Tribe, Eagles Earn First Round Byes in Next Week's Class AA Boys Basketball Sectional Tournament
By Jeff Toquinto on February 23, 2017 via Connect-Bridgeport.com
The pairings have been set for the Class AA Region II, Section 1 boys’ basketball tournament. And like the girls, Bridgeport has earned the second seed in the tournament, according to BHS Assistant Principal and Athletic Director Matt DeMotto.
The Indians and Robert C. Byrd will receive byes in the opening round. The Eagles are the No. 1 seed in the tournament.
Bridgeport will open the tournament on Tuesday, Feb. 28 by hosting Lincoln. The Indians needed overtime to upend the Cougars earlier this year.
The game will tip at 7 p.m.
RCB will host the winner of the Liberty and Elkins contest on Tuesday. Elkins, the No. 4 seed, will host the No. 5 Mountaineers this Saturday in Randolph County.
The sectional championship will be played March 2 at the site of the highest remaining seed. The two teams that advance to the sectional title game will both be in contention for a state tournament bid. The winner of the sectional will host a regional final next week, while the loser will visit the winner of Section 2 of the tournament.
There are six teams in Section 2. Lewis County, Roane County, Herbert Hoover, Nicholas County, Braxton County and Clay County .jpg)
comprise the teams competing on that side of the regional bracket.
comprise the teams competing on that side of the regional bracket.
For those wondering how the sectional tournament seeds are determined, it’s not based on a formula. It’s based on a ballot. DeMotto said it’s mandated by the WVSSAC and has been for every section for the last several years.
“Every school in our section of the region and in the other section rates all 11 teams in the entire region; minus rating their own school. They then send that ballot to the regional directors,” said DeMotto, who serves as the regional director. “They were to be in by this most recent Tuesday by noon.”
The regional director then takes voting for each school, adds up their total and eliminates their highest and lowest vote. The total that comes out determines the seed for teams in each section. The process is repeated in each Classification when the teams get to the regional finals.
“The expectation is that every school is to consider every game played up to noon on Tuesday. The expectation is to also evaluate things such as opponents, schedule strength and wins and losses,” said DeMotto.
The sectional winner and runners-up from Section 2 will play in the regional championships. Those games are set for Wednesday, March 8 at 7 p.m.
Editor's Note: Photo shows Dylan Purcell at top driving against the heart of the RCB defense in Saturday's game, while J.T. Harris brings the ball up in the bottom picture. Photos by Matthew DeMaria of www.benqueenphotography.com.
