Tournament Field Not As Predictable As It First Seemed

Until Tuesday, calculating which boys teams would advance to the District 7-B Tournament seemed a simple matter.

The four teams with the best records in the Bi-County and Panorama leagues hadn’t lost any league counters against the rest of the pack. The eight-team district field was almost certain to be Almira/ Coulee-Hartline, Reardan, Liberty and Sprague-Harrington from the Bi-County and St. George’s, Selkirk, Republic and Northwest Christian from the Panorama.

Then, Odessa (9-8, 6-6) upset Liberty (13-4, 10-2) on Tuesday, reminding all favorites that there are no guarantees.

Boys league tournament play begins Tuesday (Bi-County) and Wednesday (Panorama) as the road emerges toward the first State B Tournament at the Arena.

Liberty and NWC should learn more about their tourney chances this weekend. Both complete league play against tough 1-2 punches. Liberty hosts Reardan on Friday and travels to Harrington Saturday. NWC is home Friday against Selkirk, then takes to the road for a stab at Republic’s 13-game win streak.

NWC is stronger, however, with the return of Jim Marr. The Crusaders’ tallest player (6-foot-3) was averaging nearly 14 points per game when he broke his hand Jan. 5 against St. George’s.

“We’ve had guys who have stepped up,” NWC coach Danny Beard said. “Nobody expected us to do anything, and even without Marr we had a chance to beat St. George’s (in second meeting Jan. 19).”

Liberty, despite its streakiness, owns wins over every Bi-County team except ACH.

“But we need to go in (to the tournament) playing our best,” said Lancers coach David Baird. “I don’t know if we’ve done that yet.”

, DataTimes