Division I Boys Regional Tournament Preview

By Mike Parris

February 26, 2008, 9:38PM

District championships are up for grabs this weekend as the top boys' basketball teams in Division I square off in an attempt to continue onto regional play.

There haven't been many suprises thus far in the postseason as most of the favorites remain alive in the tournament. The only upset from the final AP regular season poll was a big one, as second-ranked Columbus Northland lost their district semifinal game against Westerville South, 67-59.

Ohiohssports.com looks at the each region and what to watch in upcoming games.

Cleveland Region

In what should shape up to be a very competitive region, the title of "favorite" is still up for grabs. Four of the top 15 teams in the state reside in the Cleveland Region, including sixth-ranked Warren Harding and eight-ranked Cleveland Glenville.

The sleeper, however, could be Lakewood St. Edward. Despite not finding themselves ranked on the AP poll, the Eagles are one of the most talented teams in the state and were considered nationally-ranked by some sources prior to being hit by the injury bug earlier in the year. Blue-chip forward Delvon Roe was lost to a knee injury as well as classmate Alex Sterba.

The Eagles, despite missing some of their top talent, should still be a major factor after playing a who's who of national talent and still having one of the better post players in the state in 6-foot-8 Tom Pritchard, an Indiana recruit.

There certainly won't be a shortage of talent in the region. In addition to Pritchard, tenth-ranked Garfield Heights boasts Wisconsin recruit Robert Wilson while Glenville and Strongsville feature two of the area's top scorers in Rayshawn Goins and Tim Kamczyc, respectively.

Akron Region

The bottom of the Akron Region should be rocking as two of the top teams in the state are on a collision course for what could shape up to be a memorable district final at the Canton Civic Center.

Massillon Perry, ranked 11th in the state, and Canton Timken, ranked seventh in the state, could possibly square off in the district finals. However, each will first have to get by tough opponents in district semifinal affairs. Perry takes on North Canton Hoover while Timken tangles with Massillon Jackson.

Perry boasts one of the top-ranked players in the state in 6-foot-11 center Kenny Frease. The Xavier University recruit is considered among the top post prospects in the country and has backed it up, averaging over 20 points and 12 rebounds per contest.

If Frease and his Perry teammates can advance to the district finals, he will have to battle with another talented big man in Timken's Cameron Howard. The 6-foot-8 center has modest scoring and rebound numbers (6.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg) but is averaging an impressive 4.1 blocks per game.

On the other side of the bracket, two other ranked teams could potentially matchup in district final play. Third-ranked Perrysburg and eleventh-ranked Mansfield Senior are on a collision course in the Bowling Green District. Each easily rolled in their respective first round games, winning by double-digits.

Columbus Region

The state's top-ranked team resides in the Columbus Region despite hailing from the Queen City. Cincinnati Moeller, the defending state champions in Division I, kept their momentum from last year throughout the regular season and will look to win back-to-back titles.

Masterful at slowing down the pace and playing a grind-it-out brand of basketball, the Crusaders put their style on display in a district semifinal win over Trenton Edgewood. They limited their helpless opponents to a paltry 16 total points in a dominating 29-point win. Moeller is led by Division I recruits Matt Roberts (6-foot-9) and Quinn McDowell (6-foot-4).

They will have to continue their staunch defensive efforts in the district final against an athletic Trotwood-Madison squad. The winner will advance to tangle with the winner of the Zanesville-Newark game. Zanesville is ranked ninth in the state.

Cincinnati Region

While Moeller hopes to continue on to the state's capital for regional play, one of the other top-ranked teams in the state will stay in its own backyard in hopes to advance.

Cincinnati St. Xavier, who fell to Moeller in the state championship last season, continued its' strong play this season and is ranked as the number four team in Division I. They would like nothing more to continue on and advance to square-off with their neighborhood rival again in a rematch of last season's title game.

But first, they will have to take care of business in a district final matchup with Clayton Northmont. The Bombers struggled a bit against Loveland in a 49-42 district semifinal win over Loveland. They will turn to talented small forward Walt Gibler, a dangerous wing player who can stroke it from outside and use his 6-foot-6 inch frame inside. Earlier this season, the Loyola Chicago recruit became just the fourth player in school history to reach 1,000 career points.