A different kind of March Madness tipped off March 14 at Southwestern College as the San Diego Surf hosted the Vancouver (Wash.) Bears in their home opening game of the resurrected United States Basketball League.
The Bears, boasting a pair of South County locals on their roster (former Southwest Raider Diego Edwards and former Otay Ranch Mustang Diego Sanchez), held off the Surf, 88-87, in a game that ended on a desperation shot off the rim to nail down the victory.
Edwards is off to a hot start for the Bears by averaging 17.0 ppg, eight rebounds per game and 3.5 assists per game as the team stretched its early season undefeated record to 4-0.
The Surf is 2-2 through four games.
The USBL features eight teams in two pods along the West Coast: five in the Pacific Northwest (Spokane, Wash., Salem, Ore, Seattle, Wash., Vancouver, Wash. And Yakima, Wash.) and three in Southern California (Bakersfield, Los Angeles and San Diego).
League play in the modest circuit extends through May 31, followed by playoffs.
The Surf is based out of MiraCosta College but held its season opener at Southwestern College. Other scheduled home games are at Lincoln High School and Cal State San Marcos.
The team’s dance squad was also unveiled at the March 14 event with fivemembers hailing from Eastlake High School (2024 alumna Trinity Bendorf, 2025 alumna Madison Cartier and current seniors Gianna Salzedo, Lindy Castanares and Keira Taheriand).
Making tracks
The new-look USBL is a resurrection of the original USBL that operated 1985 to 2008 as a professional development league. The 2026 USBL brands itself as a league of opportunity.
The Bears previously played in The Basketball League for four seasons before joining the restarted USBL. The Basketball League, formerly North America Premier Basketball, started in 2018 as a professional league with eight franchises and has since grown to 32 teams.
The Potawatomi Fire (Shawnee, Okla.) are two-time defending champions.
The 2026 USBL schedule features 24 regular season games for each team.
Locals only
Edwards and Sanchez are both 2019 prep graduates.
Edwards (6-4, 175 in high school) helped the Raiders claim back-to-back CIF titles — Division V in 2017-18 and Division IV in 2018-19.
Edwards was a catalyst both seasons. He poured in 26 points and grabbed five rebounds in a come-from-behind 63-49 win over Mt. Carmel for the Division IV championship.
Edwards logged 28 points and 12 rebounds as the Raiders defeated National City’s San Diego Academy, 77-38, to claim the Division IV banner and the school’s first CIF championship in the sport.
Southwest advanced as far as the Southern California state regional semifinals in 2018 and the regional final in 2019.
The Raiders finished 19-13 (7-3 in league) in 2017-18 and 28-8 (10-2 in league) in 2018-19.
Edwards has represented Mexico in international competition. Following his graduation from Southwest High School, he suited up at Southwestern College. As a freshman, he was listed at 6-5 and 200 pounds.
Sanchez subsequently played at Grossmont College in 34 career games in 2021-22 and 2023-24, scoring 238 points.
USBL update
The Surf has since evened its record at 2-2 following victories over the Los Angeles Blue Waves and Bakersfield.
The Surf will host upcoming games March 27 (Los Angeles) and March 29 (Spokane Lilac City Legends) at Lincoln High School and April 4 (Blue Waves), April 10 (Yakima) and April 12 (Bakersfield) at Cal State San Marcos.
Corey Cofield was named the league’s most recent player of the week after stuffing in 40 points with seven rebounds, one assist and three steals for the Blue Waves (3-3).
Surf notables include 7-foot-1 center Bryan Penn-Johnson (Wasatch Academy, Utah), guard Aaron Felix (San Diego City College), forward Amari Stroud (Long Beach State) and point guard Bryce Whitaker (Whittier).
The team recently named Jeff Harper Harris of Lincoln High as new head coach. He is the co-founder of Athletes and Coaches Against Bullying and is the winner of the 2017 Martin Luther King Jr. Dignity Award.
USBL Standings
(through March 26)
Seattle Superhawks 6-0
Vancouver Bears 5-2
Los Angeles Blue Waves 3-3
San Diego Surf 2-2
Yakima Heat 2-2
Salem Capitals 2-2
Bakersfield Majestics 0-3
Spokane Lilac City Legends 0-6
Diego Edwards/Southwest Raiders Links
2017-18 CIF championship
www.thestarnews.com/raiders-rewarded-with-cheers-in-history-making-championship/
2018-19 CIF championship
www.thestarnews.com/raiders-top-sundevils-to-capture-second-consecutive-cif-championship/
