Opening night in high school basketball’s Open Division features several intriguing matchups

Here’s a look at Friday night’s top high school Open Division playoff openers:

Southern Section

Santa Monica Crossroads (18-8) at Santa Ana Mater Dei (28-1), 7 p.m. — Dangerous is the appropriate word to describe Crossroads, which held a one-point halftime lead over No. 1-seeded Chatsworth Sierra Canyon last week. Ira Lee has signed with Arizona. Shareef O’Neal is one of the top juniors in Southern California. Sophomore Jacob Ray is coming on strong. All will offer a strong challenge to the Monarchs, who are still adjusting to the arrival in January of 7-foot-1 Bol Bol.

Long Beach Poly (21-6) at Mission Hills Alemany (24-3), 7 p.m. — Alemany made it through the always tough Mission League unbeaten. Fred Odhiambo, a 6-11 junior, is part of a new group of big men trying to take away from the team’s usual reliance on guard play. Poly has the size to more than match up with the Warriors. The Jackrabbits feature a front line that goes 6-6, 6-9 and 6-10. The winner will probably face Chino Hills next Tuesday.

City Section

Taft (22-9) at Narbonne (23-6), 7 p.m. — These two teams played a double-overtime game, won by Narbonne, on Jan. 5. Taft has made steady progress behind 6-9 sophomore Antwan January. Narbonne is known for its toughness and defensive pressure. This game should go down to a final shot.

Dorsey (15-16) at Birmingham (24-3), 7 p.m. — The top-seeded Patriots are heavy favorites but Dorsey is a much different team than it was in December. Players who were injured have come back and several transfers became eligible. The good news for Birmingham is that it plays very well at home and has lots of scoring power with Devante Doutrive, Devonaire Doutrive and Deschon Winston.

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com

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