Harford County Boys Basketball Playoff Preview

Half of the Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference's boys basketball teams will open the first round of the MPSSAA region tournament tonight.

The other half earned a bye.

In what was an up-and-down season for most teams in the conference, five teams emerged with first-round byes for the state-wide tournament—Patterson Mill, Havre de Grace, Fallston, Edgewood and conference champions North Harford will get a rest tonight.

The remainder of the county will be battling for their playoff lives in hopes of reaching the ultimate goal of playing in the state tournament at the Comcast Center in College Park.

For the complete brackets for the 1A, 2A and 3A classes, check out the PDF files in the media section of this story. For more, visit the MPSSAA web site.

Here's a breakdown of the Harford County schools in the early rounds of the region tournament:

CLASS 1A NORTH

2. PATTERSON MILL

First Round: Bye

Second Round: Monday vs. winner of No. 10 Loch Raven at No. 7 Bohemia Manor

Biggest Hurdle: No. 3 New Town. The Baltimore County squad has won a state title recently, and would visit Patterson Mill in the regional semifinal.

4. HAVRE DE GRACE

First Round: Bye

Second Round: Monday vs. winner of No. 12 Western STES at No. 5 Joppatowne

Biggest Hurdle: No. 1 seed Owings Mills. The Warriors were eliminated by the Baltimore County power last year.

5. JOPPATOWNE

First Round: Tonight vs. No. 12 Western STES

With a Win: Monday at No. 4 Havre de Grace

Biggest Hurdle: No. 4 Havre de Grace in Round 2. The Warriors won the UCBAC Chesapeake Division.

9. HARFORD TECH

First Round: Tonight at Perryville

With a Win: Monday at No. 1 Owings Mills.

Biggest Hurdle: Owings Mills. With a win, the Cobras would face the top seed in the region.

CLASS 2A

1. FALLSTON

First Round: Bye

With a Win: Monday vs. winner of No. 5 Rising Sun at No. 4 Bel Air

Biggest Hurdle: No. 4 Bel Air. If the Bobcats can get past Rising Sun, they’ve shown the ability to knock off some high-quality teams. Also, Bobcats coach Mike Getz was at Fallston just last year.

2. EDGEWOOD

First Round: Bye

With a Win: Monday vs. No. 6 North East at No. 3 Elkton

Biggest Hurdle: No. 1 Fallston. If Edgewood can get on a run, it would visit the Cougars in the District VII Sectional final.

4. BEL AIR

First Round: Friday vs. No. 5 Rising Sun

With a Win: Monday at No. 1 Fallston

Biggest Hurdle: Rising Sun. The Bobcats have come a long way since last year's forgettable campaign. But they cannot overlook anyone quite yet.

CLASS 3A

2. NORTH HARFORD

First Round: Bye

Second Round: vs. winner of No. 10 Aberdeen at No. 7 Franklin

Biggest Hurdle: No. 10 Aberdeen.  North Harford will be coming off the high of the UCBAC championship win. Aberdeen, should they defeat Franklin in the first round, would have its sights set on another deep playoff run.

 

10. ABERDEEN

First Round: Friday at No. 7 Franklin

With a Win: Monday at No. 2 North Harford

Biggest Hurdle: Franklin. Aberdeen is athletic and talented, and they have a budding star in Tevon Saddler. But this year’s Eagles squad hasn’t yet taken flight.

12. C. MILTON WRIGHT

First Round: Friday at No. 5 Towson

With a Win: Monday at No. 4 Patapsco

Biggest Hurdle: Towson. The Mustangs had an up-and-down season, defeating conference powers like Aberdeen, but also losing by wide margins late in the year.