Salem pulls down No. 2 seed in boys championship bracket; Kingsway No. 1 boys seed, Gloucester Catholic No. 1 girls seed; tournament starts Friday
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
Salem’s approach of playing anybody, anywhere, any time and having some success in it landed it the No. 2 seed among the boys and five total Salem County teams made their respective championship brackets in the Tri-County Conference tournament that starts Friday.
The 16-4 Rams, the TCC Classic Division champions and current South Jersey Group 1 No. 1, drew a first-round bye with the other three division winners when the tournament pairings dropped Monday and are the highest seeded Salem County team in either field. They will host the Penns Grove-Williamstown winner in the quarterfinals next Monday.
“We have been able to take care of business during the regular season to put ourselves in this position,” Rams coach Anthony Farmer said. “Now we have to go finish the job.”
Kingsway (No. 1), Delsea and Overbrook are the other three boys top seeds. Gloucester Catholic (No. 1), Wildwood, Glassboro and Timber Creek are the top four seeds in the girls bracket.
Penns Grove (No. 10) and Woodstown (No. 11) are the other two Salem County teams in the boys championship bracket. Pennsville (No. 9) and Woodstown (No. 11) are the two county teams in the girls championship bracket.
All the other county teams were placed in what the conference is calling the “post-season bracket.” Teams that lose in the opening round can play a second game unless they mutually opt out of the matchup.
TCC officials seeded the top 12 teams in each championship bracket according to South Jersey power points, rewarding the four division winners with first-round byes. Other tiebreakers were in place for divisions not decided by Sunday’s deadline and teams could jump seed if they had the head-to-head edge over the team immediately above them in the rankings.
Pennsville and Glassboro are currently tied for the Diamond Division girls lead – Pennsville can clinch a share of its first division title since 1988 today at Penns Grove – but Glassboro got the bye with a better overall record (and power points), and Wildwood overtook the Bulldogs for the 2 seed by virtue of winning their regular-season meeting.
Teams that finished 13 through 23 in the power points standings went to the post-season bracket. Schalick’s girls had the best luck of the local teams on the bubble. The Cougars (13-5) came in at 13 overall, but grabbed the No. 1 seed in their bracket with a first-round bye.
All games in the post-season bracket will be played at the higher seed. The first three rounds of the championship bracket will be played at the higher seed with the finals played in a boys-girls doubleheader at Washington Twp. Feb. 21.
“We are excited to be in a position to have the tournament run through Pittsgrove,” Schalick coach John Whelan said. “It’s another step in the right direction for this team.
“The girls have earned this opportunity and they are excited about having home court advantage. Our parents, fans and student section have been great recently creating a fun atmosphere to play in.
“Coach (Les) Berry and I are proud of the girls for everything they’ve accomplished so far and we are excited to see where this opportunity takes us.”
TCC BOYS TOURNAMENT
Championship Bracket
Friday’s games
Game 1: No. 9 Clearview (9-13) at No. 8 Timber Creek (10-10)
Game 2: No. 12 Gloucester Catholic (8-14) at No. 5 Deptford (18-4)
Game 3: No. 11 Woodstown (13-8) at No. 6 Cumberland (15-8)
Game 4: No. 10 Penns Grove (13-8) at No. 7 Williamstown (13-8)
Feb. 17
Game 5: Clearview-Timber Creek winner at No. 1 Kingsway (14-9)
Game 6: Gloucester Catholic-Deptford winner at No. 4 Overbrook (16-6)
Game 7: Woodstown-Cumberland winner at No. 3 Delsea (12-9)
Game 8: Penns Grove-Williamstown at No. 2 Salem (16-4)
Feb. 19 (at higher seed)
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner
Feb. 21
At Washington Twp. HS
Championship game, 11 a.m.
Postseason Bracket
Friday’s games
Game 1: No. 9 Schalick (9-10) at No. 8 Clayton (7-12)
Game 2: No. 5 Glassboro (6-13) bye
Game 3: No. 11 Salem Tech (2-15) at No. 6 Wildwood (13-8)
Game 4: No. 10 Pennsville (3-17) at No. 7 Highland (5-16)
Feb. 17
Game 5: Schalick-Clayton winner at No. 1 GCIT (10-10)
Game 6: Glassboro at No. 4 Triton (7-14)
Game 7: Salem Tech-Wildwood winner at No. 3 Pitman (8-13)
Game 8: Pennsville-Highland winner at No. 2 Washington Twp. (7-15)
Feb. 19 (at higher seed)
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner
Feb. 21 (at higher seed)
Championship game
TCC GIRLS TOURNAMENT
Championship Bracket
Friday’s games
Game 2: No. 12 Cumberland (10-11) at No. 5 Clearview (13-8)
Game 3: No. 11 Woodstown (9-12) at No. 6 Kingsway (14-8)
Game 4: No. 10 Triton (11-10) at No. 7 Washington Twp. (12-8)
Saturday’s games
Game 1: No. 9 Pennsville (13-6) at No. 8 Delsea (12-9)
Feb. 17
Game 5: Pennsville-Delsea winner at No. 1 Gloucester Catholic (17-3)
Game 6: Cumberland-Clearview winner at No. 4 Timber Creek (12-7)
Game 7: Woodstown-Kingsway winner at No. 3 Glassboro (15-6)
Game 8: Triton-Washington Twp. winner at No. 2 Wildwood (14-6)
Feb. 19 (at higher seed)
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner
Feb. 21
At Washington Twp. HS
Championship game, 1 p.m.
Postseason Bracket
Friday’s games
Game 1: No. 9 Pitman (3-13) at No. 8 Highland (2-19)
Game 2: No. 5 Salem (8-8) bye
Game 3: No. 11 Salem Tech (2-12) at No. 6 Clayton (7-11)
Game 4: No. 10 Penns Grove (2-17) at No. 7 Overbrook (4-16)
Feb. 17
Game 5: Pitman-Highland at No. 1 Schalick (13-5)
Game 6: No. 5 Salem at No. 4 Williamstown (4-15)
Game 7: Salem Tech-Clayton winner at No. 3 GCIT (5-16)
Game 8: Penns Grove-Overbrook winner at Deptford (8-13)
Feb. 19
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner
Feb. 21 (at higher seed)
Championship game
Season records as of Feb. 8
Riverview Sports News 