CLEVELAND, Ohio — The boys basketball postseason begins this week with sectional games, followed by district semifinals and finals. This preview breaks down each area district tournament.
Links to brackets for each district are included.
CANTON DISTRICT
Teams, ordered by seed: 1. Buchtel, 2. Louisville, 3. Canal Fulton Northwest, 4. Alliance, 5. Akron East, 6. Norton, 7. Tallmadge, 8. Marlington, 9. Akron Manchester, 10. Coventry, 11. Canton South, 12. Akron Springfield, 13. Mogadore Field
Favorites
- Buchtel: The Griffins have expectations of reaching Columbus with a powerful combination in freshman guard Chris Livingston and senior forward Jonathan King. Sophomore Noah Peeples, who transferred last year from St. Vincent-St. Mary, has been Buchtel's "glue guy," as coach Matt Futch called him late in the season with his rebounding and defense. Buchtel has the depth to not only advance out of the Canton Fieldhouse but the Canton Civic Center in regionals.
- Louisville: Don't discount the second-seeded Leopards, who have their share of impressive performances. They pushed St. Ignatius before a five-point loss and hung with SPIRE until a 10-point loss. Louisville can fill it up from deep, and Cam King is a big reason why.
Bracket buster
- Tallmadge: The Blue Devils could be in line to face Louisville in the sectional finals and played them at Mount Union around the holidays in December. Louisville won, 67-59.
Best sectional matchup
- Manchester at Marlington, Feb. 26: The eight vs. nine matchup should be the most evenly matched game in the first round, and longtime Manchester coach Gene Schindewolf takes his Panthers on the road for this one. Marlington is led by Andrew Pucci, who recently broke that school's record for 3-pointers in a game with 10 against Coventry.
District championship pick
Buchtel over Louisville
Winner advances to the Canton Regional vs. the Youngstown District champion.
LAKESIDE DISTRICT
Teams, ordered by seed: 1. Villa Angela-St. Joseph, 2. Lake Catholic, 3. Harvey, 4. Perry, 5. Glenville, 6. Geneva, 7. Chardon, 8. West Geauga, 9. St. Martin dePorres, 10. Shaw, 11. Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin, 12. Conneaut, 13. Jefferson Area
Favorites
- VASJ: Can the Vikings make it six state title game appearances in seven years? VASJ moved up last year to Division II and won this district behind longtime starting guard Jerry Higgins, now at The Citadel. The backcourt is still strong with senior Jordan Calhoun and sophomores Jaden Hameed and Jonah Wagg, but a fierce front line could be the difference here with seniors Khalil Mitcham, Latrace Jackson and Jason Priah.
- Lake Catholic: Before VASJ's move to this district, Lake Catholic won it with Luke Frazier and Luka Eller starting as freshmen. They are now juniors, and the Cougars remain equal favorites to take this district.
Bracket buster
- Glenville: With sophomore Byron Ottrix Jr. and senior Kelvon Gibson in the backcourt along with physical senior Terry Taylor up front, Glenville could make a deep run. The fifth-seeded Tarblooders open at home vs. Conneaut before the winner takes on Chagrin Valley Conference champ Perry or Jefferson Area.
Best sectional matchup
- Shaw at Chardon, Feb. 26: Seventh-seeded Chardon, led by Ben and Nathanael Sulka, will play host to a Shaw team seasoned by the Division I-heavy Lake Erie League. The winner heads to second-seeded Lake Catholic.
All-tournament team
Five players to watch in this tournament.
- Luke Frazier, Lake Catholic: A junior point guard, Frazier has steered the Cougars to wins against Gilmour, St. Ignatius and Solon. The 6-3 Frazier can play above the rim in transition, offensively and defensively, and is creative with the ball to set up scoring chances for himself or teammates. He is averaging 19.6 points with 3.4 assists.
- Bryon Ottrix Jr., Glenville: The 5-foot-10 southpaw and Senate League Player of the Year is averaging 22.1 points.
- Jaden Hameed, VASJ: Hameed has emerged as one of the area's top sophomores and is averaging a team-high 15.2 points.
- Roderick Coffee III, Harvey: Top sophomores? Coffee is one of the top freshmen, running the point for the Red Raiders. The 6-2 Coffee is averaging a team-high 14.8 points with 4.2 assists and 3.6 steals.
- Luka Eller, Lake Catholic: A 6-7 junior, Eller is Lake Catholic's leading scorer and rebounder at 24.1 points and 10.6 rebounds. Some of his best performances came in the Cougars' biggest games, including a 36-point night vs. Holy Name. He also is a force inside as a shot blocker and has quick hands to force a turnover with 2.6 steals.
District championship pick
VASJ over Lake Catholic
Winner advances to the Canton Regional vs. the Stow District champion.
NORTH RIDGEVILLE DISTRICT
Teams, ordered by seed: 1. Cleveland Central Catholic, 2. Holy Name, 3. Bay, 4. Fairview, 5. Buckeye, 6. Rocky River, 7. Clearview, 8. Cloverleaf, 9. Keystone, 10. Padua, 11. Firelands, 12. Brookside, 13. Lutheran West
Favorite
- Cleveland Central Catholic: The Ironmen don't have the impressive win-loss record of some other top teams in this tournament, but coaches respected their tough schedule enough to vote them No. 1. The North Coast League helped, as CCC is the only east-side school in this west-side tournament, moving back to Division II after a year in D-I because of OHSAA competitive balance.
Bracket busters
- Clearview: Sixteen wins for a seventh seed? That is what happened to Clearview, which finished second behind Fairview in the Patriot Athletic Conference Stripes Division. The Clippers bring a tenacious defense, led by senior guard Javon Todd and have one of the area's most respected coaches in John Szalay. That is a recipe to turn this tournament upside down.
- Buckeye: Tom Harrington's Bucks won the last PAC Stars Division title and own an overtime win at Fairview. Those teams could meet in the sectional finals.
Best sectional matchup
- Keystone at Cloverleaf, Feb. 26: The Colts have enjoyed a rise in the Portage Trail Conference, earning the eight seed. Keystone started the year strong with a win vs. PAC rival Buckeye. The winner travels to top-seeded Central Catholic.
All-tournament team
- Luke Howes, Fairview: A 6-2 junior point guard, Howes led Fairview to a school-record-tying 20 wins. The old record? Twenty wins last year with him as a sophomore running the point. This time, Fairview brings some hardware — its first in 57 years — as Patriot Athletic Conference Stripes Division champs in the postseason. One more win sets a new school record. Howes is averaging 22.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 3.6 steals.
- Erik Painter, Bay: The 6-1 senior point guard is Bay's all-time leading scorer and a four-year starter. He also is the school's all-time leader in 3-pointers. This season, Painter led Bay to Great Lakes Conference contention, finishing second to Division III Elyria Catholic in the standings, while averaging 20.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals.
- Quentin Richardson, Holy Name: Four-year starter Dwayne Cohill is now at the University of Dayton, but that would be difficult to tell with the level of play at Holy Name. Enter Richardson, a 6-0 junior guard averaging 20.8 points with 4.9 assists and 2.5 steals. His play helped the Green Wave earn the No. 2 seed with two wins against GLC rival and third-seeded Bay.
- Arthur Fayne, Cleveland Central Catholic: The Ironmen graduated one of the area's toughest backcourts, led by twins Delshawn and Dyshawn Jackson. Fayne helped pick up the slack offensively as a dependable outside shooter averaging 13.1 points.
- Taryl Davis, Cleveland Central Catholic: A 6-6 senior forward, Davis provides the muscle inside with Trevon Wells for CCC. Davis is averaging 12.3 points with 7.0 rebounds.
District championship pick
Cleveland Central Catholic over Holy Name
Winner advances to the Bowling Green Regional vs. the Ada District champion.
STOW DISTRICT
Teams, ordered by seed: 1. Revere, 2. Gilmour, 3. Benedictine, 4. Woodridge, 5. Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, 6. Chagrin Falls, 7. Aurora, 8. Streetsboro, 9. Orange, 10. Cleveland JFK, 11. Ravenna, 12. Hawken, 13. Ravenna Southeast
Favorites
- Revere: The Minutemen won their first district championship in program history a year ago at Stow. Much of that team is back, with one big exception in Pete Nance, who is now at Northwestern. Coach Dean Rahas joked that he still receives questions about how Nance is doing at Revere. Perhaps it is the Suburban League American Division crown or signature wins against Copley, Warrensville Heights and Shaker Heights. District coaches were not fooled and voted Revere as the top seed. With senior point guard Samson Albert leading the way, Revere runs a Princeton-style offense as well as any team in the area with returning starters Chris Richardson, Hunter Drenth and emerging sophomore Jimmy Salamone.
- Gilmour: First-year coach Dan DeCrane has a tremendous backcourt with senior C.J. Charleston and junior Conor O'Toole. All signs point to a potential district semifinal with Benedictine, which could go a long way in determining who comes out of this tournament.
Bracket buster
- Chagrin Falls: The Tigers enter the tournament at .500, and they have some close calls against strong teams. Take Beachwood, which squeaked by with five- and two-point wins against coach Dave Bargar's bunch. As the sixth seed, Chagrin Falls opens at home vs. Ravenna. The winner earns a trip to preseason favorite Benedictine, which struggled in the second half of the season.
Best sectional matchup
- Orange at Streetsboro, Feb. 26: Ashen Ward is in his second season leading the Lions, who are the ninth seed headed to Streetsboro. Orange has struggled for much of the season, but it upset Harvey and nearly beat Perry — two Chagrin Valley Conference frontrunners — after the seeding process.
All-tournament team
- C.J. Charleston, Gilmour: A 5-11 senior point guard, headed to Youngstown State for football, Charleston has thrived in leading the Lancers on the court, too. He led Gilmour to 17 wins and the No. 2 seed while averaging 24.7 points, including a 42-point explosion in the regular-season finale vs. Benedictine.
- Davin Zeigler, Benedictine: A 6-2 senior point guard and Bowling Green recruit, Zeigler is on par with Charleston among the top scorers in this district. He averaged 20.7 points with 6.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists.
- Chris Richardson, Revere: The hero of last year's district final, Richardson's long-distance shooting propelled the Minutemen past Warrensville Heights with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
- Andy Barba, Benedictine: Along with Zeigler, Benedictine has the most athletic one-two punch in this district. A 6-6 junior wing, Barba missed the last few games because of a concussion. When in the lineup, he averaged 12.0 points with 6.0 rebounds. He can attack the rim, play above it and step back as a dangerous shooting threat.
- Hunter Drenth, Revere: Think all of Revere's size graduated with Pete Nance? Think again. The 6-8 Drenth is always a double-double threat for the Minutemen.
District championship pick
Benedictine over Revere
Winner advances to the Canton Regional vs. the Lakeside District champion.
STATE FINAL FOUR PICK
Benedictine, Columbus South, Thornville Sheridan, Trotwood-Madison
STATE CHAMPIONSHIP PICK
Trotwood-Madison over Columbus South
Contact sports reporter Matt Goul on Twitter (@mgoul) or email ([email protected]). Or log in and leave a message below in the comments section.
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