Division III-AA boys bracket

After last night's semifinals, the championship for next Saturday at the Pond is now set, and it will be Artesia facing Santa Margarita. Here's a look at the bracket with the scores updated, as well as some details about the two games played last night to determine the finals participants. Both teams are now guaranteed a berth in the State Southern Regionals (they will be two of the 8 teams that will compete for the right to represent SoCal in a combined Division III at Arco Arena for the State Championship). We don't yet know the time of the final next Saturday at the Pond, but when it's released, we'll post it here.

First round games Friday February 21			Quarterfinals Tuesday Feb. 25	Semifinals Friday Feb. 28	Finals March 8 @ The Pond
Apple Valley 36	@	Artesia 55	Artesia 53 @ Newbury Park 49	Atascadero 76 @ Artesia 60	Artesia vs. Santa Margarita
Newbury Park (Wild Card A) 62	@	Monrovia 44	Artesia 53 @ Newbury Park 49
Servite (Wild Card B) 61	@	Atascadero 72	Atascadero 70 @ Pacifica/GG 59
Pacifica Oxnard (Wild Card C) 42	@	Pacifica/GG 58	Atascadero 70 @ Pacifica/GG 59
Temple City 72	@	Calabasas 84	Los Altos 94 @ Calabasas 78	Santa Margarita 73 @ Los Altos 44
Barstow (Wild Card D) 70	@	Los Altos 78	Los Altos 94 @ Calabasas 78
Bonita (Wild Card E) 47	@	Diamond Ranch 58 (OT)	Diamond Ranch 41 @ Santa Margarita 70
Santa Margarita (Wild Card F) 70	@	Arlington 45	Diamond Ranch 41 @ Santa Margarita 70

Artesia 76, Atascadero 60 -- The top-seeded visiting Pioneers (27-2) pulled out the victory behind a career-high 28 points and nine rebounds from senior center and Cal Poly signee Kaelen Daniels. Atascadero finishes the season at 19-7. The win puts Artesia in the finals against Santa Margarita next Saturday at the Pond, and also insures them a return trip to the State Championship tournament, as one of 8 teams that will compete in the Southern Regional tournament for the right to represent Division III in the State Finals at Arco Arena later this month. Atascadero hit seven of their first 12 shots including a three 3-pointers as the teams ended the first quarter tied at 17. In the second quarter, Artesia tightened up the defense and held the Greyhounds to 17-42 shooting the rest of the game, giving Artesia a 51-39 lead to start the third quarter. Daniels finished with 15 points in the second half, including nine in the fourth quarter. Senior guard Kejuan Johnson scored 12 points and junior forward John Ricks provided a big lift off the bench with 11 points and three steals for Artesia. Forward Mecklen Davis had a team-high 27 points to lead Atascadero.

Santa Margarita 73, Los Altos 44--Todd Follmer scored 26 points to lead the Eagles (20-9). The Eagles will play Artesia of Lakewood (27-2) in the III-AA championship game next Saturday at The Pond. Kyle Donahue had 10 assists for Santa Margarita, which had a 10-point lead after one quarter. Santa Margarita, sparked by the inside play of junior center Todd Follmer, scored the game's first eight points and pulled down 11 rebounds. The Eagles, who finished third in the four-team Serra League, have outscored their opponents 270-180 in the last four games. Santa Margarita, which also received 12 points apiece from guards Tyler Smith and Kyle Donahue, led 16-4 with just more than three minutes left in the opening quarter. Los Altos cut it to 29-21 late in the second quarter on a 3-pointer by Rogers but Santa Margarita closed the half with a 6-0 run to take a 35-22 lead. Los Altos, behind Garcia and Rogers, put together a 9-0 run during the middle of the third quarter and pulled within 39-31, after a drive and layup by Garcia and a 3- pointer by Rogers. The Eagles pulled back ahead and built the lead back up to 47-33 after a 3-pointer by Donahue, two free throws from Follmer and a 3- pointer by Smith, and opened the fourth quarter with a 15-5 run and never looked back.

All games with the exception of the final round will start at 7:30 p.m. unless another time is mutually agreed upon and clearance is received from the CIF-SS Office. Public coin flips will be held in the lobby of the CIF-SS Office at 9:00 a.m. the day following each playoff game [these coin flips will determine subsquent sites after the first round, i.e., which school will be the host]. Coin flips will be available after 9:30 a.m. and we'll try to keep everyone posted with them here.