Who’s in: Exeter or Mifflin? It’s too close to call

Exeter and Gov. Mifflin are done playing. Now they’ll wait for other boys basketball teams, outside the county, to determine their fate in the Berks Conference playoffs.

The Eagles and Mustangs are battling for the final spot in the eight-team tournament. As of early Wednesday, with results incomplete and the District 3 power ratings unofficial, Exeter had a fractional lead.

The numbers show Exeter at .6349, Gov. Mifflin at .6338.

Since a team’s power ratings are affected by the results of its opponent’s games, via a strength-of-schedule factor, those numbers will change following Wednesday’s games.

One key game to watch Wednesday: Palmyra (16-4) at Cedar Cliff (17-3). Exeter played (and lost to) Palmyra at the Cedar Crest Holiday Tournament. A win by Palmyra will boost Exeter’s power rating; a loss will drop it. That could end up as a determining factor. Palmyra won the first meeting 70-68.

It appears that none of Mifflin’s non-league opponents are playing Wednesday, according to schedules posted on maxpreps.com.

“(Now) it’s a waiting game,” said Mifflin coach Kyle Conrad. “There’s a lot of refreshing (of the District 3 website) on the phone. It’s just so close.”

Following games Wednesday, the BCIAA will use the District 3 power ratings to determine its eight qualifiers and their seeding, one through eight.

Results will be announced Thursday.

At this point, Reading High (.792) has a slim lead over Berks Catholic (.789) for the No. 1 seed. That will be determined tonight when the Red Knights play Wilson. Also, Antietam has a razor-thin lead over Muhlenberg in the battle for the fourth and fifth seeds. Wilson will finish as the No. 3 seed, Fleetwood at No. 7 and Wyomissing at No. 8. Exeter or Gov. Mifflin will be No. 6.

Exeter could’ve avoided all of this, of course, had it hung onto an early lead Tuesday, when it scored the first nine points at Mifflin.

The Mustangs pulled ahead by halftime and hit seven free throws in the final minute to hang on for a 54-51 win. It was their fourth win in five games following a stretch which saw them lose 6-of-8.

“We did what we could do last night,” Conrad said Wednesday. “The guys played hard and gave us a shot.”

Delsin McNeil led the Mustangs (5-7, 11-11) with 16 points. Gerrell McNeil had 14. Matt Harley, who had one basket through three quarters, scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to finish with 13. He hit both ends of the double bonus with 24 seconds left for a 53-48 lead.

Harley hit three 3-pointers to raise his league-leading total to 57. That’s two short of the Mifflin single-season program record of 59, set by Christian Jeznach in 2011-12.

The loss was the fourth straight and seventh in eight games for the Eagles (5-7, 10-11). They played for the third straight game without Joey Schlaffer, their No. 2 scorer; he’s out indefinitely with a wrist injury.

Teddy Snyder led the Eagles with 17 points. Colin Payne had 12.

Exeter, at least, knows its season is not over. It will qualify for the District 3 Class 5A Tournament.

Mifflin isn’t sure. The Mustangs won’t qualify for the District 3 Class 6A Tournament. They’re at No. 14 in the power ratings; the top 12 go.

“Last year one loss kept us out of the district playoffs,” Conrad said. “That’s where we’re at again (with the county playoffs).”