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<p>Mission Bay Head Coach Marshawn Cherry's signature regular-season showcase, the Battle at the Bay, has evolved since it's first installation in 2018.</p>
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<p>Originally, the event was an interleague clash between teams from the Western and Coastal leagues, which were arguably the two strongest in San Diego at the time. </p>
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<p>Since returning from the pandemic, Cherry has revised the format to include top teams from other leagues, and this year's field is loaded - by San Diego standards. </p>
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<p>Twelve of the 14 teams are ranked in Maxpreps Top 25 section rankings. The two anomalies? Hoover, which is 12-12 and plays in the Western League, and Rancho Christian, a top 30 team in the powerful Southern Section.</p>
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<p>The seven-game showcase kicks off at 10 a.m. and is split into three sessions: a two-game AM session, a two-game afternoon session and a three-game evening session. </p>
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<p>Here are the matchups:</p>
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<h2>Game 1: Scripps Ranch (13-10) vs Del Norte (15-6), 10 a.m.</h2>
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<p>This matchup pits two teams that are undefeated in their respective leagues. The Falcons, who are 6-0 in the Eastern League entering tonight's contest against University City, have turned the corner since starting the season 6-8. A big reason is because of the influx of transfers after the sit-out period, specifically 6-0 St. Augustine transfer Kai Brown and 6-6 Mater Dei Catholic transfer Micah Brickner. </p>
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<p>Del Norte is 7-0 in league and has impressive wins over Montgomery, LCC, El Camino and La Jolla Country Day on its resume. Led by senior guards Ben Lee and [player_tooltip player_id='1609968' first='Jaden' last='Herrera'], the team goes as their perimeter shooting goes. When they are on, they're tough. If they're not hitting, they're beatable. </p>
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<h2>Game 2: Hoover (12-12) vs Otay Ranch (15-10), 11:30 a.m. </h2>
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<p>The Cardinals have been one of the bigger enigmas in San Diego. At times, they can dominate teams with a good blend of guard play and size. Other times, they look disjointed on both ends. Put it together, it's a recipe for a .500 team. The Cardinals are led by senior guard Ozzeno Diallo and juniors Exavier Williams, Amanuel Tesfahunegn and Santiago Estrada. </p>
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<p>The Mustangs have cooled off since their red-hot start to the season, but that's more of a function of the toughness of their league, where they are 5-5. Otay gets it done by committee, with seven players averaging between 5 and 13 points per game, led by senior standout Elijah Newsome and his back court mate, senior guard AJ McIlwain. </p>
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<h2>Game 3: Montgomery (21-3) vs Santa Fe Christian (23-4), 1:30 p.m. </h2>
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<p>This has the potential to be the best game of the day, with both the Aztecs and Eagles coming in red hot (read about it <a href="https://prephoops.com/2023/02/what-we-learned-sfc-and-montgomerys-big-weeks/">here</a>). The Aztecs are on the verge of winning the Mesa League championship, and have a chance to move into the No. 2 seed in the Open Division if they win out. 6-5 sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1630657' first='JJ' last='Sanchez'] is having an All-CIF worthy season.</p>
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<p>The Eagles counter with junior guard Brycen Mackenzie having one of the best individual seasons in the section, and just picked up his first Division 1 scholarship offer to Idaho State. </p>
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<p>Game 4: Lincoln (21-2) vs El Camino (17-7), 3 p.m.</p>
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<p>Lincoln hasn't lost a game since Dec. 22, and is rolling through the City League en route to a top-2 seed in the D2 playoffs. Their junior trio of Kyelin King, Derrion Manson and Sebastian Flores has been stellar, as has senior guard Manny Barnett.</p>
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<p>El Camino will be the Hornets toughest challenge since their last loss. The Wildcats have picked up their play of late with wins over Mission Hills and La Costa Canyon and sit in a three-way tie for second place in the Palomar League. Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1502805' first='Euan' last='Davis'] has been the catalyst of the late push. </p>
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<h2>Game 5: San Diego (16-8) vs Torrey Pines (16-8), 5 p.m. </h2>
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<p>The Cavers are looking to sew up a high seed in the D1 playoffs after falling from the Open Division rankings in recent weeks. Senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1434801' first='Noah' last='Marte'] (23 ppg) and sophomore forward [player_tooltip player_id='1630676' first='Jayden' last='Wade'] (16 points, 9 rpg) are a prolific duo. </p>
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<p>This hasn't been a vintage Torrey Pines team, but the Falcons are still very much in the mix for an Open Division berth. [player_tooltip player_id='994909' first='JJ' last='Bartelloni'], the 6-5 senior swingman, has been ever steady, and 6-4 junior wing Matin Madadkar has gotten better as the season has progressed. </p>
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<h2>Game 6: Mission Bay (18-6) vs Mission Hills (13-11) 6:30 p.m. </h2>
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<p>Buoyed by the return of senior point guard [player_tooltip player_id='994926' first='Angelo' last='Gil'], the Buccaneers are playing their best basketball of the season, sitting with an 8-1 record in the Western League. 6-4 senior wing [player_tooltip player_id='1434840' first='Thomas' last='Metcalf'], 6-7 Jr. Charlie Hutchison, 6-1 Jr. Gavin Girouard and 6-2 Jr. G Marcos Korch have been excellent for the team all year. </p>
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<p>Mission Hills has been up and down all season, but is coming off of a season sweep of Torrey Pines for the first time. The Grizzlies go as their back court goes: when 5-11 [player_tooltip player_id='1502886' first='Jack' last='Jillson'] and 6-2 Jake Bishop are making shots, they can put a scare in anybody. </p>
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<p>Game 7: La Costa Canyon (13-10) vs Rancho Christian (17-10), 8 p.m. </p>
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<p>There might not be two more enigmatic elite teams in their respective sections than the Mavericks and the Eagles.</p>
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<p>At their best, the Mavericks are a team capable of taking out the best teams in the county, as evidenced by their recent road triumph over Carlsbad. The addition of USC bound middle blocker, 6-10 Wesley Miller, in the last week is a game changer. [player_tooltip player_id='994912' first='Christian' last='Brown'] and [player_tooltip player_id='994935' first='Ty' last='Hendler'] have played at an All-CIF caliber level. </p>
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<p>At points this season, Rancho Christian has looked like a potential Southern Section Open Division contender. The Eagles have an array of Division 1 and 2 talents, headlined by seniors Kevin Patton, [player_tooltip player_id='1434418' first='Rodney' last='Brown'], [player_tooltip player_id='994955' first='Kollen' last='Murphy'] and [player_tooltip player_id='994931' first='Martin' last='Gumwel']. </p>
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<p></p>
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Mission Bay Head Coach Marshawn Cherry's signature regular-season showcase, the Battle at the Bay, has evolved since it's first installation in 2018.
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