Southern junior Dylan Smith, left, hustles to save a ball headed out of bounds during the first half of a December 20 boys basketball contest against South Gallia in Racine, Ohio.
Bryan Walters/OVP Sports
Gallia Academy freshman Zach Loveday (44) hauls in a rebound during the second half of a December 13 boys basketball contest against Chesapeake in Centenary, Ohio.
Bryan Walters/OVP Sports
The high school postseason is just around the corner, but the area roads for the state tournament were paved Sunday afternoon during the 2017 OHSAA Southeast District boys basketball tournament selection meeting.
Six area schools — Gallia Academy, Meigs, River Valley, Southern, South Gallia and Eastern — now know where their opening games will be and who they will be facing in their respective sectional matchups.
Half of the six local teams need a single win to advance to the district tournament, while the other three squads are searching for at two victories to get out of their respective sectionals.
Starting in Division IV, Southern (9-9) came away with the Ohio Valley Publishing area’s highest overall seed. The Tornadoes enter the postseason as a No. 3 seed and will play in a sectional final at 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 1, at Meigs High School against the winner of the 6-11 matchup between Ironton Saint Joseph (8-9) and Federal Hocking (0-20).
Eastern (7-11) earned the eight seed and takes on ninth-seeded Green (3-17) in a sectional semifinal at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21, at Meigs High School. The winner plays top-seeded Waterford (13-3) in a sectional final at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28, at Meigs High School.
South Gallia (3-16) earned the 10 seed and will face seventh-seeded Belpre (6-13) in a sectional semifinal at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22, at Meigs High School. The winner advances to the sectional final and will face second-seeded Trimble (10-8) at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday, March 1, at Meigs High School.
Switching to Division II, Gallia Academy (12-4) earned a five seed and will face fourth-seeded Waverly (13-5) in a sectional final at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, at Southeastern High School in Londonderry.
Meigs (11-8) came away with seven seed and faces second-seeded Fairfield Union (17-2) in a sectional final at 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, at Southeastern High School.
River Valley (7-13) came away with a 10 seed as the area’s lone Division III program and will face seventh-seeded Alexander (2-17) in a sectional semifinal at 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 20, at Jackson High School.
The winner advances to the sectional final and will face second-seeded Oak Hill (19-1) at 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, at Jackson High School.
Complete pairings for the 2017 OHSAA Southeast District boys basketball tournament are available on the web at seodab.org
Note: The records listed with each team were current as of the tournament selection process.
Bryan Walters can be reached at 740-446-2342, ext. 2101.
