On the way to a 30-win season and CIF San Diego Section Open Division championship, Carlsbad High School’s boys basketball team won the National Division title at the annual Torrey Pines Holiday Classic.

The Lancers won four games in four days last winter, beating Faith Family Academy of Texas 78-69 in the championship game. They became just the fifth San Diego Section team to win the tournament’s most prestigious division.

“All of our guys have been going to the tournament since they were old enough to go and experience basketball games,” Carlsbad coach Clark Allard said. “Being a part of the tournament for so, long it’s extra special to me.

“It’s obviously the marquee tournament in all of San Diego.”

The Lancers (7-0) play No. 7 La Jolla Country Day (5-5) at 7 p.m. in Monday’s Tip Off Night quadrupleheader at Torrey Pines that includes No. 4 Torrey Pines (8-1) vs. No. 3 San Marcos (7-1) at 4 p.m., Rancho Buena Vista (5-3) vs. No. 6 Mission Bay (4-3) at 5:30 p.m. and No. 1 Montgomery (6-0) vs. Temecula Valley (4-4) at 8:30 p.m.

Carlsbad officially opens this year’s Holiday Classic on Dec. 26 against Chicago’s De La Salle.

“We like any tough competition,” Allard said, “but it’s nice to face teams you won’t have to see again.”

Montgomery and No. 10 St. Augustine (2-5) will join Carlsbad as San Diego’s representatives in this year’s National Division of the tournament.

Carlsbad’s Jake Hall, the reigning CIF San Diego Section Player of the Year and last year’s National Division MVP, will be playing in his fourth Holiday Classic. He began the season with more than 2,000 career points and will soon be among the top five scorers in section history.

“We want to go into the Holiday Classic to show we belong and show we can compete with those teams, ” Hall said. “We’re super excited for it. We think we’ve got the team to do it again.”

John Olive, Torrey Pines’ coach and the long-time tournament director, works year-round with assistant coaches Jake Gilliam and Griffin Jimenez on securing commitments from top teams around the country.

Olive, Gilliam and Jimenez secured commitments from the 80 teams in 15 states that make up this year’s five brackets. Torrey Pines, St. Augustine, Rancho Buena Vista and Carlsbad will serve as host sites for the four-day event that runs Dec. 26-30.

“The thing that stands out to me is the quality of teams that we have coming from different parts of the country,” Olive said. “Philadelphia, Washington, DC area, Chicago area, Texas and all of the West Coast. The level of competition is going to be fabulous.”

Georgetown Prep from Maryland is among the top teams in the National Division bracket. The Little Hoyas have four NCAA Division 1 signees in addition to China’s Sinan Huan, a fast-rising 7-foot junior.

San Juan Capistrano JSerra won the National Division title in 2019 and is back this year as one of the favorites in the top bracket. JSerra’s reloaded roster features SMU signee BJ Davis-Ray. Standout junior Brannon Martinsen, who transferred in from Santa Ana Mater Dei, will be eligible to make his season debut on Day 2 of the tournament.

“It takes the type of talent that Carlsbad had last year to win it,” Olive said. “It takes that talent but also the ability to play together and share the ball and be committed towards each other.”

The American Division features Torrey Pines, Mission Bay, San Marcos, La Jolla Country Day and Cathedral Catholic in addition to four out-of-state teams.

Tip Off Night had previously been a tripleheader, but Olive and staff added a fourth game this year.

“We have all the top teams participating,” Olive said. “You’ll get a chance to see some of the best players in the county play all together in one night, it’s pretty special.”

Players to watch in this year’s Torrey Pines Holiday Classic

Player/Size/Year/School/Comment

Jasir Rencher;6-5;Sr.;Archbishop Riordan;Texas A&M signee

Nes Emeneke;6;10;Sr.; Archbishop Riordan;UC Irvine signee

Andrew Hilman;6-4, Jr.; Archbishop Riordan;4-star recruit

Ryder Bush;6-2;Sr.;Archbishop Riordan;Has offers

Jake Hall;6-3; Sr.; Carlsbad;UC San Diego signee

Charles Barnes;6-6;Jr.;De La Salle (ILL);Has Division 1 offers

Yabi Aklog;6-10;Jr.;Eastside Catholic (WA); 4-star recruit

Kevair Kennedy;6-0; Sr.;Father Judge (PA); Merrimack Signee

Everett Barnes;6-9, Sr.;Father Judge (PA);Loyola-Maryland signee

Derrick Morton-Rivera;6-4;Jr.;Father Judge (PA); Has Division 1 offers

Tavid Johnson;6-2;So.;Francis Parker;4-star recruit

Akbar Waheed; 6-5;Sr.;Georgetown Prep (MD); Boston College signee

Tyler Garrett;6-10;Sr.;Georgetown Prep (MD); Dartmouth signee

Pat McDonough;6-1;Sr.;Georgetown Prep (MD);Army signee

Carter Berg-McLean;6-4;Sr.;Georgetown Prep (MD);Loyola-Maryland signee

Sinan Huan;7-0;Jr.;Georgetown Prep (MD);4-star recruit

Amare Anderson;6-2, Sr.; Greer (S.C.); Presbyterian signee

Siincere Hudson;6-2;So.;Inderkum;Sac-Joaquin Section POY

BJ Davis-Ray;6-7;Sr.;JSerra;SMU signee

Brannon Martinsen;6-7;Jr.;JSerra; 4-star recruit

Chris Carrillo;5-11;Sr.;LJCD; Averages 18 points, 5 rebounds per game

Beau Siegfried;6-0;Sr.;Louisville (OH);Ashland signee

Brayden Gross;6-7;Sr. Louisville (OH); Walsh signee

JJ Sanchez;6-5;Sr.;Montgomer;Averages 20 points, 6 rebounds per game

J Rob Croy;6-4;Jr.;Riverside Poly;Has Division 1 offers

Richie Ramirez;6-2;Jr.;San Marcos;Has Division 1 offers

John Laboy;6-3;Sr.;St. Francis (TX);Columbia signee

Nigel Walls;6-10;Sr.;St. Francis (TX);SMU signee

Omarion Harvey;6-6;Sr.;St. Francis (TX); Has Division 1 offers

Cameron Williams;6-10, Jr.; St. Mary’s (AZ); 4-Star recruit

Jeremiah Jackson;6-4;Jr.St. Xavier (KY); Has Division 1 offers

Jeremiah Profit;6-4, So.;Temecula Valley;4-star recruit

Louis Bond;6-5, Sr.;Windward;Idaho State signee