High school basketball: Sierra Canyon climbs while Great Crossing, Roosevelt rejoin MaxPreps Top 25

Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) continues its ascension in the MaxPreps Top 25 high school basketball rankings. The Trailblazers rise six spots to No. 4 this week following an 81-75 win over previous No. 5 Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) to conclude their regular season slate.

Stony Point (Round Rock, Texas) and Wisconsin Lutheran (Milwaukee, Wis.) each jumped three spots into the top 10 following a chaotic week for highly-ranked teams. Stony Point has won seven in a row to claw back into the top 10 while Wisconsin Lutheran has earned its highest ranking in program history.

Previous No. 9 Huntsville (Ala.) and No. 22 Wayzata (Plymouth, Minn.) each drop out of the rankings following disappointing losses, making way for No. 23 Great Crossing (Georgetown, Ky.) and No. 25 Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.) to rejoin the national mix.

As the calendar flips to February some teams in the MaxPreps Top 25 have already concluded regular season action while others look to tune up as they enter their final stretch prior to postseason play.

(Photo: Gregory Fiore)

MaxPreps Top 25 basketball rankings

1. Columbus (Miami, Fla.)
Record: 19-4 | Last week: 1
Captured their third straight Greater Miami Athletic Conference title with an 81-51 victory over Miami in the championship game. The Explorers were paced by five players in double-figures as Cameron Boozer, Cayden Boozer and Jaxon Richardson each chipped in a team-high 15 points. Top 30 Michigan State signee Jase Richardson scored 14 and Princeton commit Malik Abdullahi contributed 10.

2. Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.)
Record: 17-2 | Last week: 2
Notched a pair of wins over ranked opponents to remain unbeaten in WCAC play. The Panthers defeated No. 7 Gonzaga 73-58 paced by a team-high 18 points from top 50 Duke signee Darren Harris and previous No. 12 Bishop O’Connell 68-52 led by 19 points from Harris and 17 points, and nine rebounds from top 15 sophomore Jordan Smith.

3. Plano East (Plano, Texas)
Record: 28-0 | Last week: 3
Escaped with a 62-59 victory over Lewisville led by three-star junior D.J. Hall and senior guard Xavier Miller, who each finished with a team-high 15 points. Five games remain in regular season for the Panthers.

4. Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.)
Record: 24-1 | Last week: 10
Closed out regular season play with an 81-75 victory over previous No. 5 Notre Dame. The Trailblazers overcame a 17-point fourth quarter deficit to pull out the signature victory led by 19 points, eight assists, four rebounds and four steals from four-star senior Justin Pippen.

5. Myers Park (Charlotte, N.C.)
Record: 17-2 | Last week: 4
The Mustangs have won seven consecutive games by double-digits including a pair of lopsided victories last week. Myers Park defeated Berry (Charlotte) 79-35 paced by 26 points and six rebounds from four-star junior Sadiq White Jr. and blew past A.C. Reynolds (Ashville) 75-30 behind 17 points and five rebounds from White.

6. Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.)
Record: 16-3 | Last week: 6
Advanced to the Bergen County Jamboree quarterfinals with a 87-45 victory against Hackensack powered by 15 points from five-star Rutgers commit Dylan Harper. The Ironmen are the only team from the MaxPreps Top 25 to defeat top-ranked Columbus.

7. Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.)
Record: 18-3 | Last week: 7
Suffered their second WCAC loss of the season against No. 2 Paul VI 73-58 despite a strong outing from four-star junior Christian Gurdak, who finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds. The Eagles face another tough conference test against DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) tonight.

8. Stony Point (Round Rock, Texas)
Record: 27-1 | Last week: 11
Pulled out a 56-51 win over Round Rock behind 24 points and six rebounds from senior guard Junior Goodlet and 16 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks from junior forward Davaughn Hueitt. The Tigers have five games remaining prior to postseason play.

9. Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.)
Record: 24-2 | Last week: 5
Closed out the regular season with back-to-back losses, falling to No. 4 Sierra Canyon 81-75 before losing to Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) 64-53 the following night. The Knights were without their top two contributors in four-star Houston signee Mercy Miller and junior guard Angelino Mark in the loss to Gorman.

10. Wisconsin Lutheran (Milwaukee, Wis.)
Record: 16-0 | Last week: 13
Following a 36-point victory over South Milwaukee, the Vikings are now outscoring their opponents by an average of over 22 points per contest. Five-star senior Kon Knueppel was the biggest McDonald’s All-American game snub last week as the Duke signee is averaging 27.2 points, 9.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists per contest.

11. St. Rose (Belmar, N.J.)
Record: 19-1 | Last week: 16
Concluded regular season action with a pair of games at the Metro Classic this weekend, facing Union Catholic (Scotch Plains, N.J.) on Thursday and National Top 10 No. 1 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) on Saturday.

12. Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.)
Record: 23-3 | Last week: 15
Secured three consecutive wins by 20 or more points to finish out the regular season last week following back-to-back losses to No. 4 Sierra Canyon and No. 9 Notre Dame.

13. Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.)
Record: 14-3 | Last week: 19
A busy week of games is headlined by a showdown against Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.) on Friday. Top 25 Kentucky signee Boogie Fland was named a McDonald’s All-American last week with averages of 18.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.4 steals per game this season.

14. Oak Ridge (Orlando, Fla.)
Record: 21-3 | Last week: 14
Finished out regular season play with a strong showing at the Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament, going 2-1 with victories over National Top 10 No. 5 Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.) and The Rock (Gainesville, Fla.). Despite losing to National Top 10 No. 1 Montverde Academy, the Pioneers remain at No. 14 in the rankings this week.

15. Ridge View (Columbia, S.C.)
Record: 19-1 | Last week: 17
The Blazers have an opportunity to avenge their only loss of the seasonFriday in a showdown at one-loss Westwood (Blythewood). Another loss this week would likely drop Ridge View out of the MaxPreps Top 25 despite their win against No. 16 Grayson in the Chick-Fil-A Classic title game.

16. Grayson (Loganville, Ga.)
Record: 19-2 | Last week: 18
Came away with a 76-70 overtime victory over Newton last week behind 23 points from junior forward Amir Taylor. The Rams have four games remaining in regular season action that culminates with a rematch on the road at Newton on Feb. 8.

17. Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)
Record: 24-2 | Last week: 8
Drop in the rankings following a 68-62 setback to JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano), the first loss against an in-state opponent this season. Mater Dei has another significant Trinity League showdown tonight against St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.).

18. McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.)
Record: 17-5 | Last week: 20
Following convincing victories over Harrison 71-57 and Hillgrove 96-62, the Indians have three games left in regular season action. All five of McEachern’s losses have come against opponents ranked higher than them in the MaxPreps Top 25.

19. Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Va.)
Record: 15-5 | Last week: 12
Back-to-back losses to No. 2 Paul VI 68-62 and St. John’s (Washington, D.C.) 60-57 drop the Knights to 4-3 in WCAC action this season. Although the losses are beginning to pile up, Bishop O’Connell owns key wins over No. 7 Gonzaga, No. 14 Oak Ridge and No. 23 Great Crossing.

20. Central Cabarrus (Concord, N.C.)
Record: 19-0 | Last week: 21
Extended the longest winning streak in high school basketball to 51 games with an 83-36 triumph against Carson led by 17 points, 12 rebounds and five steals from Lees-McRae commit Desmond Kent. The Vikings are heavy favorites to capture their second straight Class 3A state title.

21. Kell (Marietta, Ga.)
Record: 18-3 | Last week: 23
Three-star South Florida signee C.J. Brown surpassed 1,500 points last week while senior guards Chris McLavish and Alabama A&M pledge Jaylen Colon each eclipsed 1,000 points.

22. Jackson-Reed (Washington, D.C.)
Record: 24-2 | Last week: 24
Slipped past Alexandria City (Alexandria, Va.) 57-55 paced by 13 points and six rebounds from junior forward Josiah Massaqoui and beat Cardozo (Washington, D.C.) 76-59 behind 22 points and eight rebounds from senior guard Lucas Sekasi.

23. Great Crossing (Georgetown, Ky.)
Record: 22-1 | Last week: NR
Finished on a 19-3 run to dispatch Lexington Catholic (Lexington) 58-50 powered by 20 points and 19 rebounds from top 30 junior Malachi Moreno, who is averaging 15.7 points and 13.2 rebounds on the season.

24. Lawrence North (Indianapolis, Ind.)
Record: 17-0 | Last week: 25
Remain the team to beat in the Hoosier State this season as they continue to rack up wins. The Wildcats knocked off New Palestine 57-48 powered by 21 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals from three-star junior Azavier Robinson.

25. Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.)
Record: 25-2 | Last week: NR
Re-enter the rankings after finishing the regular season slate with seven straight wins. The Mustangs are the fourth team ranked out of the Golden State and appear to be a lock for a berth in the Southern Section Open Division playoffs.