District tourneys for area teams begin Tuesday

Almost half the area boys basketball teams claimed sectional championships Friday as eight area programs will look to move into the field of 32 with district semifinal wins Tuesday and Wednesday.

Below is a look at the seven upcoming district matchups at four different sites:

St. Paul (13-9) vs. Toledo Christian (12-9)

A first-time matchup awaits the Flyers, who enter today’s game as one of the hottest team’s in the area. After going 3-8 in an 11-game stretch to fall to 6-9, St. Paul has responded with seven straight victories to win it’s fourth straight sectional title, and the 11th in coach Mike Smith’s 21 seasons as coach.

St. Paul is new to the Gibsonburg district after spending many years playing at the Galion and Willard sites. The Flyers outscored Old Fort and Fremont St. Joseph at the Port Clinton sectional by an average of 25.5 points.

Toledo Christian lost five of it’s last eight regular season games heading into the tournament. With a first-round bye, the Eagles beat Bettsville 46-44 to face the Flyers. The Eagles are led by Jeremy Weemes, who averages 15.9 points per game.

Monroeville (11-11) vs. Ottawa Hills (20-1)

Speaking of new territory, Monroeville will do something it hasn’t done in 26 years when Eagle players step on the floor today: Appear in a district game.

Since winning the state championship in the 1983-84 season, Monroeville had a 2-25 record in the tournament before winning a pair of games over St. Mary CC and Danbury in a 48-hour stretch.

Also new to the Gibsonburg site, Monroeville’s reward is the Toledo Area Athletic Conference champion in Ottawa Hills, which has suffered just one loss this season against 20 wins.

Since suffering a double-overtime loss on Jan. 16, the Green Bears have reeled off 11 straight wins entering today’s game. Ottawa Hills is led by Eliot Browarsky, who averages 19.3 points per game.

New London (14-6) vs. Bucyrus Wynford (14-7)

The Wildcats were down two key players in a 41-28 win over Crestline Friday, but it was enough for the ‘Cats to win their first sectional title in three seasons.

The biggest surprise of the Firelands Conference, New London has gone 11-4 over it’s last 15 games after a 3-2 start and are led by Drew Tappel, who quietly averages an impressive 14.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game.

Wynford entered the season a heavy favorite to win the North Central Conference, but got off to a 1-3 start before righting the ship by winning seven of it’s last eight heading into today’s game.

The Royals are led by a pair of Division I football recruits in Tyler Brause and Tevon Eatman, who are both headed to Kentucky next fall.

Port Clinton (21-0) vs. Mansfield Madison (13-8)

It took everything the Redskins had to slip past Perkins in Friday’s 53-45 sectional title win at Sandusky High School.

Up next for the unbeaten No. 4 team in the Division II AP poll is yet another attempt to get off the district goose egg. The Redskins have suffered losses this past decade to Upper Sandusky (2003, 2005) and Willard (2001, 2004, 2006) in district semifinal games.

The Rams enter the game having gone 5-6 in it’s last 11 games, but reversed a 12-point regular season loss to Shelby with a 65-58 win Friday to set up Wednesday’s matchup. Madison is led by junior guard Delvonta Cheathem, who scored a game-high 22 points in the win over Shelby.

Bellevue (15-6) vs. Willard (10-11)

The lone double-area matchup of the district tournament is also one filled with a rich tournament history.

Aside from the fact that Bellevue won both regular season matchups with close wins by scores of 54-53 and 64-56, the Redmen and Flashes will meet for the ninth time at the districts since the 1979-80 season.

Willard holds a 5-3 advantage in the previous eight meetings, with the most recent being a 63-61 Bellevue win in the 2001-02 district championship game.

Over the last 35 years at the district, Willard is 36-7 overall while Bellevue is 19-11. The two programs have combined to win 22 of the 35 championship games in that stretch.

Plymouth (21-0) vs. Huron (14-8)

The Tigers face the biggest challenge of all area teams this week as they face the unbeaten Big Red, who finished ranked No. 4 in the Division III AP poll.

Plymouth is paced by Robert Morris recruit Brook Turson, the only 4-time Firelands Conference Player of the Year. Turson averages 25.2 points, 10.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game. The Big Red are coming off a minor scare, however, as they trailed Crestview 37-34 with 3:31 left in the game before pulling out a 45-39 win.

Huron advanced to the districts for the first time since the 2002-03 season when it reached the district title game.

The Tigers beat Woodmore and Lakota to set up Wednesday's game.

Western Reserve (14-7) vs. Ontario (15-6)

Another tough area draw comes in the Wednesday nightcap at Mansfield as the Roughriders take on the NCC champion Ontario Warriors.

In a matchup with two tradition-laden program’s this decade, the Warriors lost just one conference game and currently have won seven straight games while Western comes in with a 7-3 stretch in it’s last 10 games. 

Western does not have anyone on the roster averaging more than 12 points per game, but the Roughriders are making district appearance No. 6 in the past seven seasons.

In that stretch, the ‘Riders are 2-1 against NCC schools at the district level.