Seedings announced for boys basketball tourney

Press Sports Editor
sports@presspublications.com

There are a number of area basketball teams that could make some noise in the postseason, however, in order to do that, some might have to face some familiar opponents along the way.
Oak Harbor, which is 10-8 and seeded sixth in the Division III Norwalk District, faces old Sandusky Bay Conference foe Edison, seeded 12th at 4-15, at home. If the Rockets win, they’ll face rival Genoa, which is No. 3 with a 14-5 record, on the road. Oak Harbor won both matchups with the Comets this season by a combined 10 points.
“Whenever you play in the tournament, it’s a whole different ballgame, you’ll get everyone’s best shot,” said Genoa coach Jon Sandwisch. “It’s going to be a battle.”
In the lower portion of the bracket, Lake is seeded No. 5. The Flyers (13-6) will host No. 8 Huron (7-12) in a sectional semifinal. The winner will travel to Bucyrus to face No. 4 Wynford (13-7).
Because the Rockets, Comets and Flyers are all in the bottom part of the bracket with three other teams, there’s a reasonable chance that one will advance to the district finals.
Last season, Genoa was seeded fourth in the same district but lost 58-53 to No. 2 Ashland Crestview, which is seeded first in the district this season.
The Comets are currently tied with Fostoria for first place in the Northern Buckeye Conference with a 9-3 mark.
“It’s always special to play games when there are implications on the line,” said Sandwich. “Heading into the year, you want to be playing meaningful games at the end of the season.”
Lake coach Luke Hickey knows a thing or two about great tournament runs. Twelve years ago, when he played for Whitmer and legendary coach Bruce Smith and was a teammate alongside Nigel Hayes, who would go on to a successful career at the University of Wisconsin, the Panthers advanced to the Div. I state finals, falling 45-40 to Pickerington Central.
“I think the tournament kind of exemplifies the game as a whole. The margin of error becomes a little bit smaller,” said Hickey. “The most dangerous thing is you have to play well all the time. There is no second chance if you lose. You have to execute at a high level. It’s a separate season, you can reset and anybody can beat anybody.”
It’s been quite the turnaround for Lake. The Flyers won two games last season and have improved their win total by 11 games thus far.
“I think we’ve had an excellent season. The kids have bought into our system –– we’re playing a really high level now. I think our kids are still hungry each and every single day with where they are,” said Hickey. “They look to keep pushing each other, and that’s contributed to our success quite a bit. They’re a fun group to coach, too.
“We still have a lot of goals in front of us. We’re in the middle of a league race, and we get to host a sectional game, and that will be really exciting as well for us,” he said.
In the upper portion of the bracket is No. 9 Cardinal Stritch (7-12), which will take on No. 7 Western Reserve (10-6) in a sectional semifinal. The winner plays No. 2 Margaretta (16-2), which is coached by Oak Harbor legend Steve Keller, Jr., or No. 13 Lakota, which is 2-17.
No. 10 Northwood (5-12) hosts No. 11 Bucyrus (5-14) and the winner plays Crestview, which is 19-1.
In the Napoleon District, No. 6 Eastwood (11-8) hosts No. 11 Defiance Tinora (7-10), and the winner plays the winner of (4) Liberty Center (12-7) and (12) Swanton (6-13).
In the Div. IV Liberty-Benton District, No. 7 Gibsonburg, which has won four consecutive games to get to 12-8, hosts No. 11 North Baltimore (8-11), and then, if it wins, takes on No. 2 Tiffin Calvert (16-4). Earlier in the season, the Senecas beat the Golden Bears, 59-52.
“If we take care of business, once you get into sectional finals, every team you’re going to play is good. Calvert is used to making deep tournament runs,” said Gibsonburg coach Tony Egbert. “They’ve got a lot of size and experience, they’ve played in a lot of these one-and-done type of situations. Add in the fact that sectional games are on the higher seeds’ home court. They’ve only lost at home three times in the last three to four years. It’s definitely not going to be an easy task.”
Egbert, who played on some good teams for the Bears when he was in high school, talked about the beauty of the tournament.
“All the tournament games at the high school level are awesome. It’s one game where anything can happen. Every year, there are stories about a team getting on a run that might not have been expected,” said Egbert. “I know it’s cliché, but you want to be playing your best basketball in February and March. I remember the Gibsonburg baseball story from 2005 when they won state the championship. It’s about getting hot at the right time. That’s what makes this time of the year so fun. You might be a kid who averages three or four points a game and scores 14 or 16 points in a game.”
On the other side of the bracket is No. 10 Woodmore (5-14), which faces No. 4 Mohawk (14-6) in a sectional semifinal, and the winner plays the winner of No. 6 Arlington (6-14) and No. 14 Vanlue (0-19).
In Div. I, Clay and cross-town rival Waite will face stiff challenges immediately.
The Eagles, who are 12-7 and have a chance to win the Northern Lakes League’s Cardinal Division, have improved their win total by 10 games. Seeded seventh in the Lake District, Clay will travel to No. 4 Perrysburg, which is 14-5.
The Indians, meanwhile, are seeded 20th in the Central Catholic District and travel to No. 1 Findlay (17-2) to face the Trojans, one of Ohio’s best teams.