Boys join tournament fray; girls move to district level

Area boys basketball teams tip off tournament play this week, and the best of the bunch will be heavy favorites when they host first round games. Perkins, 20-2 and ranked No. 9 in the state in Division IV, will tip off the postseason at home against Rossford at 6 p.m. Thursday. The Pirates are one of two No. 1 seeds in the seven-team Mansfield District. Ontario, another No. 1 seed, also is in the bracket. If Perkins defeats eighth-seeded Rossford — which is 4-18 and has lost 15 of its last 16 games — it will play the winner of Thursday's 6 p.m. matchup between fourth-seeded Bellevue and seventh-seeded Vermilion in a district semifinal next Tuesday in Fremont. Sandusky, which made it to the state semifinals last year, is a No. 4 seed in the 10-team Division III Ontario District. The Blue Streaks are 14-7 and take a five-game winning streak into a tournament opener at 6 p.m. Wednesday at home against ninth-seeded Toledo Woodward. A win would send Sandusky to second-seeded Oregon Clay at 7 p.m. Friday for a sectional final matchup. Clay is 16-6, but has lost three games this month after losing a couple transfers who had to sit out the second half of the season. Sandusky and Perkins shared the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division title with 9-1 records. Monroeville is the area's other top seed. The Eagles, in Division VII, open tournament play by hosting rival St. Paul at 6 p.m. Thursday. The Eagles and Flyers (seeded fifth) split a pair of games in the regular season. The Eagles are 17-5 and have won 10 straight games. They won a Firelands Conference title for the first time since 1984. A pair of accomplished No. 2 seeds tip off later this week. Margaretta, ranked No. 4 in the state in Division V by MaxPreps, hosts either Edison or Oak Harbor at 7 p.m. Friday. The second-seeded Polar Bears are 19-3 and went 10-0 in the SBC Bay Division. They are the highest seed in their nine-team district. One win would send Margaretta to district play at Lakota beginning next Tuesday. St. Mary Central Catholic, ranked No. 20 in the state in Division VII, is a No. 2 seed in its eight-team district. The Panthers host eighth-seeded Toledo Horizon Science Academy at 6 p.m. Thursday. Meanwhile, seven area girls basketball teams were knocked out of the tournament last week, all going one and done. That leaves six playing this week in district semifinals, including defending state champion Bellevue (Division IV) and top-ranked Margaretta (Division VI). Three of the remaining area teams play Tuesday with three more playing Wednesday. Norwalk, a No. 2 seed in its Division III district, plays top-seeded Ashland at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Buckeye Central High School in New Washington. The Truckers are 17-6 after a 69-17 rout of Mansfield Senior in the opening round. Ashland (20-3) ran past Sandusky 79-31 last week. The winner will advance to a district final Saturday at Columbus Grove. Elida and Defiance play in the other district semifinal. In Division IV, top-seeded Bellevue takes on fifth-seeded Vermilion at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Fostoria District. Vermilion edged sixth-seeded Lake in its tournament opener, 50-43. A win would put the Lady Red in a district final at 3 p.m. Saturday against the Bryan-Lima Bath winner, who play Tuesday in Miller City. Bellevue, which is 24-0, has allowed only 43 total points in two early-round tournament blowouts. Top-seeded Margaretta will be a big favorite against sixth-seeded Lakota at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Fremont Ross High School. A win would send the Polar Bears into a D-VI district final at 3 p.m. Saturday in Fremont against the Wynford-Buckeye Central winner. Those two teams play at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Shelby. Margaretta, 22-1 and winner of 14 straight games, has won four straight district titles. A big area small-school matchup is on the schedule for 6 p.m. Wednesday in Gibsonburg. Surprising St. Mary Central Catholic, a No. 5 seed that already has won two Division VII tournament games, takes on third-seeded St. Paul with the winner advancing to Saturday's district final. St. Paul defeated SMCC 31-28 in Norwalk in late November. The Flyers (11-12) had lost six of seven before knocking out Old Fort 41-38 in its tournament opener. The Panthers, who rebounded after losing their last six regular-season games, are 11-13. GIRLS BASKETBALL DIVISION III Columbus Grove District (includes district seeds) Tuesday, Feb. 24 District semifinal at Columbus Grove No. 4 Elida vs. No. 5 Defiance, 6 p.m. District semifinal at Buckeye Central No. 1 Ashland vs. No. 2 Norwalk, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28 District championship at Columbus Grove Teams TBD, 3 p.m. DIVISION IV Fostoria District Tuesday, Feb. 24 District semifinal at Fostoria No. 1 Bellevue vs. No. 5 Vermilion, 6 p.m. District semifinal at Miller City No. 5 Bryan vs. No. 3 Lima Bath, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28 District championship at Fostoria Teams TBD, 3 p.m. DIVISION VI Fremont District Wednesday, Feb. 25 District semifinal at Fremont No. 1 Margaretta vs. No. 6 Lakota, 6 p.m. District semifinal at Shelby No. 2 Wynford vs. No. 5 Buckeye Central, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28 District championship at Fremont Teams TBD, 3 p.m. DIVISION VII Gibsonburg District Wednesday, Feb. 25 District semifinal at Gibsonburg No. 5 St. Mary CC vs. No. 3 St. Paul, 6 p.m. District semifinal at Willard No. 1 Seneca East vs. No. 5 Hopewell-Loudon, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28 District championship at Gibsonburg Teams TBD, 3 p.m. BOYS BASKETBALL DIVISION III Ontario District (includes district seeds) Wednesday, Feb. 25 No. 9 Toledo Woodward at No. 4 Sandusky, 6 p.m. No. 10 Toledo Bowsher at No. 2 Toledo Rogers, 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27 Sandusky-Woodward winner at No. 2 Oregon Clay, 7 p.m. No. 11 Norwalk at No. 3 Mansfield Sr., 7 p.m. Bowsher-Rogers winner at No. 1 Lima Shawnee, 7 p.m. No. 9 Bowling Green at No. 7 Holland Springfield, 7 p.m. Thursday, March 5 District semifinal at Ontario Woodward-Sandusky-Clay winner vs. Norwalk-Mansfield winner, 6 p.m. District semifinal at Liberty-Benton Rogers-Bowsher-Shawnee winner vs. Bowling Green-Springfield winner, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7 District championship at Ontario Teams TBD, 7 p.m. DIVISION IV Fremont District Thursday, Feb. 26 No. 6 Clyde at No. 2 Lake, 6 p.m. No. 5 Port Clinton at No. 3 Otsego, 6 p.m. No. 8 St. Marys Memorial at No. 2 Ottawa-Glandorf, 6 p.m. No. 6 Bryan at No. 3 Lima Bath, 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 3 District semifinal at Fremont Clyde-Lake winner vs. Otsego-PC winner, 6 p.m. District semifinal at Paulding St. Marys-OG winner vs. Bryan-Bath winner, 7 p.m. Saturday, March 7 District championship at Fremont Teams TBD, 7 p.m. Mansfield District Thursday, Feb. 26 No. 7 Kenton at No. 2 Shelby, 7 p.m. No. 8 Rossford at No. 1 Perkins, 6 p.m. No. 7 Vermilion at No. 4 Bellevue, 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 3 District semifinal at Mansfield Ontario vs. Kenton-Shelby winner, 6 p.m. District semifinal at Fremont Perkins-Rossford winner vs. Bellevue-Vermilion winner, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7 District championship at Mansfield Teams TBD, 2 p.m. DIVISION V Lakota District Wednesday, Feb. 25 No. 9 Edison at No. 7 Oak Harbor, 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27 Edison-Oak Harbor winner at No. 2 Margaretta, 7 p.m. No. 6 Huron at No. 4 Eastwood, 7 p.m. No. 5 Coldwater at No. 3 Archbold, 7 p.m. No. 6 Bluffton at No. 4 Ottawa Hills, 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 3 District semifinal at Lakota Edison-Oak Harbor-Margaretta winner vs. Eastwood-Huron winner, 6 p.m. District semifinal at Napoleon Archbold-Coldwater winner vs. Ottawa Hills-Bluffton winner, 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 6 District championship at Lakota Teams TBD, 7 p.m. DIVISION VII Oregon Clay District Thursday, Feb. 26 No. 5 St. Paul at No. 1 Monroeville, 6 p.m. No. 6 Danbury at No. 4 Cardinal Stritch, 6 p.m. No. 6 North Central at No. 2 Edon, 6 p.m. No. 7 Hilltop at No. 3 Pettisville, 6 p.m. Thursday, March 5 District semifinal at Oregon Clay Monroeville-St. Paul winner vs. Eden-North Central winner, 6 p.m. District semifinal at Bryan Edon-North Central winner vs. Hilltop-Pettisville winner, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7 District championship at Oregon Clay Teams TBD, 7 p.m. Galion District Thursday, Feb. 26 No. 8 Lucas at No. 1 Tiffin Calvert, 6 p.m. No. 6 Mansfield St. Peter's at No.2 Plymouth, 6 p.m. No. 8 Toledo Horizon Science at No. 2 St. Mary CC, 6 p.m. No. 7 Fremont SJCC at No. 3 Old Fort, 6 p.m. Thursday, March 5 District semifinal at Galion Lucas-Calvert winner vs. St. Peter's-Plymouth winner, 6 p.m. District semifinal at Oregon Clay Horizon Science-SMCC winner vs. SJCC-Old Fort winner, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7 District championship at Galion Teams TBD, 7 p.m.