Montgomery shuts down Torrey Pines: Live updates, game recaps from Battle at the Bay showcase
SAN DIEGO — The sixth annual Battle at the Bay showcase hosted by Mission Bay High School is underway.
The seven-game slate features 11 San Diego Section teams and three Southern Section teams. For the Southern Section teams, Saturday's games represent one last chance to improve their positioning before playoff brackets on released on Sunday.
The San Diego Section teams will play their final league games next week before brackets are released on Saturday, February 10.
Here's a schedule of the day's games.
10:30 a.m. — San Diego (8-16) vs. San Marcos (19-6)
12 p.m. — Francis Parker (14-11) vs. Victory Christian (15-8)
1:30 p.m. — Lincoln (9-17) vs. Temecula Valley (14-13)
3 p.m. — University City (17-8) vs. Norco (15-14)
5 p.m. — La Costa Canyon (16-6) vs. Santa Fe Christian (18-7)
6:30 p.m. — Torrey Pines (19-6) vs. Montgomery (22-2)
8 p.m. — Mission Bay (16-9) vs. Rancho Christian (17-9)
Scroll down for the latest live updates and recaps.
Rancho Christian 64, Mission Bay
The host Buccaneers worked their way back from a 38-24 halftime deficit but were unable to seal the deal against the Eagles.
Mission Bay sophomore Caleb Newton led all scorers with 25 points while Rancho Christian's Brian Amunueke and Jayden Smoot combined for 35 points.
The Eagles have completed their regular season as champions of the Ivy League and will learn their playoff seeding on Sunday morning.
Mission Bay sits just outside of the San Diego Section Open Division as the two-seed in Division 1. The Buccaneers will wrap up the regular season with a trip to St. Augustine on Tuesday.
Montgomery 48, Torrey Pines 19
Montgomery used their physicality to slow down Torrey Pines in the penultimate game of the night.
The Aztecs (23-2) stretched their winning streak to 10 while controlling the game throughout. Montgomery jumped out to a 9-2 lead after the opening quarter and held the Falcons to five points in the second quarter, holding a 25-7 lead at the break.
Torrey Pines (19-7) was held without a made three-pointer for the first time in 56 games.
Junior JJ Sanchez, a top candidate for San Diego Section Player of the Year, led Montgomery with 21 points.
The Aztecs have positioned themselves to potentially secure the top seed in the Open Division. Montgomery will play three times in the final week of the regular season and would flip past Carlsbad if the two teams finish next to each other in the rankings.
La Costa Canyon 60, Santa Fe Christian 56
La Costa Canyon found themselves trailing Santa Fe Christian 26-22 at halftime but were able to grab a lead early on in the second half. A back-and-forth third quarter was closed out by a buzzer-beating three point shot from La Costa Canyon's Drew Clevenger to give the Mavericks a 40-39 lead.
The Mavericks were able to extend their lead in the final quarter, briefly pulling ahead by double digits. Santa Fe Christian closed the deficit in the final minutes including a deep three from Brycen Mackenzie but La Costa Canyon was able to close out the game at the free throw line.
La Costa Canyon entered Saturday sitting in the six-seed of the Open Division playoffs and have the opportunity to move as high as five with two more games next week including a game against Torrey Pines to close out the regular season.
University City 83, Norco 74
University City and Norco were in no need for a shot clock on Saturday, flying end-to-end from the opening tip of the game. The Centurions took advantage inside early on and grabbed a 22-14 lead after the opening quarter.
Junior Dylan Griffin scored 19 of his game-high 31 points in the first half, helping University City build their halftime lead to 50-37.
A nearly even third quarter gave the Centurions a 64-50 lead entering the final quarter. Norco's press caused some problems for University City in the final quarter, leading to several layups but the Cougars were unable to get closer than six.
Griffin finished with 31 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks while senior Ben Gavani had 17 points and eight rebounds.
Lincoln 67, Temecula Valley 47
Temecula Valley led 12-11 after the opening quarter before Lincoln grabbed control of the game. The Hornets won the second quarter 17-9 and continued their dominance with an 18-4 third quarter to put the game out of reach.
Temecula Valley closes out the regular season at 14-14 while Lincoln improves to 10-17 with a league game remaining at University City next week. The Hornets are currently slotted as the 13-seed in the San Diego Section Division 1 playoffs.
Victory Christian 71, Francis Parker 61
Victory Christian sophomore Jayden Gray awaits foul shots during Saturday's win over Francis Parker
Victory Christian jumped out to a 19-10 lead after one quarter and controlled the game throughout the second half despite several Francis Parker mini runs. The Lancers were unable to get closer than four points in the second half.
Senior Derek Edmond and sophomore Jayden Gray led the way for the reigning San Diego Section Division 3 champions who currently sit as the four-seed in Division 2 with three games left to play.
San Marcos 75, San Diego 54
San Marcos took control of the game by winning the second quarter 20-8, taking a 15-point lead into the halftime break. The Knights were coming off a 40-point win over Ramona last night and showed no signs of fatigue, cruising to victory.
Sophomore Jalen Williams was the star of the game, finishing with 28 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals while making seven of his eight three-point attempts. Freshman guard Richie Ramirez finished with 17 points, reaching double digits for the 23rd time this season.
With two league games left on the schedule, San Marcos currently sits as the five-seed in the Division 1 playoffs while the Cavers are currently slotted as the 11-seed in the 16-team bracket.
