“We knew it was going to come down either us or Tri-Village,,” said Irish coach John Detling. “We looked at it from all angles. We knew that whatever we got, we would take it. We’re excited to be conference champs and we’re excited to finish up the regular season.”
The Irish jumped into the Troy 2 bracket and will face eighth-seeded Emmanuel Christian (7-11) in a first round game at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 19. Catholic Central beat the Lions 55-40 on Dec. 30.
“It’s going to be a tough task right off the bat,” Detling said.
The winner of that game will play the winner of sixth-seeded Legacy Christian and No. 10 Tri-County North in a second-round game at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 23.
The opposite side of thebracket includes No. 3 Cedarville (17-4) against No. 11 Miami Valley at 4 p.m. on Feb. 19. The winner of that game will play No. 4 Yellow Springs (13-4) at 6 p.m. on Feb. 23. The Troy 2 district semifinal game is set for 7 p.m. on Feb. 26.
The Irish are motivated to make a deep tournament run after falling in the district semifinal game each of the past two seasons. Catholic Central won district championships in 2018 and 2019.
“The guys know what it takes to get ready, to take it one game at a time, stay focused and win and advance,” Detling said.
No. 1 seed Tri-Village opted to play in the Troy 1 bracket. Ninth-seeded Southeastern (5-13) play fifth-seeded Twin Valley South in a Troy 1 first round game at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 18. The winner will play No. 9 seed Franklin Monroe at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 22. The winner of those games will face off with the Tri-Village-Jefferson-East Dayton Christian winner in a district semifinal game at 7 p.m. on Feb. 25.
Division I: Springfield (3-9) earned the No. 10 seed in the D-I, Dayton 2 district at Centerville High School. The Wildcats will play the winner of third-seeded Wayne and No. 12 West Carrollton at 7:15 on Feb. 21. The winner of that game will face the winner of No. 5 Northmont-No. 6 Franklin-No. 7 Miamisburg in the district semifinal at 7:15 on Feb. 25.
Tecumseh (11-8) is the No. 12 seed and will play 11th-seeded Piqua at 7 p.m. in a D-1, Dayton 1 first round game on Feb 16 at Vandalia Butler High School. The Arrows beat Piqua 69-66 on Jan. 8.
The winner of that game will face the winner of No. 13 Lebanon and No. 8 Sidney at 7:30 on Feb. 22. The winner of those games will likely play D-I top-ranked and defending state champion Centerville in the district semifinal game at 7 p.m. on Feb. 26.
Division III: In the D-III, Dayton 2 district at Northmont High School, Shawnee (10-7) earned the No. 5 seed. It will play No. 18 Covington at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 17. The winner will play No. 2 Stivers at 5:30 on Feb. 24.
The other side of the bracket includes No. 7 seed Greenon. It will play 10th-seeded Anna at 7 p.m. on Feb. 24.
The D-III, Dayton 3 district semifinal game will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 26.
Northeastern (6-13) is the No. 16 seed in the D-III, Dayton 4 district at Vandalia Butler High School. The Jets will play No. 15 Triad at 7:30 on Feb. 15. The winner will play third-seeded Meadowdale at 6 p.m. Feb. 24. The other side of the bracket includes No. 19 Mechanicsburg against No. 2 Preble Shawnee at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 24. The district semifinal game will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 26.
Division II: Kenton Ridge (8-12) is the No. 12 seed in the D-II, Dayton 2 district at Fairmont’s Trent Arena. The Cougars will play No. 7 Bellbrook at 1 p.m. Feb. 19. The winner will play either No. 9 Milton Union or No. 12 Waynesville. On the other side of the bracket, No. 1 Alter will play No. 22 Northwestern (0-16) at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 18. The winner will play No. 20 Greenville at 5:30 on Feb. 22. The Dayton 2 district semifinal game will be held at 7 p.m. on Feb. 25.
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