MEADVILLE — With state-ranked teams involved in three games and the fourth having one which has been considered for ranking, Thursday night’s championship semifinals in the Meadville Invitational tournament had the potential to be, if not boring, predictably routine.
None of them proved to be, however, with one ranked team falling, the two others pushed hard, the wannabe coming close to having a long winning streak snapped.
An entertaining slate of games began with the host Meadville Lady Eagles, probably a bit over-ranked at No. 6 in the state, being knocked off by the fourth-seeded Tina-Avalon Lady Dragons, 36-33.
In the other girls’ game, second-seeded Mercer – ranked right ahead of Meadville in Class 1 and, like MHS, unbeaten prior to Thursday – went back and forth with a determined Hale squad before finally taking the battle of Lady Cardinals 40-34.
The boys’ contests were equally dynamic.
The undefeated hosts, ranked No. 2 in the state in Class 1, trailed upset-minded Tina-Avalon by eight midway through the third quarter before uncorking a 26-4 surge en route to a 60-48 decision.
The finale of the night held up its end of the bargain, too, as Braymer improved to 14-1 with its 13th win in a row, a back-and-forth 72-67 win over Hale.
Thursday’s winners will play for the 2010 tourney’s crowns Saturday night – the girls at about 7 o’clock, followed by the boys at around 8:30.
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MEADVILLE — With state-ranked teams involved in three games and the fourth having one which has been considered for ranking, Thursday night’s championship semifinals in the Meadville Invitational tournament had the potential to be, if not boring, predictably routine.
None of them proved to be, however, with one ranked team falling, the two others pushed hard, the wannabe coming close to having a long winning streak snapped.
An entertaining slate of games began with the host Meadville Lady Eagles, probably a bit over-ranked at No. 6 in the state, being knocked off by the fourth-seeded Tina-Avalon Lady Dragons, 36-33.
In the other girls’ game, second-seeded Mercer – ranked right ahead of Meadville in Class 1 and, like MHS, unbeaten prior to Thursday – went back and forth with a determined Hale squad before finally taking the battle of Lady Cardinals 40-34.
The boys’ contests were equally dynamic.
The undefeated hosts, ranked No. 2 in the state in Class 1, trailed upset-minded Tina-Avalon by eight midway through the third quarter before uncorking a 26-4 surge en route to a 60-48 decision.
The finale of the night held up its end of the bargain, too, as Braymer improved to 14-1 with its 13th win in a row, a back-and-forth 72-67 win over Hale.
Thursday’s winners will play for the 2010 tourney’s crowns Saturday night – the girls at about 7 o’clock, followed by the boys at around 8:30.
