A couple bits of basketball news and notes as we all try to power through this latest winter blast:

—There wasn’t a more fitting way for Owen Chambers to break Coudersport’s all-time scoring record than how he did it Monday.

In case you missed it, the Falcons’ senior shooting guard dropped 40 points in his team’s 81-76 victory over Johnsonburg Monday to become Coudersport’s all-time scoring leader with 1,907 points.

Sure, it was only a matter of when and not if with Chambers — Coudy still has seven regular season games and at least one postseason contest remaining — but doing it against a team as strong defensively as Johnsonburg and helping his team win a tight game is certainly appropriate for the type of career he’s had.

But Chambers still has plenty of time left to do damage to the rest of the District and on the record books before this basketball season is over…

According to D9sports.com, Chambers ranks fifth all-time in D-9 scoring and is only 86 points shy of becoming the fifth player in District history to reach the 2,000 point plateau.

The D-9 scoring record of 2,255 points set by Johnsonburg’s Calvin Grumley is also still very much in reach for Chambers as Coudersport is poised for another long postseason run.

— You can tell we’re in ‘must-win’ territory for a lot of local hoops teams by the thrilling finishes across the North Tier League over the past week. On Friday, Port Allegany hit a buzzer-beater to complete a 20-point second half comeback over Northern Potter. On Monday night, both the Cameron County/Bradford boys and Kane/Otto-Eldred boys games weren’t decided until the last minute, with the home team taking home the victory in both of those contests. Expect plenty more of those wild finishes over the next couple of weeks, especially now that nearly all area teams will be playing three-game weeks down the stretch to make up for the plethora of weather-related postponements.

— One of those exciting finishes I didn’t mention was Cameron County’s 53-48 overtime victory over the Otto-Eldred girls Tuesday. The result was big for both teams, as they entered the game just behind Coudersport for first place in the NTL. With only a handful of league games left for all three schools, the Feb. 6 matchup between Coudersport (13-1 league) and Cameron County (12-2) in Emporium will essentially decide first place.

And how about those Lady Falcons? After an 0-3 start, Coudersport has rattled off 14 straight victories and have been the best Class A school in the District since their third loss on Dec. 11.

— With most schools having a ‘.500 and in’ standard for qualifying for the District playoffs, these next couple of weeks are especially vital for teams on the bubble. On the boys side, Austin (8-8), Smethport (8-7) and Otto-Eldred (7-8) are all hovering around the .500 mark with all three having at least six league games left. Interestingly, the Hubbers are 7-2 in league games, but just 1-5 outside the NTL. Smethport did schedule a tough non-league slate that included games against Ridgway, Johnsonburg and Allegany-Limestone (N.Y.).

— There is just one team (Northern Potter) hanging in bubble territory on the girls side, as the ladies bracket has mostly been feast or famine this year. The top four teams in the NTL have gone a combined 44-10 against league foes, while the bottom three (Galeton, Smethport and Austin) have struggled to a 5-35 league mark. Northern Potter (8-10) certainly hasn’t helped its cause in recent weeks, dropping three straight and five of six.

— A look at some of the marquee matchups featuring NTL teams over the final three weeks of the season: Cameron Co. at Coudersport boys, Feb. 8 (the Red Raiders are just one game behind the Falcons in the standings, but Coudy hasn’t lost a league game in over three seasons); Smethport at Otto-Eldred boys, Feb. 11 (a critical game during the last week of the regular season that will have big playoff implications for both schools); Austin at Galeton boys, Feb. 12 (could Austin, with an enrollment of just 50 kids, post their second straight winning season and land back in the district playoffs?)

On the girls side, the aforementioned CC/Coudy game leads this list, but here are a couple other notables: Otto-Eldred at Port Allegany, Feb. 6 (the two teams have a combined 25-10 mark and this contest will be vital to playoff seeding); Johnsonburg at Cameron County, Feb. 4 (could be a big win for momentum heading into the playoffs for CC against a talented Ramettes team).