Twelve teams. Seven boys squads, five girls outfits.
That’s who’s still standing in Central Virginia among public school teams as the region playoffs kick into gear Tuesday night.
After an incredible run to the Jefferson District tournament championship, Charlottesville is the hottest team in the area heading into the Region II, Division 3 quarterfinals. The Black Knights looked nearly invincible with an energized crowd behind the team, but they’ve also brought together a lot of elements all at once on the floor. Everyone is playing at a high level and looks comfortable with their roles. And as coach Mitch Minor will constantly remind anyone who’ll listen, they’re finally hitting easy shots they should’ve been hitting all year.
Still, after a mediocre regular season, the Black Knights will have to be road warriors with a trip north to Fauquier.
A win there though would likely set Charlottesville up with a date against Fluvanna County if the Flucos knock off Warren County.
Down in the lower half of that bracket, Monticello heads north to take on two-seed Liberty-Bealeton. A win there by the Mustangs would send them to the semifinals to take on the winner of Woodgrove and John Handley.
In all the madness that is Region seeding, the area did get one local-on-local matchup. Buckingham County and William Monroe’s boys teams face off Tuesday in a clash of the runner-up squads from the James River and Bull Run districts. A clash between Buckingham’s Tarian Ayres and William Monroe’s Markel Williams should be an intriguing matchup. Those two will likely offset each other so that’ll leave it up to the supporting casts, like Cam Johnson and L.A. Briley for Ayres and JoJo Krynitsky, Gary Morris and Jordan Gentry for Williams.
On the girls side, Monticello is the lone local squad hosting, as Goochland, Madison, Charlottesville and Madison all hit the road. Can anyone pull an upset away from home? The Black Knights certainly proved they could be up to the task by knocking off Powhatan last week in the Jefferson District semifinals.
Twelve teams have a shot now. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, it’s win or go home.
Boys Top 5
1. Blue Ridge (17-6)
Blue Ridge went 4-0 last week, kicking things off with a strong effort in a narrow win over Miller and wrapping it up couple of weekend victories over elite squads in Washington, D.C. area tournaments. The win over Miller could fast track the Barons to the VIC title game as they face Liberty Christian who they already beat twice.
2. Miller (17-8)
The Mavericks couldn’t find a way to complete the comeback against Blue Ridge, but Miller fell short again against the Barons. That makes the road to the VIC championship a tough one for the Mavericks as they head to Lynchburg Thursday to take on Virginia Episcopal. If they can find a way to get past the Bishops they’ll earn another shot at Blue Ridge.
3. Fluvanna County (20-3)
It was a slow week for the Flucos, who got a little time off after their Jefferson District quarterfinal loss to the red-hot Black Knights. Still, Fluvanna is officially the No. 1 seed in the Region II tournament that tips off Tuesday night. Can Fluvanna shake off a week of rust to take care of business against Warren County?
4. Charlottesville (14-7)
You couldn’t ask for a better run than what the Black Knights are in the midst of right now. They won three times, convincingly, in the Jefferson District tournament to complete one of the school’s best ever runs to that title. Can Charlottesville keep the magic going against Fauquier in the Region II quarterfinals Tuesday?
5 (tied). William Monroe (18-8)
Take George Mason out of the equation and William Monroe has won eight straight. But a pair of losses to the Mustangs (the schools met for a fourth time in the Bull Run title game) have the Dragons seeking another chance at Mason. But they’ve got a tough road to get there, starting with Buckingham Tuesday night at home in the Region B four/five seed game. Win there and they’d have to head to Amherst to take on Dan River at a neutral site.
5 (tied). Buckingham County (19-4)
Monroe and Buckingham will get a chance to settle this two-week tie for the area’s fifth spot on the floor Tuesday night in the Region B, Division 2 quarterfinals. Can the Knights get the job done on the road against the Dragons?
On the cusp: Woodberry Forest, Western Albemarle, Monticello
Girls Top 5
1. Miller (19-6)
The Mavericks scooped up three wins, all of them by eight or more points and did so against VES, LCA and Norfolk Christian. Miller hosts Chatham today in the Blue Ridge Conference quarterfinals, and will be heavily favored to win the tournament before moving on to VISAA Division 2 play.
2. Monticello (14-9)
Monticello can now proudly hang a banner for its girls basketball team as the program won its first ever Jefferson District tournament championship by knocking off Charlottesville in a tight contest in the finals. The Mustangs road to a state birth is a simple. Firs they need a win over John Handley. Then Monticello has to beat either Woodgrove or CHS. Two wins and this team has its first state bid ever.
3. St. Anne’s-Belfield (13-10)
After falling to Collegiate in the LIS semifinals, the Saints rebounded at the end of the week, stepping out of post season play to face Episcopal and roll to a 54-21 win. The Saints will move on shortly to see if they can make another run in the VISAA playoffs.
4. William Monroe (13-8)
Falling in the Bull Run semifinals to Central Woodstock hurt the Dragons as they might have been able to come away with a more favorable place in the Region B bracket. Now Monroe has to avenge its loss to Central in the quarterfinals, and if successful, will likely have top-seeded George Mason in the waiting. To make the state bracket, Monroe has long road to travel.
5. Charlottesville (9-13)
The Black Knights had to pull off a win against Powhatan in the Jefferson District semifinals to keep its season alive and they found a way to hold on tightly. But they face another giant now in the form of Woodgrove, which until falling to Loudon County last week in the Dulles District tournament, had won 13 straight contests and has just three blemishes on its record. But Charlottesville’s been here before, so don’t count them out.
On the cusp: Goochland
