Sports
Boys Basketball Tournament Preview 2014
By: Hardwood Heroes Staff
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Alexander: Justin McCauley
When Jordan Mosley was asked at the beginning of the season what his expectations were he said, “ The goal is to get to the Convo and win it.”
For the rest of the Alexander Spartans team, it’s time for the start of the second season, the Spartans will start their tournament run as the No. 7 seed in the Athens 2 District of Division III.
They will start their journey to the Convo against No. 10 Waverly on February 18th at 8 p.m. at Jackson High School. Other notable teams in Alexander’s bracket are No. 5 Nelsonville-York and No. 1 Lucasville Valley.
Athens: Michael Drapcho
The Athens Bulldogs (15-3) enter the postseason eyeing another deep playoff run. The No. 3 seed in the Logan Sectional Tournament will have to get past No. 6 Marietta (9-8) in the first round to make a run, though.
If the Bulldogs get past the Tigers, they will face a familiar foe in the second round. The winner of the Warren/Meigs game is scheduled to take on the winner of the Athens/Marietta matchup. Athens played Meigs earlier this season, defeating the Marauders 63-31.
Last season, Athens met Warren in the Division II Regional Final. Warren came out on top in that game, beating the Bulldogs 74-69 in overtime.
The Bulldogs open tournament play on Tuesday, Feb. 18, at Logan High School. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.
Eastern: Morgan Overbey
In a season where the Eastern Eagles (2-17, 1-12) have struggled to get just one win in the TVC-Hocking, they will have their chance for redemption come tournament time against the No. 6 seed Ironton St. Joseph.
The Eagles were elected as the No. 11 seed and have a tough road ahead of them in the tournament. St. Joe is not a team the Eagles have seen before, but head coach Jeremy Hill believes they will match-up well against them.
The sectional semi-final game is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 8 p.m. at Meigs High School.
Federal Hocking: Matt Doyle
The Federal Hocking Lancers have been getting hot at the right time, winning nine of their last 11 with the Division III tournament quickly approaching.
Their impressive streak over the past month earned them a No. 6 seed in the district tournament and put them up against No. 11 Ironton (1-18).
The Fighting Tigers have struggled throughout the season in the scoring department, showcased in their last game against Spring Valley.
Ironton scored just 27 points in the loss and shot 12 of 49 from the field. Joe Bowling was the only Tiger player to reach double digits, knocking in 13 points along with his seven rebounds. Outside of Bowling’s performance, the starters combined for six points.
The Lancers rely on intensity at the defensive end to transition into easy buckets at the other. When away from Federal Hocking High School, the team performs best when its defense can hold the opponent to around 50 points, as the Lancers are 5-6 and average 52.2 points per game on the road this season.
They’ll look to stifle the Tigers in a defensive battle on Wednesday, Feb. 19, at 8 p.m. at Jackson High School.
Meigs: Anthony Baucco
The No. 7 Meigs Marauders will attempt revenge on the No. 2 Warren Warriors in the first round of the Southeast Ohio Division II district tournament on Feb. 18 at Logan High School.
Over the past two years under coach Kight, the Marauders are 0-2 against Warren, including back-to-back season-opener losses. Warren outscored Meigs 70-35 in the matchup this season, but has come a long way since then.
Meigs has gone through setbacks this season, but still found a way to come together as a team and that chemistry will play a big factor in the matchup.
The starting five for Meigs has the compatibility for an upset, but will need to play with a full 32 minutes of intensity that coach Kight has emphasized all year long.
Nelsonville-York: Patrick Klinger
Head coach Jay Kline and his Nelsonville-York Buckeyes have earned the No. 5 seed in the Division III, Athens 2 District of the 2014 OHSAA boys’ basketball tournament. The Buckeyes will be facing an all too familiar opponent in No. 12 Crooksville on Feb. 12 at Jackson High School at
It was only last year that these two teams squared-off in the first round of the postseason. The Buckeyes’ season suddenly came to an end after a buzzer-beating three-pointer hit the bottom of the net, advancing Crooksville to the second round, and sending N-Y into the offseason.
Trimble: Austin Carpenter
It will be a battle of the ‘Cats as the Trimble Tomcats will face off against the Waterford Wildcats in the first round of postseason play in the Athens 2 District of Division IV.
Waterford sits at second in the TVC-Hocking posting a 10-6 overall and 8-3 conference record and will be a very difficult matchup for the Tomcats. This will be the third meeting between these two teams, with the season series split at 1-1.
Waterford is an overall solid team. They average 59.7 points a game while the Tomcats allow 60.2 points a game. Both teams won their regular season matchup on their home courts, so with this game being played at a neutral site, this game is up for grabs. Turnovers will be the key in this tournament game. Whoever wins the turnover battle will come out of this one as victor, and keep their district title hopes alive.
Vinton County: Avery T. Jennings
Vinton County's OHSAA Division II tournament run will begin against the Sheridan Generals on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at Logan High School.
The Vikings, a No. 5 seed in the tournament, just picked up a win at Logan on Saturday, edging their SEOAL rival, 51-50.
Vinton County is 10-6 this season, with regular season games against Gallia Academy, Wellston and Meigs remaining.
The Vikings have won six of seven games since a Jan. 11 loss to Zane Trace.
No. 4 seed Sheridan is 14-4 with a 12-1 mark in the Muskingum Valley League.
The winner of next Wednesday's matchup will move on to face either No. 1 seed Logan Elm or the winner of a No. 8 vs. No. 9 matchup between Fairfield Union and New Lexington.