Boys basketball draw: For first time, Black River to host tournament game

For the first time in school history, the Black River boys basketball team will host a tournament game. That was the biggest story out of the Divisions III-VII tournament draw that took place digitally across Northeast Ohio on Sunday. The Pirates (13-9) earned the 16th seed out of 35 D-V schools in the MaxPreps RPI rankings. They will open Feb. 28 against No. 21 Waynedale (11-10) in a Northeast 4 District semifinal. The next game would almost certainly come with a twist should Black River win, as No. 4 Manchester (16-4) is highly likely to host the March 4 semifinal. Manchester is the alma mater of Pirates coach Kyle Dack. The final is March 7 at Firestone. The Pirates have never reached a district championship game. Elsewhere in Medina County, a tough regular-season schedule paid off for Medina Christian (12-8), as it earned the sixth seed out of 26 D-VII teams and picked up a favorable draw. The Knights took a Feb. 26 quarterfinal home game in the Northeast 3 District and will play No. 21 Lake Ridge Academy (5-15). With a victory, Medina Christian would host No. 8 Vienna Mathews (11-8) or No. 18 Southington Chalker (5-14) in the March 2 semifinals. The final is March 7 at Smithville. In D-IV, Cloverleaf (11-8) was the 16th seed out of 35 teams. The Colts valued a home quarterfinal, so they chose the same side of the Northeast 2 bracket as No. 3 Cleveland Central Catholic (14-7). Numerous teams passed on playing Cloverleaf until No. 29 Coventry (4-15) jumped on the Feb. 27 date. The Colts swept the Comets in Metro Athletic Conference play. The district final is March 7 at North Ridgeville. In the mammoth 51-team D-III draw, Buckeye (11-9) was 31st and went for a home Northeast 5 quarterfinal on the same side of the bracket as No. 9 St. Vincent-St. Mary (11-9). The Bucks will host No. 32 Garrett Morgan (14-7) on Feb. 27 and with a victory would almost certainly travel to LeBron James' alma mater on March 3. The district final is March 7 at Strongsville. Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com. Tournament schedule Division III, Northeast 5 Feb. 27 (7 p.m.) — East Tech at CVCA, Villa Angela-St. Joseph at Westlake, Garrett Morgan at Buckeye, Wooster at St. Vincent-St. Mary. March 3 (7 p.m.) — CVCA/East Tech winner vs. Westlake/Villa Angela-St. Joseph winner, Buckeye/Garrett Morgan winner vs. St. Vincent-St. Mary/Wooster winner. March 7 (3:30 p.m.) — District final at Strongsville. Division IV, Northeast 2 (All games at 7 p.m.) Feb. 23 — Clearview at Holy Name. Feb. 27 — Clearview/Holy Name winner at Cleveland Central Catholic, Coventry at Cloverleaf, Ravenna at Hubbard, Springfield at Norton. March 3 — Holy Name/Clearview/Cleveland Central Catholic winner vs. Cloverleaf/Coventry winner, Ravenna/Hubbard winner vs. Springfield/Norton winner. March 7 — District final at North Ridgeville. Division V, Northeast 4 Feb. 25 (7 p.m.) — Northwestern at Manchester. Feb. 28 (1 p.m.) — Manchester/Northwestern winner vs. Shaw, Waynedale at Black River, Canton Central Catholic at Burton Berkshire, Cortland Lakeview at Leavittsburg LaBrae. March 4 (7 p.m.) — Manchester/Northwestern/Shaw winner vs Black River/Waynedale winner, Canton Central Catholic/Berkshire winner vs. Lakeview/LaBrae winner. March 7 (7 p.m.) — District final at Firestone. Division VII, Northeast 3 (All games at 7 p.m.) Feb. 26 — Youngstown Academy for Urban Scholars at Fairport Harding, Ashtabula St. John at Wellsville, Lake Ridge Academy at Medina Christian, Chalker at Vienna Mathews. March 2 — Fairport Harding/Youngstown Academy for Urban Scholars winner vs. Wellsville/St. John winner, Medina Christian/Lake Ridge Academy winner vs. Vienna Mathews/Chalker winner. March. 7 — District final at Smithville.