We're almost there hoops fans.
Yes, Anne Arundel's version of "March madness" is nearly upon us. Just one more week of regular-season play and it will be time for postseason. By this time next week, we will have the playoff pairings and will be ready for some serious basketball.
The playoff picture is shaping up rather nicely, with most of theteams identifiable, if not placed. Seedings are still up in the air,and that only adds suspense to the final week of the regular season,which also might include a North County boys victory.
While many teams will be celebrating qualifying for the playoffs, North County'swinless boys have a chance to win a game tomorrow night at home, when the 0-21 Knights play host to Queen Anne's (8-11) at 7 p.m.
If North County doesn't win, it could be the first time in county historya boys hoops team went winless an entire season. To my knowledge, such a feat never has occurred.
Getting back to the teams whose seasons will continue, Annapolis has clinched the top seed in Class 4A Region IV. Annapolis is 19-1 overall, including Friday's 79-50 romp over Glen Burnie.
Annapolis lost to Cardozzo of D.C., 86-70, in its own Cap City Classic, but Christmas tournament games do not count toward playoff points. Annapolis is 18-0 in games that count for postseason seedings.
The top six teams in each region advance to postseason play, with the top two seeds getting first-round byes and home-court advantage in the regional semifinals.
Who will be No. 2 behind Annapolis is anybody's guess. The week starts with both Meade and Severna Park at 12-6, Broadneck at 10-6, Old Mill at 11-7, Glen Burnie at10-8 and Arundel at 9-9.
The fifth and sixth seeds could go down to tiebreakers.
Meade and Severna Park are the only locks behind Annapolis.
Both Meade and Severna Park play Annapolis this week, with the Mustangs playing host to the Panthers tomorrow night and the Falcons visiting the Cap City Friday. An upset could give either of them the No. 2 seed, provided the team wins its other game.
Old Millvisits Severna Park tomorrow night and Glen Burnie hosts Meade Friday night. Those are must games for Old Mill and Glen Burnie.
Chesapeake, a team that started with a bang but faltered to 7-11 in playoffqualifiers, could be the big spoiler in two key games. Coach Tom Kraning's Cougars host Glen Burnie tomorrow night and Old Mill Friday.
Arundel needs a pair of upsets, but could slip in with just one, a home win tomorrow night over 3A power South River (17-3). Upsetting South River would give Arundel 74 playoff points, and if Glen Burnie loses its final two games with Chesapeake and Meade, what the Wildcatsdo at Broadneck in the final game would not matter.
The Wildcats would take the final seed by one point over Glen Burnie's Gophers.
Winning the final two would put everybody in except for Arundel if Broadneck defeats Southern. Arundel would finish with 82 playoff points in 20 games to 79 points in 19 games for Broadneck, but using the playoff points average (total points divided by total games), the Bruins would take the final seed, 4.15 to 4.10.
Isn't this fun?
Moving on to more clear-cut situations, South River has clinched a berthin Class 3A Region IV, and the Hawks will be anywhere from No. 1 to No. 3 seed.
Southern is in the middle of the pack in Class 2A Region III, and that's it for the boys teams.
In the girls 4A Region IV, things are not quite as complicated as the boys version. We know the six 4A girls teams, but other than No. 1 Old Mill (17-0) and No. 2Broadneck (15-2), we don't know where they will be seeded and won't know until Friday night.
The week starts with Arundel (11-7) as third seed, North County (10-8) fourth, Annapolis (10-8) fifth and Severna Park (9-9) sixth. All sorts of possibilities exist as we begin the final week, but at least those six teams know they are in no matterwhat they do.
Annapolis and Severna Park provide the most interesting stories in this playoff hunt. Their respective coaches deserve asalute for comebacks.
Second year head coach Teresa Ross has taken the Lady Panthers from 5-17 to the playoffs, while the veteran Falcons coach Kevin McGrath has performed his turnaround in the same season.
Severna Park has gone from 2-8 to 9-11, 9-9 in games that count, coming from nowhere to qualify for the playoffs. It's been a difficult season for McGrath, who hasn't had a losing season since 1982, winning 16 games or more six times since then.
McGrath has had to deal with a lot of parental and fan pressure this season, but has gotten through it unscathed.
Things are more defined in Class 2A Region III where Northeast (11-9, 11-7 playoffs) and Southern (12-8, 11-7 playoffs) are locks, and in Class 3A where no one is going.
Northeast and Southern both lost Friday, the former Eagles to Broadneck, 57-33, and the Dawgs to North County, 56-54. With two games to go, the battle continues between the two for top seed.
It will likely be settled Friday night when Northeast comes calling at Harwood for a 5:30 contest. Northeast coach Calvin Vain is keeping his fingers crossedthat senior star Debbi Dadds, the county's leading scorer (17.4 points per game) will be back this week.
The 5-foot-11 Dadds has been out since injuring a knee in the second period of Tuesday night's 47-37 loss to Arundel.
The county's only Class 3A team, South River, is having a dismal season at 6-14, 6-12 in games that count. The Hawks will not be going to the playoffs.
In other basketball news, Gene Pleyo became the first boys player in Northeast history to crack 1,000 career points (he has 1,007) with 15 points Friday night at Broadneck.
Pleyo, a four-year starter, went into the game needing only 8 points to reach 1,000, and his milestone was a bright spot in the Eagles' 67-56 loss to the Bruins.
"It was really a nice gesture on the part of Kenny (Kazmarek, Broadneck coach) and the people at Broadneck for allowing us to stop the game and present Gene a ball when hehit 1,000," said Northeast coach Johnny Barbour. "Gene's reaching the milestone was tremendous."
Pleyo reached the milestone with one of his patented all-around games with eight assists, two rebounds andtwo steals to go with the 15 points.
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In the ring Friday night at Halsey Field House, the finalists were determined for this Friday's 51st Annual United States Naval Academy Brigade Boxing Championships.
A raucous crowd of nearly 1,500 really got into the 18-bout semifinals marathon that lasted nearly three hours. An absolutely wildheavyweight bout brought down the curtain amid a deafening roar at almost 10:30 p.m., as bulky Sean Shingler took a unanimous decision over Tom Scheer.
In one of the most bizarre rounds of boxing that you will ever see, Shingler lost his headgear and, after getting a new one, came out with his fire in his eyes. Within seconds, he, Scheer and referee Bill Kostrub were all sprawled out on the canvas.
As Shingler was driving Scheer through the ropes, Kostrub tried to separate the fighters and was floored. It was a hilarious sight -- all threeguys ended up on their backs.
Shingler knocked Scheer, who was recruited by Navy's swimming team, through the ropes one more time in the third round. With the lopsided victory, Shingler finds himself in the opposite corner from St. Mary's of Annapolis graduate Tom Shanleyin the final.
Shanley advanced with a technical knockout over David Taylor, who outweighed the former Saints' athlete by about 60 pounds. Shanley was one of three local products to win semifinal bouts, the others being Mike Huber of South River at 139 pounds and Dan Holsberg of Broadneck at 156.
Other semifinal winners included: Eric Stenzel and Don Savage at 125 pounds; Shane Voudren and Craig Rogerson,132; Roy Pickett and Huber, 139; Matt Watt and Mark Sexton (won by forfeit), 147; Mike Schoffman and Holsberg, 156; Marvin Reed and ChrisBrowning, 165; Clint Chlebowski, 172 (only semi); Dirk Cooper and Andy Bartle, 180; Bill Jewett and "Irish Gerry" McMurray, 190.
The finals are set for 7.30 p.m. Friday. Admission is free. The winners advance to the Eastern Collegiate Boxing Association Regional, March 20and 21 at a site to be named.