The first two rounds of the District 3 basketball playoffs are in the books … and the semifinal/playback rounds might get pushed back a day or so if we get the snow/ice storm we’re all hearing about. Stay tuned.
Just scouring Saturday’s girls’ results (sorry to report I didn’t cover any games on Saturday …it was my day off, and I was too busy getting beat at poker, but that’s another story for another time).
Had a pretty good day in the prediction department, I’m happy to report, going 3-1 in Triple-A and 3-1 in Single-A.
Here’s a recap …
In Triple-A, I had No. 8 Lampeter-Strasburg over No. 1 Muhlenberg (51-39, check); I had No. 2 Boiling Springs (digging the Bubblers) over Northeastern (which was bounced in the first round by Gettysburg, which fell to said Bubblers 49-43 on Saturday); and I had No. 3 Lancaster Catholic over No. 11 Shippensburg (58-45, check; and welcome back to the lineup senior point guard Amy Pickard, who scored 11 points in her return after missing the last two games because of a school-imposed suspension).
My lone loss: I had No. 13 Lebanon over No. 4 Eastern York, but Eastern clipped the Cedars 45-42 in overtime.
Lebanon was my pick to win the upper bracket, but that’s not going to happen. In that bracket, L-S will meet Eastern York on Wednesday at 4 p.m. in the Giant Center (what the heck kind of starting time is that for a weekday game? I know they’re trying to get as many teams as possible to get a shot to play in the Giant Center, and that’s admirable; but what students, and especially what parents, are going to be able to make it to Hershey for a 4 p.m. tip?).
L-S was my sleeper pick, and the Pioneers are definitely proving me right.
I have Lancaster Catholic over Boiling Springs (sorry Bubblers’ faithful) in the bottom bracket, and Catholic and Boiling Springs will square off Wednesday at 5:30 in the Giant Center (another odd starting time).
And in Single-A …
I had No. 1 Reading Central Catholic over No. 9 Berks Christian (which lost in the first round to York Christian, which RCC crunched 50-13 on Saturday); I had No. 5 Lebanon Catholic over No. 4 Halifax (55-40, check); and I had No. 2 Lancaster Country Day over No. 10 Living Word Academy (46-35, check).
My lone loss: I had No. 3 Lititz Christian over No. 6 Scotland, but Scotland knocked off Lititz Christian 38-28 and advanced to Tuesday’s semifinals opposite Lancaster Country Day.
The upper-bracket semifinal is a beauty: Two-time defending champion Reading Central Catholic against 13-time Single-A champ Lebanon Catholic. What a great game that should be …
ONE LAST SINGLE-A NOTE
Two of the most underrated players from Lancaster County saw their scholastic careers end on Saturday.
Living Word Academy senior forward Megan Smoker, a Lebanon Valley College recruit, was held to 7 points in the Lions’ 46-35 quarterfinal loss to Lancaster Country Day.
Smoker (that’s her on the left) finished her career with 1,777 points.
And Lititz Christian senior forward Angie Rapchinski, a Messiah College recruit, was held to 8 points in the Eagles’ 38-28 quarterfinal loss to Scotland.
Rapchinski (that’s her on the right) finished her career with 1,918 points.
OTHER BRACKET MUSINGS …
Cinderella Stories: Two biggest long shots still alive in the District 3 playoffs? Easy: Carlisle’s boys and Central Dauphin East’s girls.
Carlisle, the No. 12 seed, had to beat No. 21 Twin Valley in a pigtail game just to get into the bracket, where the Thundering Herd upset No. 5 Dallastown (76-67) in the first round. In the quarterfinals on Saturday, Carlisle did it again, upsetting No. 4 Reading (54-49) to advance to the semifinals against No. 1 Harrisburg. That game is set for Tuesday at 8 in the Giant Center.
Central Dauphin East, the No. 17 seed, had to beat No. 16 South Western in a pigtail game just to get into the bracket, where the Panthers upset Red Lion (46-41), the No. 1 seed. To my knowledge, that’s the first time a No. 1 girls’ seed fell in the first round since No. 1 McCaskey lost to No. 16 Manheim Central in a Quad-A first-round game in 1996. After eliminating Red Lion, CD East knocked off No. 8 Central York (45-38) to advance to the semifinals on Monday (weather permitting) against No. 4 Wilson.
More predictions: Must admit that I don’t know a whole heck of a lot about the boys’ brackets, but just for grins, I’ll go ahead and make my predictions here for all of you to laugh at …
QUAD-A – Harrisburg over Carlisle (Herd’s run comes to a halt); Cumberland Valley over Penn Manor (sorry, Comet Nation); Harrisburg over Cumberland Valley. I hear this Cougars’ outfit is pretty good (he said with a touch of sarcasm).
<Wow, what happened to McCaskey on Saturday, by the way? I heard the Red Tornado was up by 21 in the third quarter but lost. That’ll hurt.>
TRIPLE-A – West York over James Buchanan (West York is coached by Manheim Township grad Bill Ackerman, if you didn’t know); Susquehanna Township over Muhlenberg (which upset No. 2 York Suburban on Saturday); West York over Susquehanna Township. Last I checked, West York was ranked No. 1 in the state.
DOUBLE-A – York Catholic over Trinity (is it me, or do these teams meet every year in the district semifinals or finals?); Milton Hershey over Tulpehocken; York Catholic over Milton Hershey. I also have York Catholic’s girls winning the Double-A crown, so this would be an Irish sweep.
SINGLE-A – Greenwood over Scotland (by a whisker); Reading Central Catholic over Camp Hill; Greenwood over Reading Central Catholic.
But what do I know?
McCASKEY-CEDAR CREST V … Can’t believe McCaskey and Cedar Crest are hooking up for the fifth time this season, this time in a consolation-round game on Monday (weather permitting) for the right to go to States.
“I can’t even believe we have to play them again,” McCaskey senior guard Sasha Williams told me Friday after McCaskey’s gut-wrenching loss to Central Dauphin.
Believe it, Sasha. And this time, the loser goes home and turns in their uniforms.
McCaskey coach Brian McCloud was also miffed over the fact that his team will meet Cedar Crest for the fifth time. He wondered out loud if that’s even right.
To recap: Cedar Crest is 4-0 against McCaskey this season. The Falcons won 69-40 at McCaskey on Jan. 23; 53-47 in South Lebanon on Feb. 8; 44-43 in a one-game playoff for the Section 1 title at Penn Manor on Feb. 9; and 50-44 in the L-L League championship game on Jan. 16 in the Giant Center.
Couldn’t tell you the last time a pair of L-L League teams met five times in one season.
Don’t think I’ve mentioned this anywhere yet (in print or here), but McCaskey and Cedar Crest met four times in 2004 – twice during the regular season, again in the L-L League championship game (won by Cedar Crest), and for the final time in the District 3 Quad-A playoffs (again won by Cedar Crest).
If anybody out there knows if two local teams ever met five times in one season, do drop me a line. Thanks.
NEWS AND NOTES: Lancaster Catholic is still in line to win its third Triple-A title in a row. The Crusaders won three Triple-A crowns in a row from 1992-94, and McCaskey won three Triple-A championships in a row from 1981-83. … The longest Double-A streak of consecutive titles is four, held by two teams: Susquehanna Township (1987-81) and Trinity (1987-90). Delone Catholic won three Double-A titles in a row between 2002-04. … Lebanon Catholic owns the record for the longest title streak in Single-A. The Beavers won six championships in a row between 1999-2004, and also won five straight from 1992-95. Camp Hill won four Single-A titles in a row from 1984-87. … As for this year’s brackets, we will have a new champ in Quad-A (McCaskey is out); Lancaster Catholic is still in line to repeat in Triple-A; defending champ York Catholic is alive and very well in Double-A; and in Single-A, two-time defending champ Reading Central Catholic is still in line to three-peat. … Only bracket with the top four seeds still standing: Double-A – No. 1 Trinity, No. 2 York Catholic, No. 3 Schuylkill Valley and No. 4 Bishop McDevitt all got through to the semifinals unscathed. And all four won their first two games handily: Trinity by a combined 78 points, York Catholic by a combined 59 points, Schuylkill Valley by a combined 54 points, and Bishop McDevitt by a combined 36 points.
Still working on team-by-team season-ending capsules. Section 2 is about done, and I’ll start posting those as I finish them. We still have some L-L League teams dancing, and I plan on waiting until everyone is finished before I post the capsules. Since everyone in Section 2 is out, those caps will be first.
Thanks again for reading. Watch out for the snow. And enjoy the games.
JEFFREY REINHART
