Wilson’s holiday tourney trip to Hempfield looms large in District 3 picture
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Wilson’s opening-round match-up against Central York tonight in the opening round of the Hempfield Holiday Tournament will serve as a tone-setter in the District 3 Class 6A basketball race.
Central York is 7-1 and ranked No. 2 in the district power ratings, its lone loss coming to Father Judge of the Philadelphia Catholic League.
Wilson is 7-1 and ranked No. 4, with wins over Manheim Township, Warwick and Muhlenberg, the latter by a point in overtime week.
Wilson’s lone loss came to top-rated Central Dauphin, and it wasn’t close – 61-36. The Bulldogs have used that lackluster showing as motivation and reeled off six straight wins since.
The Class 6A field looks wide open. Central Dauphin, despite owning the top spot, is not an overpowering team. It’s part of a crowded field right now. The contenders are numerous.
That includes the defending champ, Reading High, which despite the 3-3 record it takes into holiday tournament play tonight is still very much in the running.
Berks Catholic, the two-time defending champ in Class 4A, is unbeaten and looking like a strong favorite for a third straight title. The Saints handed No. 3 Octorara it’s only loss, and it was a spanking: 80-47 on the Braves’ home court.
Fleetwood, which reached the District 3 Class 4A title game last year, is also unbeaten and a contender again in that classification.
Still, the Saints, with the McKoy Brothers, Josh and Kingston, appear to be head-and-shoulders above the crowd.
That’s not the case in Class 5A which, like the largest classification, seems to have a lot of championship contenders. Mechanicsburg owns the top spot and No. 2 Manheim Central is unbeaten but Muhlenberg and Exeter remain very much in the picture.
The Muhls are at No. 7 in the district power ratings after dropping three games, but two of those losses – to Central Dauphin and Wilson — were one-possession games in which they had a chance to win it at the buzzer. Muhlenberg is very much in the title picture.
So is Exeter, despite opening the season with a pair of losses. The Eagles are almost out of sight in the Class 5A race right now, at No. 11, but that will change. They have too much talent not to be a contender come February.
The tournament opens Feb. 19. The brackets will be finalized Feb. 15. All games played through Feb. 14 will count.
All games through the semifinals will be played on the home court of the higher-seeded team. Championship games will be played at Giant Center Feb. 28, 29, and March 1.
State qualifiers are as follows:
Class 6A: 7.
Class 5A: 8.
Class 4A: 6.
Class 3A: 3.
Class 2A: 2.
Class 1A: 5.