Bellaire started this week in a far better position than it did last.
Last week, the Big Reds were in the midst of a six-game losing streak, a streak that at one point had head coach J.R. Battista’s club on the outside looking in at the OVAC Class 3A playoff picture.
Today, the boys from the All-American town are fourth in the 3A rankings with a game left to play—Tuesday night’s road meeting with Beaver Local. The Beavers are 8-9 and are coming off a 59-37 loss to Union Local.
The Jets effectively swapped places with Bellaire in the 3A standings after BHS grounded the Jets 74-69 in OT on Thursday to snap that losing streak.
A win against Creek Saturday followed and Bellaire finds itself back in play for the OVAC tourney.
“We’re kind of in a dogfight right now,” Battista said prior to Thursday’s game against UL. “The most important thing is to win a few games.
“Basketball is a funny game. Sometimes, the little round ball goes in and you’re a genius. Sometimes, it rims out and you’re not that smart.”
“But their effort has been good the whole time. They’ve just been worn down.”
Bellaire’s playing at a torrid pace, running three games per week since the calendar kicked over to January. Given the team’s consistent rotation is all of six players deep, the Reds’ regulars are running a little ragged.
But those two wins vs. UL and Creek, coupled with another against Beaver on Tuesday, and Bellaire is in the OVAC tourney at 13-8. Depending on how things play out elsewhere, they could climb as high as third. But, if they lose, Bellaire likely will find itself back in fifth.
It’s just one of many interesting races leading up to Tuesday night’s cutoff for OVAC tournament qualifying. Some spots are secure, others will be hotly contested right up until late Tuesday.
As LedeNews did last week with the girls’ OVAC tourney lead-up, we’ll take a look at all the scenarios to see who gets in, and who doesn’t.
Class 3A
The top two seeds in Class 3A are secure and aren’t moving.
Martins Ferry saw its 14-game win streak to open the season snapped Saturday in an 89-79 loss to Harrison Central in the Buckeye 8 championship game.
The Riders return to action Tuesday at Shadyside (10-7), a team they previously beat 90-66. Win or lose, head coach Derek Edwards’ club has the top seed secured.
“Tournament time is a whole different season,” Edwards said. “Every game is challenging in its own way. You don’t look at records, you look at personnel. How do we match up?
“We have to give ourselves the best chance to win.”
Caldwell and all-Ohio performer Bede Lori are the No. 2 seed and will also remain as such, regardless of the outcome of Tuesday’s return bout against rival Shenandoah. The Redskins won the earlier meeting, 72-65.
Here’s where things get interesting.
Linsly, the defending Class 3A champs, is currently third and hosts Big Red on Monday. A win and the Cadets are assured third. A loss, coupled with a Bellaire win, and the Big Reds will jump the Cadets for third.
The present top three are in regardless. If UL hopes to make it, the Jets must defeat a three-win Barnesville team AND hope that Beaver can knock off Bellaire.
Buckeye Trail is currently sixth at 10-6, but much like its girls’ team, the Warriors aren’t garnering as many bonus points given the number of IVC games they must play as members of that conference.
Class 5A
The “big school” class is the only one where the participants, and their respective seeds, are already decided.
Morgantown, Dover, Parkersburg South, and Wheeling Park are currently ranked first through fourth, respectively. Only Wheeling Park has a game prior to the cutoff, a meeting with the Brooke Bruins.
Even with a win, Park’s average won’t be enough to overtake South for the third spot.
The matchups could provide a rematch of the 2022 OVAC 5A finale, where Dover dispatched Morgantown, 70-54.
The No. 1 Mohigans already own wins against South (71-59) and Park (79-43), while the Crimson Tornadoes beat both sets of Patriots, 59-50 vs. South, and 61-38 vs. WP. Dover’s only loss is to New Philadelphia, 45-30.
Class 4A
The 4A class is also already decided, at least in terms of participants. Positioning, however, is still up for grabs.
The top spot isn’t. East Liverpool, even with a loss to current No. 3 seed Harrison Central, will still retain enough of a lead in points average to keep the No. 1 seed.
The Huskies, however, could vault past No. 2 Weir by beating the Potters, coupled with a Red Riders loss to No. 4 seed Indian Creek.
Yes, it’s a bit of a tourney preview, before the tourney.
Here’s where things get jumbled. If Weir beats Creek, then it doesn’t matter what Harrison does and the seeding remains the same. However, if Weir falls, then Creek will jump to third if Weir wins, and second if Weir loses.
St. Clairsville, which faces John Marshall on Tuesday, will still come up short, even with a win against the Monarchs.
Class 2A
Much like the girls’ tournament, the River Pilots have secured the top seed, no matter the outcome of a potential 2A finale preview when they play host to Monroe Central.
The Seminoles are currently the No. 2 seed and, even with a win against River, can’t overtake the Pilots.
They can, however, fall from second with a loss, depending on what happens with the log jam that is the third through fifth spots in the standings.
Southern Local is third at 10-5 and faces a 12-4 Lisbon team on Tuesday. A win and Southern will have a 35.5 average. A loss and the Indians’ total drops to 33. What that means is if Southern wins and Monroe does not, the Indians jump the ’Noles for second.
That is UNLESS No. 4 seed Shadyside can upset Martins Ferry on Tuesday. Should the Tigers pull off that victory at home, then Shadyside’s average bumps to 36.33 and the Tigers take the No. 2 spot, leaving Southern at three and Monroe at four.
Further muddying the waters is No. 5 Toronto. The Red Knights (10-7) travel to one-win Oak Glen on Tuesday. A Red Knights win gives them a 33.11 average. A loss for either Southern or Shadyside will give Toronto a spot in the final four. A loss by both and Toronto moves into third position, Southern falls to fourth and Shadyside is on the outside looking in.
No. 6 Wellsville, even with a win against East Palestine, will just miss the cut, as will defending champion Wheeling Central, who has compiled a record of 8-7 against a difficult schedule.
Class A
Defending champion Cameron is currently the No. 1 seed and will remain as such regardless of the outcome of the Dragons’ road date with Madonna on Tuesday.
The Blue Dons are presently the No. 2 seed and previously beat Cameron 68-32 in Weirton on January 2.
Win, and the Dons are second. Lose, and Madonna could actually fall all the way to No. 5. That’s because the averages are tight between Madonna (24.38) and No. 5 Trinity (22).
Conotton Valley is No. 3 and plays Tuscarawas Catholic Central. A win gives the Rockets an average of 23.53; a loss 21.76.
Valley is No. 4 and hosts Hundred, a team it beat already 77-50. If the Lumberjacks win, their total is 23.75. A loss is 21.38.
Going back to Madonna, beating the Dragons again boosts its average to 25.75. But, a loss however, brings that down to 22.94, allowing both Conotton and Valley to leapfrog past the Blue Dons, if they win their respective games.
