Big weekend on tap for Oley Valley, Tulpehocken, Berks IV boys race
Winter weather has interrupted what was shaping up as a key weekend for Oley Valley, Tulpehocken and the Berks Conference Division IV boys basketball race.
| Berks III | League | Overall |
| Fleetwood | 6-1 | 12-3 |
| Wyomissing | 3-2 | 6-6 |
| Schuylkill Valley | 3-5 | 6-9 |
| Hamburg | 1-5 | 3-12 |
The Lynx were to play at Tulpehocken tonight; that game has been postponed until Feb. 2. They are scheduled to play at Wyomissing Saturday afternoon.
The Trojans play are scheduled to play Berks III leader Fleetwood Saturday evening.
Those games will give us a better idea of how the Berks playoffs will shake down.
Tulpehocken (5-2, 12-3) and Oley Valley (5-2, 11-3) are tied for second place in Berks IV, one game back of Antietam (6-1, 14-2), which took its first league loss Wednesday against Berks III leader Fleetwood (6-1, 12-3). Wyomissing (3-2, 6-6) is one game off the lead in Berks III; it is scheduled to play at Antietam tonight.
The Trojans won the first meeting against the Lynx, 62-51 on Dec. 17, as David Bednarczyk scored 25 points and led a big comeback.
| Berks IV | League | Overall |
| Antietam | 6-1 | 14-2 |
| Tulpehocken | 5-2 | 12-3 |
| Oley Valley | 5-2 | 11-3 |
| Kutztown | 2-7 | 6-9 |
| Brandywine Hts. | 1-7 | 5-10 |
The Lynx are playing much better at this point. They’ve won seven straight games since falling to Antietam 50-40 on Jan. 3.
That’s the Lynx’s longest winning streak since 2010. Their last eight-game winning streak came in 2004-05 when they won 15 in a row after dropping their season opener.
That Oley team was led in scoring by Joe Murphy, Brent Davis and Nate Reed (Reed coached the Lynx baseball team to a district championship last season).
This Oley team has been led by Danny Turchi and Chase Reifsnyder, key pieces on last year’s division championship team. Turchi is averaging 17.0 points.
Despite graduating four starters the Lynx are right back in the playoff hunt again. They enter the weekend ranked fifth in the District 3 Class 4A power ratings. They were the No. 5 seed in last year’s tournament.
“The young kids — (junior) Keith Neal, (junior) Jaden Kelly, (sophomore) David Turchi — are doing well,” said Lynx coach Matt Barrell. “A lot of the guys (who) didn’t play last year now are a very integral part of this team. They’re doing what we expected (of them).”
The Lynx knocked off Fleetwood 52-48 midway through their current winning streak. They’re the only Berks III or Berks IV team to beat the Tigers.
“We fully expect to go out and compete with everybody,” said Barrell. “I don’t think there was a doubt we could beat them. We absolutely believe in ourselves, in the seniors we’ve got, in Danny leading the way.”
Tulpehocken has won five of its last six and is on pace to record its most wins since 2007, when it finished 25-6 under Dan Haughney and reached the second round of the state tournament. The Trojans haven’t qualified for the Berks playoffs in eight seasons but they’re in position to make that happen.
Senior Bryce Mellen leads the Trojans in scoring, at 17.7 points; Bednarczyk, a junior, is averaging 16.2.
Under the BCIAA’s revised playoff format the Berks III and IV champs qualify for the eight-team tournament, as well as either the Berks III or IV runner-up. That runner-up spot will be determined by the head-to-head meeting.
That’s what makes this weekend’s games so important. Wyomissing appears headed for a second-place finish in Berks III, though it still could catch Fleetwood. Oley, Tulpy and Antietam are tightly bunched and any could end up in second place and needing that crossover victory to qualify.
There are also two wild card spots up for grabs; those go to the teams with the highest power rating that don’t win the division or grab a runner-up spot. Berks Catholic (.796), Wilson (.714) and Exeter (.680) are far ahead of Tulpehocken (.637), Oley Valley (.629) and Wyomissing (.551) at this point. There likely isn’t enough time for any of them to close that large gap.
Only games played through Feb. 9 will count for league playoff qualification; the Berks quarterfinals begin Feb. 14.
