PARKERSBURG-The final Little Kanawha Conference championship to be decided this winter will take place on Saturday when the boys' basketball Night of Champions is conducted at the Braxton County Armory.
The combatants for that title have been determined.
Unbeaten and No. 1 ranked St. Marys (18-0, 12-0 LKC North) will play for the title for the first time since the 1996 season. The Blue Devils' opponent will be South Division champion Braxton County (14-4, 10-1 LKC South)-the school St. Marys beat 60-47 in winning their last LKC crown.
The opponents for Saturday's third place game, however, won't be determined until Tuesday night's contests between Williamstown and Ritchie County in the North and Braxton and Clay County in the South.
As is normally the case, there is a logjam in both divisions that will come down to the LKC's tie-breaking system.
The first tie-breaker is overall record in the division with head-to-head matchups following at No. 2. Should teams remained tied at that point, then the tie is determined by a head-to-head matchup with each team inside the division, going from top to bottom.
Fact Box
Key LKC Matchups - Tuesday
- Parkersburg Catholic (12-6, 7-4)
vs. Tyler Consolidated (1-17, 0-11)
- Williamstown (11-7, 6-5)
vs. Ritchie County (8-10, 5-6)
Complete matchups will
appear in Wednesday's edition of
The Parkersburg News and Sentinel.
Tie-breaker No. 4 revolves around common opponents by the two knotted teams in the other division with No. 5 being centered around common opponents from outside the LKC. Should the two teams still remain tied, then the WVSSAC's football power ranking formula would be used to break the deadlock. If that fails, then a flip of the coin would be used.
Heading into the final week of divisional action, Parkersburg Catholic (12-6, 7-4) finds itself trailing Ravenswood (9-9, 8-4) by one-game for second place in the North. The Crusaders of head coach Robbie Strcula play host to last place Tyler Consolidated (1-17, 0-11) on Tuesday. A victory would place the Columbia blue and white into a tie with the Red Devils for second place in the North.
That is where the matchup between one of the Crusaders' oldest and hottest rivals, Williamstown, comes into play. A victory by the Yellowjackets (11-7, 6-5) over the Rebels from Ritchie County (8-10, 5-6) would not only lock up a fourth place finish in the North for the maroon and gold, but also send Parkersburg Catholic into Saturday's 5 p.m. third place game.
However, a victory by the Rebels would place them into a tie for fourth with Williamstown. A tie Ritchie would win based on a split in their matchups with Parkersburg Catholic during the regular season while the Yellowjackets dropped both contests against the Crusaders. It would also mean that Ravenswood would win its tie with the Crusaders and advance to Saturday's opening contest.
In the South, the Panthers of Clay County (11-7, 8-3 LKC South) can lock up second place with a win over the Eagles. But, a loss in their final divisional game of the season will throw them into a tie with Roane County (12-7, 8-4 LKC South).
A tie that can only be broken by using the WVSSAC's football power ranking formula.
With wins over Point Pleasant and Oak Glen, the Raiders will come out on top in that tie-breaker, leaving Clay County to have to settle for a third place finish in the division and a road trip to either Ravenswood or Parkersburg Catholic.
