earn a championships, Southwest will need to exted its school-record win streak to 20 games. Their lone losses came at midseason in December to San Ysidroo, 63-61, and in overtime to San Diego Academy.

However, the Raiders bounced back in the CIF semfinals to defeat Canyon Hills in overtime to gain their berth in the finale.

Fortunately, Mount Miguel owns its own streak player in senior guard Makhi Sydney, who can play the point or just settle in as a 3-point shooter..

When the Matadors were wunnuing early, Mount Miguel went seven straight games with victories, all when Syndney scored 20 or more points.

When opponents adjusted and started to slow him down, however, the Matadors also adjusted to naintain their winning ways to place second in the Grossmont Valley League.

In postseason play, when scouting is lighter and coaches are nore focused elsewhere, Sydney has been gaining more open shots. Thus, his scoring totals of 23 vs. Sweetwater, 16 vs. Clairemont, and 25 vs. CV-High Tech in the semifinals have the Matadors now playing for a title,

These Matadors may not match the 1967-68 squd coached by the legendary Dick RIdgway which went a perfect 33-0 to capture theall-division CIFSDS crown, yet a crown here could ignite a program turnaround.

DIVISION 3
Monte Vista (23-8) at Olympian (27-3)

CHULA VISTA — Monte Vista, a former power in wrestling, last won a CIF boys basketbal crown un 1971 with a narrow triumph over Grossmont.

More than 50 years later, the Monarchs can revse history should they slip past toop-ranked Olympian for the section’s Division 3 championship.

The Monarchs (23-8 overall) are comung off a Grossmont Hills League title, finishing one game ahead of neighborhood rival Mountr Miguel.

In order to ficus on how poor boys basketball was this past season, many ovservors noted this was Monte Vista’s first-ever title in “the better league” sincethe cnference split into Hills and Valley league in 2009-10.

Fortunatey, the Moancrhs have taken this feeling as a personal afront, thus. motivated to go all the way.

However, Olympian will be the toughest opponent of the season.

The Eagles (27-3 overall) went through non-league play with a perfect 21-0 mark, extending their non-league win streak to 24 games with three postseason victories.

The lone losses were a pair to South Bay League titlist Victory Chrostan, and a series split with Eastlake allowing both sides to finish deadlocked for second place.

The ballclubs meet on Jan. 2, with Olympian taking a 62-52 decision.

The youthful Eagles wewre led in scoring by a pair of sophomores, as Jordan Walker led with 20 points, wjile Sammell Humphries added 17. Next was a freshman in Tristan Anderson with 14 points.