Metro Conference boys and girls hoops tournament preview

Posted to: High Schools Sports

The Virginian-Pilot
© February 20, 2008

BOYS

All games at Portsmouth Christian

Today’s quarterfinals: No. 1 seed Atlantic Shores vs. No. 8 seed Denbigh Baptist, 3:45 p.m.; No. 7 seed Alliance Christian vs. No. 2 seed StoneBridge, 5:15 p.m.; No. 3 seed Hampton Christian vs. No. 6 seed Isle of Wight Academy, 6:45 p.m.; No. 4 seed Portsmouth Christian vs. No. 5 seed Broadwater Academy,

8:15 p.m.

Friday’s semifinals: 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Saturday’s final: 7:45 p.m.

Outlook: Atlantic Shores (25-6) should have no problem winning this tournament. The Seahawks, the No. 2-ranked Division II private school team in the state, rolled through the regular season, dominating one conference opponent after another. The only team with a chance to pull the upset is StoneBridge, ranked fourth among the state’s Division III private schools. The Cavaliers are spurred by Ryan Barbosa, who led South Hampton Roads in scoring at nearly 27 points a game.

GIRLS

All games except final at StoneBridge

Today’s quarterfinals: No. 1 seed StoneBridge vs. No. 8 seed Alliance Christian, 3:45 p.m.; No. 7 seed Isle of Wight Academy vs. No. 2 seed Broadwater Academy, 5:15 p.m.; No. 3 seed Hampton Christian vs. No. 6 seed Atlantic Shores, 6:45 p.m.; No. 4 seed Denbigh Baptist vs. No. 5 seed Portsmouth Christian, 8;15 p.m.

Friday’s semifinals: 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Saturday’s final at Portsmouth Christian: 6 p.m.

Outlook: StoneBridge has spent the bulk of the season as the top-ranked private school team in the state in Division III, and went unbeaten against Metro competition. They could be tested by Denbigh Baptist in the semifinals, with Broadwater Academy potentially providing a stiffer challenge in the final.

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IWA

Submitted by ChargerTribe10 on Thu, 02/21/2008 at 2:58 pm.

Don't be fooled by that #7 seed in the girl's tournament. IWA has regular season wins against two of the top three teams in the conference and played Denbigh close twice (didn't really make any noise against StoneBridge, but no one did). If they had kept level heads for more of the season than they did, they were good enough for a 4 or 5 seed.

They're capable of beating Broadwater if the Lady Vikings come out with their over-aggressive defense which, with qualified officials on the court, usually results in lots of fouls called. The problem can arise when officials see that they've called seven BWA fouls and only two for the opponent; then they think they should stop calling them on Broadwater. Bottom line: level-headed Lady Chargers + competent officiating can lead to a 7-2 upset tonight.

Then, the Lady Chargers might find themselves facing Hampton Christian in the semis; again, a team the Lady Chargers beat, ON THE ROAD, during the regular season. More than enough in the tank for an upset there. Again, it depends on the Lady Chargers not losing their minds, getting down ten points and thinking the best thing to do is to go to full court man.

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