The District 9 playoffs begin in earnest tonight, with seven games scattered across four counties involving 13 high schools.
Four of those games feature North Tier League schools, as the NTL is once again well-represented in the playoffs with 10 teams qualifying in their respective classes.
The Coudersport boys are certainly the favorite to repeat as D-9 champs for the third consecutive year in Class AA, but will again need to go through Ridgway — which handed the Falcons their only loss of the year.
The Coudy girls, meanwhile, bumped down to Class A, where they should give top-seeded Johnsonburg a good fight in a heavily-populated NTL Class.
This year’s postseason will also feature two head-to-head NTL matchups on the girls side: Coudy vs. NoPo and Otto-Eldred and Cameron County.
On the boys side, the NTL will need to pull off several upsets to advance, with Austin facing top-seeded Elk Catholic and Otto-Eldred playing the 20-3 Clarion-Limestone Lions.
The Smethport boys and Port Allegany girls round out NTL competition, with both schools playing Keystone in Class AA matchups tonight at Kane High School.
Below are capsule looks at each matchup:
BOYS
Class A
#4 Cameron County (16-6) vs. #5 Johnsonburg (15-8)
Game details: Thursday, 6 p.m., at St. Marys HS
Winner gets: Austin or Elk CC
Despite a combined 31-14 mark in 2018-19, these two teams don’t exactly step into the District playoffs with a great deal of momentum. The Red Raiders (16-6) went just 5-4 over their last nine games, and J’burg (15-8) is losers of two straight and five of their last 10. Nevertheless, both teams have many holdovers from last year’s teams that advanced to the first round of the PIAA playoffs. Senior center Jake Walters has averaged a double-double in points and rebounds this year after missing all of last season with an injury. Junior Dino Brown has provided the perimeter shooting for CC, sinking 39 3-pointers on the year. Austin Green averages 19 points per game for J’burg.
#6 Otto-Eldred (11-9) vs. #3 Clarion-Limestone (20-3)
Game details: Thursday, 7 p.m., at Elk Catholic HS
Winner gets: DuBois CC or North Clarion
The Terrors earned a spot in the District 9 postseason with an impressive run that saw them win five of six to close the year. Their reward? A white-hot Clarion-Limestone team. The Lions currently boast the longest active boys winning streak in D-9 with 16 straight, and are fresh off a 57-52 victory over Keystone to win the KSAC Championship game Saturday. C-L averages an impressive 65 points per game, with Deion Deas (21 points per game), Ian Callen (17) and Hayden Callen (17) leading the offensive attack. Dan Dalton’s O-E squad will look to build their late-season success that saw them beat Kane, Cameron County and Oswayo and Port Allegany by a combined 76 points.
#8 Austin (12-10) vs. #1 Elk Catholic (23-1)
Game details: Thursday, 7:30 p.m., at St. Marys HS
Winner gets: J’burg or Cameron Co.
The top-seeded Crusaders basically earned a home game against Austin in the first round and are the clear favorites in Class A. Elk’s perfect season did finally come to an end Saturday in the AML title game at the hands of Ridgway, but Aaron Straub’s team is deep and talented enough that it should have no trouble bouncing back quickly. Meanwhile Austin, the smallest school in D-9, has earned a postseason berth for the second consecutive season. The Panthers (12-10) have scored wins over Otto (twice), and Smethport this season, but will need to play a perfect game to take down the Crusaders. Jackson (10 assists per game) and Dempsey Glover (15 ppg) power the Austin offense.
Class AA
#8 Brockway (8-14) vs. #1 Coudersport (21-1)
Game details: Tonight, 7 p.m., at St. Marys
Winner gets: Redbank Valley or Karns City
A rematch of last year’s Class AA semifinals, Coudy will certainly be on guard against a Rovers team that nearly completed a furious second-half comeback to upset the Falcons.
Brockway surprisingly entered the District tournament after winning just two league games and owning an 8-14 record. Alec Freemer is the Rovers’ top offensive threat with 46 3-pointers and seven 20-point games on his resume this year.
Coudersport’s Owen Chambers continues his quest to become D-9’s all-time leading scorer, and has been putting on a clinic in recent weeks. The senior has topped 25 points in six straight games, and the Falcons are averaging 86 points per game over their last four wins. Chambers has also gotten plenty of support from his teammates, with Hayden Keck and Dillon Keglovits each having fine offensive campaigns.
#6 Smethport (11-11) vs. #3 Keystone (16-6)
Game details: Tonight, 7:30 p.m., at Kane
Winner gets: Clarion or Ridgway
The Hubbers will need to snap out of a scoring slump that’s seen them put up just 34 and 35 over their last two games, respectively. Smethport has turned its season around after starting 3-5, however, and the Hubbers ended the year with 10 NTL wins. The Keystone Panthers, meanwhile, won the KSAC South regular season title and tied for the fifth-most wins in D-9 with 16. Keystone is also one of the sharper defensive teams in the District, not allowing an opponent to score over 60 all season and over 50 in just 5 games.
GIRLS
Class A
#5 Cameron County (15-7) vs. #4 Otto-Eldred (14-8)
Game details: Tonight, 6 p.m., at St. Marys
Winner gets: Johnsonburg (bye)
These two NTL rivals will meet for the third time this season after splitting two competitive regular season contests. On Jan. 29, Cameron Co. topped Otto 53-48 in overtime behind 14 points from Kamme Guisto, while Otto won at home 51-42 a few weeks prior.
Cameron County scored just 46 points in its final two losses to Johnsonburg and Coudersport to close the regular season and have been held under 35 in its last four losses. Alyvia McKimm (12 ppg) and Kaelee Bresslin (10) led the CC offense.
For the Terrors, after starting the season 11-2, they’ve gone just 3-6 down the stretch to end up with a fourth place finish in the NTL. O-E did not have a player average in double-figures on the season, with Haylee Frederick leading the Terrors with eight points per game.
#7 Northern Potter (11-11) vs. #2 Coudersport (17-4)
Game details: Wednesday, 7 p.m., at Austin HS
Winner gets: Elk CC or North Clarion
Coudersport dominated its regular season games with NoPo, outscoring the Panthers 105-47 in two victories. After an 0-3 start, the Lady Falcons won 17 of their 18 games to win the NTL for a third straight season and look just as talented as last year’s team.
Shaelyn Black and Sarah Chambers have once again provided a solid inside-out offensive approach, as Coudy looks for a Class A title after winning the Class AA championships in each of the past two seasons. Northern Potter’s had an up-and-down season, splitting up four and three-game win streaks with losing streaks that included five losses in six January games. The Panthers’ Abbi Anderson has been one of the top girls scorers in D-9 this year, averaging over 20 points per game.
Class AA
#6 Keystone (10-11) vs. #3 Port Allegany (16-6)
Game details: Tonight, 6 p.m., at Kane
Winner gets: A-C Valley (bye)
The Lady Gators finished the season strong, winning seven of their last nine games to leapfrog Otto-Eldred and finish third in the NTL. Cailey Barnett averages over 13 points per game for Port (16-6), while Cierra Lannager hauls in an average of seven boards per game.
Port A will look to slow down a Keystone team that poured in 72 in its regular season finale. The Panthers (10-11) won their final three games following a six-game losing streak. McKenzie Hovis and Emily Lauer each average over 12 pointer per game for Keystone.
