REGION — With the announcement of the CIF Playoff brackets a week away, boys basketball teams across North County are jockeying for coveted league titles.
While one of the county’s top leagues is still up for grabs, at least one team appears well on its way to wrapping up yet another league championship.
Torrey Pines, in its second year in the Avocado West League, entered Feb. 7 with a 6-0 league record, two games ahead of Canyon Crest Academy and La Costa Canyon. If the Falcons defeat Canyon Crest Feb. 7, they will have clinched at least a share of the league title.
Meanwhile, the Avocado East League appeared to be in San Marcos’ favor before Feb. 6, when the Knights suffered one of the biggest upsets of the season at the hands of Rancho Buena Vista, which had only one league win coming into the game.
The 58-56 setback now puts San Marcos in a first-place tie with Vista, with the teams scheduled to face each other Feb. 9 at Vista High School. The winner of that game will lead the league standings by one game with two games left in the season.
Escondido (13-10, 5-0) has also opened up a two-game lead over both Valley Center and Ramona in the Valley League. The Cougars face Ramona Feb. 7, looking to expand its lead over the Bulldogs and Jaguars depending on the outcome of Valley Center’s game against Fallbrook. A win over Ramona would all but seal the Cougars league championship.
In the Pacific League, which is composed of smaller, Christian schools in North County, Maranatha Christian of Rancho Bernardo has a half-game lead over Carlsbad Pacific Ridge and a game lead over Tri-City Christian of Vista.
In the Ocean League, Guajome Park Academy in Vista (15-5, 5-0) is also undefeated, and leads Classical Academy of Escondido by one game in the standings. The Frogs, runners up in CIF Division 5 last year, are one of the top teams in Division 4 this year.
THE COAST NEWS TOP 10
1. Torrey Pines (23-2) Bryce Pope and Finn Sullivan have been phenomenal for the Falcons.
2. Vista (20-6) Has a chance to avenge lone league loss against San Marcos on Feb. 9.
3. San Marcos (20-3) Loss to RBV snapped 12-game winning streak.
4. Canyon Crest (15-8) Ravens look to give Torrey Pines its first league loss and bounce back from bad loss to Carlsbad.
5. Santa Fe Christian (13-10) An upset over La Jolla Country Day and a good showing against Foothills Christian have the Eagles looking good.
6. Orange Glen (15-9) An OT loss to La Jolla Country Day and a two-point loss to Francis Parker are nothing to frown upon.
7. Mission Hills (13-10) – Warren Washington is putting up massive numbers for the Grizzlies, which just avenged league loss to El Camino.
8. El Camino (13-10) Wildcats on a three-game slide after losses to Vista, San Marcos and Mission Hills.
9. Rancho Buena Vista (16-9) Scored the upset of the year with a home win over San Marcos
10. La Costa Canyon (11-12) Up and down Mavs are 4-2 in league, but 0-2 against the league’s best teams.
