Previewing Gaylord-area boys basketball districts
GAYLORD ― It is officially March.
That means postseason basketball is right around the corner as teams around the country begin their end-of-year preparations, and that includes the local high school teams as the MHSAA boys basketball postseason kicks off next Monday, March 6.
Gaylord will get area teams started on Monday, while both Gaylord St. Mary's and Johannesburg-Lewiston will start their postseason journies on Wednesday.
See how the brackets are lining up for each area squad.
Gaylord (12-9, 3-7 BNC)
District 1
Host: Non-traditional
Matchups: Monday, March 6 - Gaylord vs. TC West (at TC West), Alpena vs. Petoskey (at Alpena), Sault Ste Marie vs. TC Central (at Sault Ste Marie).
Wednesday, March 8 - Winner of Gaylord/TC West vs. winner of Alpena/Petoskey, winner of Sault/TC Central vs. Marquette
Friday, March 10 - District finals
Much like the girls squad, the Gaylord boys are among many familiar teams in MHSAA's District 1, with five of the six Big North teams and two U.P. schools making up the seven-team bracket.
Fittingly, the opening matchup with Traverse City West will be the third matchup between the two schools this season, with the first two ending with two wildly different outcomes. TC West dominated the first game, winning the January 6 home matchup 69-39, while a back-and-forth, highly contested game went Gaylord's way in overtime when they met in Jim Mongeau Gymnasium on Feb. 10.
With a win, the Blue Devils would likely get a third shot at their rivals from Petoskey after dropping both of the first two matchups in the regular season. They have matched up with every other team in the bracket at least once, defeating Alpena twice while falling in both games with TC Central and in single games with Sault Ste and Marquette in late January and early February respectively.
Gaylord St. Mary (13-2, 17-4 BNC)
District 105
Host: Ellsworth
Matchups: Monday, March 6 - Central Lake vs. Boyne Falls
Wednesday, March 8 - Ellsworth vs. Bellaire, winner of Central Lake/Boyne Falls vs. Gaylord St. Mary
Friday, March 10 - District finals
The St. Mary's boys have one of their best shots at a district title in recent years, but they will still have to get things done in a field of improving teams.
Barring a major upset, their semifinal matchup will be with Central Lake, a team they handled in both Ski Valley Conference matchups earlier this season. Most recently, the Snowbirds handled the Trojans on the road 55-46 to claim their 13th conference win of the season back on Feb. 25, a much closer result than the double-digit beatdown they handed them earlier in the year.
A win in the semifinals would match the Snowbirds up with either Ellsworth or Bellaire, two more teams they have handled this season. GSM beat Ellsworth 85-66 back in January while also defeating Bellaire twice in early January and early February. Both teams are improving, however, with Bellaire coming within seven points of the Snowbirds when they faced off on Feb. 7 and Ellsworth going 9-1 since their loss to GSM.
Johannesburg-Lewiston (2-17, 2-12 BNC)
District 68
Matchups: Monday, March 6 - Whittemore-Prescott vs. Oscoda
Wednesday, March 8 - Alcona vs. Johannesburg-Lewiston, winner of Whittemore-Prescott/Oscoda vs. Tawas
Friday, March 10 - District finals
A disappointing regular season could be all but forgotten if the JoBurg boys could put together a run in districts.
The Cardinals will have a chance to make the finals if they can find a way to get hot against Alcona, a team that has gone 8-10 overall but has struggled as of late, losing their last four games.
Getting past a talented Tawas team would be a whole different obstacle entirely.
The Braves are the favorites to win this district, rocking a 15-5 overall record to this point while competing with and defeating much bigger schools throughout their successful season. Their season opener was against JoBurg back in December, defeating the Cardinals 67-27 to begin their successful 2022-23 campaign on the right foot.
JoBurg would need their fair share of madness to make their way into the regional round, but remember, it is March.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Previewing Gaylord-area boys basketball districts
