Sports
Boys Basketball-Playoff Preview: (4) Lucasville Valley vs (1) Nelsonville-York
By: Morgan Overbey
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After trouncing the River View Raiders 51-32 to win the Sectional Tournament, the Nelsonville-York Buckeyes (13-8, 5-5 look to continue their playoff run against the fourth-seeded, Lucasville Valley (17-4, 12-1), on Monday at the Convocation Center. The Buckeyes are the one-seed, but they cannot take the Indians lightly if they want a chance to make the District Final.
The Valley Indians will be a formidable opponent. This is a team that won 15 straight games during their regular season and has been in and out of the top ten in the state all season. They beat a good Minford team by 14 in the Sectional final. Valley had their 15 game win-streak snapped and ended the regular season with two losses, losing to a (10-8) South Webster team by 10 points.
The offensive numbers are similar as the Indians average about 62 points per game, compared to the Buckeyes 60. The Buckeyes struggled with inconsistency during their regular season, but started to pick things up in the tournament. In their game against River Valley, not only were they on-point with their offense, but their defense was stifling, holding the Raiders to only 17 points in three quarters of play.
Seniors Daniel Kline and Kyle Moore stepped up for the Buckeyes, but it was an all-around good performance on the defensive-end. The only downfall of their performance was the 18 turnovers they committed. This game will be a test for the Buckeyes. If N-Y can feed off of their big win against the Raiders, and cut down on turnovers, they should be able to grind out a win against the Indians. Both teams ended the regular season with a loss, but came out on top with big wins in the Sectionals.