Hueneme Miffed Over Playoff Change

The Southern Section has switched the pairings in the Division I-A and Division II-A boys’ basketball playoffs after discovering that Chino Hills Ayala High competed in the wrong division in the opening round.

As a result, Ayala will play host to Hueneme on Wednesday in a Division I-A first-round makeup game. The winner will play Thousand Oaks on Friday.

Hueneme (16-8) had been scheduled to play host to Thousand Oaks (24-1) tonight in the second round. If Hueneme defeats Ayala, Hueneme will play at home Friday. If Ayala wins, Thousand Oaks will play at home.

Hueneme Coach Howard Davis was not pleased with the change--especially because the Vikings had defeated Antelope Valley, 61-58, in a first-round game Friday. Hueneme had won a coin toss to earn the home-court advantage against Thousand Oaks.

“Now we don’t even get to play at home,” Davis said.

Ayala, with 1,718 students in its upper three classes, competed in the first round of Division II-A (1,125 to 1,499) Friday and defeated La Serna, 56-50. When La Serna school officials questioned Ayala’s placement in the division, section administrators discovered the mistake.

“It was a clerical error in our office,” said Dean Crowley, the section’s associate commissioner. “But there are no forfeits involved.

“We’re handling it as if the Ayala-La Serna game never happened. Fortunately, we caught it after one round. It could have been a nightmare.”

The quarterfinal games of that quarter of the playoff bracket will be moved to Monday. All game times remain 7:30 p.m.

Staff writer Vince Kowalick contributed to this story.