Boys tourney: River View coach frustrated at team's draw

River View coach Ben Belden didn't hide his frustration concerning his team's Division II sectional tournament draw on Sunday.

The Black Bears, with a 7-13 record, were handed a No. 16 seed of 21 teams by voting coaches within the district. That ranked two spots behind Claymont, which plays a mostly Division III schedule, and four spots behind Steubenville, which it beat head to head with an equal amount of victories. Zanesville, which checked in with six wins and earned the 13th seed, had one less win at the draw.

It left Belden vexed. In the end, his team faced the unenviable task of picking a game in brackets headed by the top four seeds in Maysville (18-1), New Philadelphia (13-5), Carrollton (19-2) and Tri-Valley (13-7).

Maysville and Tri-Valley swept the Black Bears in the regular season, and Belden carries high regard for a battle-hardened and talented Quaker squad playing in the Ohio Cardinal Conference.

That left a road game with Carrollton, which it plays at 7 p.m. on Feb. 21 in a pigtail game. The winner gets Claymont on Feb. 25 for a district berth, likely against No. 5 seed East Liverpool (12-6).

Carrollton gave the Bears just five points at the draw, ahead of only four teams. The Warriors' coaches voted nine-win Steubenville and West Holmes, which is 2-17, higher.

Of the Black Bears' 12 losses, most came with standout guard Brody Border injured.

"We ended up about where I thought we would be, but how we got there doesn't exactly make sense," Belden said. "Some (Carrollton and Indian Valley) voted me below West Holmes, who we beat and have five more wins than, and below Steubenville, who we beat (on the road). That doesn't make sense to me."

Belden has already been breaking down film of Carrollton and East Liverpool, anticipating a matchup with one of the top teams from the eastern bloc.

Belden is confident with the matchup, at least in comparison to Maysville, New Philadelphia and Tri-Valley. The emergence of Layton Massie with stars Owen Emig and Border have given the team more options on offense, something he hopes propels them to potential tournament success.

"We said when Brody went down that we certainly hate to see him go down, but it gives someone else a chance to step up," Belden said. "Sometimes you find that diamond in the rough. We thought as the season went along that Layton (Massie) would get more of a shot, and when Brody went down he got that shot. Now we have a little more depth, a little bigger in spots that we weren't before."

Two teams from two brackets will advance to the Athens regional, along with one Southeast and Central champion. All sectional games will be played on Feb. 21 and Feb. 25

All district semifinals are set for 7 p.m. on March 1 at sites to be determined by the district. Both district finals will be played at 7 p.m. on March 4.

Maysville, coached by former Coshocton and Muskingum standout Dave Brown, chose the bottom bracket and will host 21st-seeded Meadowbook (1-18) in a sectional final on May 25.

The winner gets either sixth-seeded Indian Valley, 10th-seeded Morgan (9-10) or 15th-seeded Minerva (8-12) in the district semifinals. Morgan will host Minerva on Feb, 21 in a pigtail game.

"We filled out one (bracket) before and it was real similar (to today)," Maysville coach Dave Brown said. "Normally you do that 100 times and you can't get close. We had Indian Valley coming to (our bracket) and us playing Meadowbrook. We have a chance to come out and win a district title, which was our goal at the beginning of the year."

East Liverpool hosts No. 18 Cambridge (4-16) in the other sectional final on Feb. 25, with the two winners meeting in the district semifinals.

In the upper bracket, Tri-Valley (13-7) hosts No. 19 Rayland Buckeye Local (6-13) in a pigtail on Feb. 21, with the winner playing No. 17 Philo (4-15) on Feb. 25.

The highest remaining seed will host for a district berth against either No. 8 Wintersville Indian Creek (10-9), No. 11 Lisbon Beaver Local (9-10) or No. 9 St. Clairsville (8-10). Creek and Beaver play on Feb. 21.

Above them, No. 7 John Glenn (11-9) entertains No. 12 Steubenville (7-12) in a pigtail on Feb. 21, with No. 13 Zanesville (6-12), winners of five of six after a 1-11 start, hosting the winner for a district berth on Feb. 25.

New Philadelphia will host West Holmes (2-17) in a one-game sectional on Feb. 25, with the two survivors meeting in the district on March 1.

"I wouldn't be surprised to see some upsets," Belden said.

In Division III, Coshocton (7-11) earned the No. 11 seed and visits No. 6 seed Bellaire at 7 p.m. on Feb. 21. The winner plays either No. 3 seed Garaway (15-3) or No. 14 Barnesville (3-17) for a district berth at 7 p.m. on Feb. 24 at the higher-seeded team's site.

West Muskingum (16-4) earned the No. 4 seed and hosts No. 12 Beverly Fort Frye (5-13) at 7 p.m. on Feb. 21, with the winner playing the survivor of No. 5 Sandy Valley (14-6) or No. 19 Tuscarawas Valley (10-9) at 7 p.m. on Feb. 24. The highest remaining seed hosts.

Above them, top-seeded Malvern (18-1) welcomes No. 15 seed Richmond Edison (6-14), with the winner taking on No. 13 Ridgewood (3-15) at 7 p.m. for a district berth.

The two sectional winners will play at 7 p.m. on Feb. 28 at a site to be determined. The regional will be held at Ohio University's Convocation Center.

sblackbu@gannett.com; Twitter: @SamBlackburnTR

This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: Boys tourney: River View coach frustrated at team's draw