Junior College Teams Set to Begin Playoffs

Antelope Valley College earned the highest seeding among regional men’s teams, while Ventura, ranked No. 1 in the state, drew top-seeding among women’s teams for the junior college Southern California regional basketball playoffs, scheduled to begin Friday.

Antelope Valley (21-9), Foothill Conference champion, is seeded sixth and will play host to Hancock (12-18) on Saturday night. The winner will face either Glendale (16-13) or Mt. San Antonio (13-16), which play Friday at Glendale. All games are at 7 p.m.

Glendale, which finished second in the Western State Conference South Division, is seeded 11th.

Valley (22-9), which lost twice to Glendale, is seeded 13th and plays a first-round game Friday night against visiting Irvine Valley (19-12). Moorpark (13-13), second in the WSC North Division, is seeded 32nd and plays at top-seeded Bakersfield (27-3) on Saturday night.

Ventura (32-1), two-time defending state champion, received a first-round bye. The Pirates, WSC North Division champion, will play host in a second-round game next Tuesday against the winner between Antelope Valley (16-14) and Valley (19-11), which play a first-round game Friday at Valley at 5:30. Valley is seeded 16th, Antelope Valley 17th.

Canyons (26-7), WSC South Division champion, is seeded fifth and received a first-round bye. The Cougars will play host to either Desert or Moorpark in a second-round game next Tuesday.

Desert (13-15) plays Saturday at 12th-seeded Moorpark (20-10), second in the WSC North Division.

The state finals for men and women are scheduled for March 12-14 at UC Irvine.