Playoff Matchups Set for Ocean City Boys, Girls Basketball Teams

Ocean City, NJ -- The road to the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 3 girls basketball championship goes through Ocean City.

Both the boys and girls basketball teams learned their playoff positions on Thursday, and the girls were the top seed in the 16-team playoff field, according to nj.com. The Red Raiders (15-2) will host No. 16 Central Regional (9-11) in the first round.

The boys (13-6) were the No. 4 seed in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 3 boys tournament, and will host No. 13 Pinelands (7-12) in the first round.

Ocean City’s first round games will be played on Feb. 29 as part of a boys-girls doubleheader. The boys game begins at 5 p.m., followed by the girls at 7 p.m.

The girls lost their first game of the season, then reeled off 11 straight wins before a Jan. 31 loss to Gloucester Catholic.

Ocean City has four games left before their playoff opener, including road games at Oakcrest and Pleasantville and home battles against Camden Catholic and Wildwood.

Central lost six of their first seven games, but have won five straight with two regular season games left.

The winner faces the winner of the game between No. 8 Cumberland and No. 9 Absegami in the quarterfinals on March 2.

The semifinals are March 4 and the championship game is scheduled for March 7.

The boys have winning streaks of five and six games this season, and had won three in a row as of Thursday afternoon. Only a trip to Lower Cape May and a home game against Wildwood remain on the schedule.

Pinelands lost six of its first seven games, and its longest winning streak of the season is three. It has six regular season games left.

The winner faces the winner of the game between No. 5 Winslow and No. 12 Central Regional in the quarterfinals on March 2. The semifinals are scheduled for March 4, and the championship game is set for March 7.