Bishop Amat to Meet L.B. Jordan as Valley Teams Enter CIF Basketball Quarterfinals

Bishop Amat High of La Puente, ranked No. 1 in the CIF Southern Section 5-A Division with a 25-2 record, heads the list of San Gabriel Valley boys teams that have advanced to the divisional quarterfinals tonight and Friday.

The Lancers, who rolled to a 76-56 win over Bosco Tech in the first round, will face Long Beach Jordan (14-11) at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Lakewood High.

Bishop Amat is led by 6-8 senior center Geoff Lear, who had 15 points and 11 rebounds in the win over Bosco Tech, and 6-0 senior guard Stephon Pace, who scored 16 points. They will face a Jordan team that defeated Verbum Dei, 55-53, in its playoff opener.

Other valley boys teams that have advanced to the quarterfinals are Glendora and Diamond Bar in the 4-A, Alhambra in the 3-A and and Duarte in the 2-A.

In quarterfinal games at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Diamond Bar (23-4) meets Capistrano Valley (24-4) at Cal Poly Pomona and Glendora (28-0) faces Santa Barbara (21-5) at Santa Barbara City College in the 4-A Division, Alhambra (22-5) plays Tustin (22-5) at San Gabriel High in the 3-A and Duarte (26-1) takes on Santa Clara (18-8) at Moorpark College.

Diamond Bar, which defeated Moreno Valley (59-55) in a second-round game Tuesday, is the only valley team to reach the quarterfinals two straight seasons. The Brahmas, paced by 6-8 senior center Brian Hendrick, made it to the 4-A semifinals before losing to Santa Monica last year.

Diamond Bar will face a Capistrano Valley squad that is seeded No. 3 in the division and rolled to a 68-40 win over Downey in the second round.

Glendora entered the 4-A playoffs undefeated and seeded No. 2 and the Tartans have played well in post-season wins over San Gorgonio (90-77) and Foothill (64-47) in the first two rounds. The Tartans are headed by 6-7 junior forward Tracy Murray, who averages 31 points.