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Friday
March 12, 2010 Since 1922 |
Hoops playoffs proving elusive for Baytown teams
By Dave Rogers
The Baytown Sun Published February 5, 2010 What if the UIL high school basketball playoffs were held without a single representative from Baytown?
Well, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time.
After all, even if you count Indiana Pacer T.J. Ford, who grew up in Baytown but played his high school ball down the road a ways, this city has never been a hotbed for big-time basketball.
Three times in the past 10 years all Goose Creek schools were on the outside looking in from the very beginning of the postseason.
And it could easily happen again, despite the fact the city has picked up a pair of new teams in Goose Creek Memorial boys and girls squads.
District 19-4A boys
With only two district games remaining for girls and four for boys, GCM’s boys are the lone Baytown UIL team ranked as high as fourth place, the minimum requirement to make the playoffs, and even there, the Patriots would lose out on a tiebreaker if the season ended immediately.
But it doesn’t and coach Jeff Keener’s team has a chance to make a statement tonight when GCM hosts Barbers Hill, the team it is tied with in fourth place.
Now Barbers Hill has a pretty rich basketball history, but this has been a rough district season for the Eagles while at the same time being an encouraging one for the second-year Patriots.
Both teams are tied with 4-6 records in District 19-4A. C.E. King and Kingwood Park are tied for first place at 9-1, having already secured their playoff berths. Ditto for third-place Galena Park, which is 8-2.
After tonight’s 7:30 p.m. matchup, GCM will have games remaining at Galena Park Tuesday, at home to C.E. King Feb. 12 and at Kingwood Park Feb. 16, basically a trip through the league’s murderers’ row.
Coach Nathan Toon’s boys still have to play host to Dayton Tuesday, then travel to sixth-place Crosby Feb. 12 and host last-place North Forest Feb. 16.
District 19-4A girls
The GCM girls are in fifth place in 19-4A and no longer control their own playoff chances. Their 6-6 record leaves them just a game behind both C.E. King and Dayton, who each are 7-5 and tied for third. Barbers Hill (12-0) and Kingwood Park (10-2) have already nailed down playoff berths.
GCM plays at Barbers Hill tonight, in what appears to be a Mission Impossible assignment worthy of Jim Phelps. But the Patriot girls came within a point (55-54) of beating the Lady Eagles when they played in Baytown last month.
GCM finishes the regular season by hosting last-place Galena Park.
C.E. King is home to seventh-place North Forest tonight and plays at Kingwood Park Tuesday. Dayton is at sixth-place Crosby tonight and hosts Barbers Hill Tuesday.
GCM’s girls need an upset of major proportion tonight at The Hill and/or two losses by either Dayton or C.E. King and some good tiebreaker karma to play past Tuesday.
District 21-5A girls
Getting a team from one of Baytown’s original two high schools into the Class 5A playoffs was not expected to be a problem after the UIL put Lee and Sterling in a six-team district two winters ago and added a fourth playoff team from each district. The odds on at least one of the four clubs (boys and girls teams from Sterling and Lee) beating two teams and finishing at least fourth seemed a fairly safe bet.
Especially since the Sterling girls had managed to qualify seven times in the last decade when six of those years they had to finish at least third in an eight-team league.
But here we are.
Sterling and Lee’s girls are tied for fifth in District 21-5A with two games to play, each 2-6 in district having split against each other and owning a win over fourth-place Port Arthur Memorial, which is 3-5.
North Shore (8-0) and Channelview (5-3) already have locked up playoff spots and West Brook (4-4) will do that if it wins at Lee tonight.
Lee’s Lady Ganders finish district play with a game at Channelview Tuesday. Sterling is going for a season sweep over Memorial tonight in Port Arthur, then hosts North Shore Tuesday. Memorial completes district play at West Brook Tuesday night.
District 21-5A boys
Sterling and Lee’s situation in the 21-5A boys race is similar to the girls; the two teams are tied for fifth place with 1-5 records, their only league wins coming against each other.
The biggest difference is the boys have four games left. Port Arthur is a perfect 6-0 as it comes to Sterling tonight, while North Shore and West Brook are tied for second at 4-2 with Channelview perched precariously in fourth at 2-4.
Sterling is at North Shore Tuesday night, at West Brook Feb. 12 and home against Channelview Feb. 16. Lee’s Ganders are at West Brook tonight, home Tuesday and Feb. 12 against Channelview and North Shore, respectively, and play Feb. 16 at Port Arthur.
The Baytown Sun Published February 5, 2010 What if the UIL high school basketball playoffs were held without a single representative from Baytown?
Well, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time.
After all, even if you count Indiana Pacer T.J. Ford, who grew up in Baytown but played his high school ball down the road a ways, this city has never been a hotbed for big-time basketball.
Three times in the past 10 years all Goose Creek schools were on the outside looking in from the very beginning of the postseason.
And it could easily happen again, despite the fact the city has picked up a pair of new teams in Goose Creek Memorial boys and girls squads.
District 19-4A boys
With only two district games remaining for girls and four for boys, GCM’s boys are the lone Baytown UIL team ranked as high as fourth place, the minimum requirement to make the playoffs, and even there, the Patriots would lose out on a tiebreaker if the season ended immediately.
But it doesn’t and coach Jeff Keener’s team has a chance to make a statement tonight when GCM hosts Barbers Hill, the team it is tied with in fourth place.
Now Barbers Hill has a pretty rich basketball history, but this has been a rough district season for the Eagles while at the same time being an encouraging one for the second-year Patriots.
Both teams are tied with 4-6 records in District 19-4A. C.E. King and Kingwood Park are tied for first place at 9-1, having already secured their playoff berths. Ditto for third-place Galena Park, which is 8-2.
After tonight’s 7:30 p.m. matchup, GCM will have games remaining at Galena Park Tuesday, at home to C.E. King Feb. 12 and at Kingwood Park Feb. 16, basically a trip through the league’s murderers’ row.
Coach Nathan Toon’s boys still have to play host to Dayton Tuesday, then travel to sixth-place Crosby Feb. 12 and host last-place North Forest Feb. 16.
District 19-4A girls
The GCM girls are in fifth place in 19-4A and no longer control their own playoff chances. Their 6-6 record leaves them just a game behind both C.E. King and Dayton, who each are 7-5 and tied for third. Barbers Hill (12-0) and Kingwood Park (10-2) have already nailed down playoff berths.
GCM plays at Barbers Hill tonight, in what appears to be a Mission Impossible assignment worthy of Jim Phelps. But the Patriot girls came within a point (55-54) of beating the Lady Eagles when they played in Baytown last month.
GCM finishes the regular season by hosting last-place Galena Park.
C.E. King is home to seventh-place North Forest tonight and plays at Kingwood Park Tuesday. Dayton is at sixth-place Crosby tonight and hosts Barbers Hill Tuesday.
GCM’s girls need an upset of major proportion tonight at The Hill and/or two losses by either Dayton or C.E. King and some good tiebreaker karma to play past Tuesday.
District 21-5A girls
Getting a team from one of Baytown’s original two high schools into the Class 5A playoffs was not expected to be a problem after the UIL put Lee and Sterling in a six-team district two winters ago and added a fourth playoff team from each district. The odds on at least one of the four clubs (boys and girls teams from Sterling and Lee) beating two teams and finishing at least fourth seemed a fairly safe bet.
Especially since the Sterling girls had managed to qualify seven times in the last decade when six of those years they had to finish at least third in an eight-team league.
But here we are.
Sterling and Lee’s girls are tied for fifth in District 21-5A with two games to play, each 2-6 in district having split against each other and owning a win over fourth-place Port Arthur Memorial, which is 3-5.
North Shore (8-0) and Channelview (5-3) already have locked up playoff spots and West Brook (4-4) will do that if it wins at Lee tonight.
Lee’s Lady Ganders finish district play with a game at Channelview Tuesday. Sterling is going for a season sweep over Memorial tonight in Port Arthur, then hosts North Shore Tuesday. Memorial completes district play at West Brook Tuesday night.
District 21-5A boys
Sterling and Lee’s situation in the 21-5A boys race is similar to the girls; the two teams are tied for fifth place with 1-5 records, their only league wins coming against each other.
The biggest difference is the boys have four games left. Port Arthur is a perfect 6-0 as it comes to Sterling tonight, while North Shore and West Brook are tied for second at 4-2 with Channelview perched precariously in fourth at 2-4.
Sterling is at North Shore Tuesday night, at West Brook Feb. 12 and home against Channelview Feb. 16. Lee’s Ganders are at West Brook tonight, home Tuesday and Feb. 12 against Channelview and North Shore, respectively, and play Feb. 16 at Port Arthur.