Los Angeles City Section scores from last night

#1 Chatsworth 71, #16 Locke, 21

#8 Dorsey 72, #9 Palisades 70

#5 Carson 65, #12 Granada Hills 33

#4 Faifax 65, #13 Banning

#3 Washington Prep 70, #14 Birmingham 28

#6 El Camino Real 60, #11 Venice 44

#7 Westchester 50, #10 Crenshaw 48

#2 Taft 52, #15 Narbonne 38

No surprises whatsoever, and of course the teams closest in rank had the tightest games. I bet the Dorsey-Palisades matchup was a heart-attacker.

Round 2, the quarter-finals, will be 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25 at the sites of the higher-ranked teams. The matchups look like this:

Dorsey at Chatsworth

Carson at Fairfax

El Camino Real at Washington Prep

Westchester at Taft

The winners of the first two games then play each other Friday, Feb. 27, as do the winners of the third and fourth games. Chatsworth will beat Dorsey, but the Carson-Fairfax game is a toss-up - either team could win.

Washington will beat El Camino Real, and Taft will defeat Westchester. This will set up a re-match of the "defibrilators required" game covered in this blog Dec. 12 ("Taft 48, Washington Prep 46").

Whoever survives next Friday's round will advance to the finals on Saturday, March 7 at USC's Galen Center.

Last night I went to the Washington Prep-Birmingham matchup. I didn't take notes, because I don't do so in blowout, aka ass whoopin, games. No disrespect to Birmingham, because they played hard from buzzer to buzzer. But Washington is extremely athletic, and they were visibly driven last night. The adage that good teams take it up a few notches during the playoffs is true for the Washington Generals, as they were clicking on all cylinders against Birmingham.

Washington junior guard Kejuana Gardner finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds, while sophomore center Reshanda Gray added 20 points and eight boards. Junior guards Kiana Furlow and Tayllor Gipson had 11 and 10 points, respectively.

This week I've also decided one thing once and for all: high school ball is my first love. College and pro are fun, but for me, true passion comes from prep hoops.

Is it Wednesday yet?