Ocean City Basketball Teams Open Playoffs With Home Doubleheader Tuesday

OCEAN CITY, NJ — Both the Ocean City High School boys and girls basketball teams begin their playoff quests at home next week, according to brackets posted on nj.com.

The girls, the No. 1 seed in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 3 tournament, open next Tuesday night’s doubleheader with a matchup against No. 16 Pinelands at 5 p.m.

The boys, the No. 3 seed in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 3 tournament, host No. 14 Toms River East in the second game at 7 p.m. on Feb. 28.

The girls are 23-1, and have won two in a row since dropping a 38-25 decision at home to Mainland on Feb. 16, bringing an end to the Red Raiders’ 21-game winning streak, according to glorydaysonline.com.

Before the state tournament begins, Ocean City plays Holy Spirit in the Cape-Atlantic League tournament semifinals on Thursday night at St. Augustine, and may get another shot at Mainland in the final at Stockton University on Saturday.

Pinelands comes into the state tournament with a record of 9-14 as of Wednesday afternoon.

The winner of Tuesday evening’s game faces the winner of the game between No. 8 Toms River East and No. 9 Highland in the quarterfinals on March 2. The semifinals are set for March 4, and the championship game is March 7. If the seeds hold up, Ocean City would face No. 2 Mainland in the final.

The boys are 16-7 this season, and are coming off a 79-66 loss to Wildwood Catholic in the Cape-Atlantic League tournament, according to The Press of Atlantic City.

Toms River East comes into the tournament with a record of 8-12 as of Wednesday afternoon.

The winner of Tuesday night’s game faces the winner of the game between No. 6 Triton and No. 11 Toms River South in the quarterfinals on March 2. The semifinals are set for March 4, and the championship game is March 7. Central Regional is the No. 1 overall seed, and Highland Regional is the No. 2 seed.