By David Witte sports@losbanosenterprise.com
After finishing the season with strong wins, both the Los Banos boys and girls basketball teams were rewarded with 16-seeds for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoffs. The Los Banos girls (17-10) will travel to No. 1 St. Mary's of Stockton (20-2) Tuesday evening, while the boys will head to No. 1 Woodcreek of Roseville (23-4) Wednesday.
Both games start at 7 p.m. "I'm excited for the kids. It's just a different atmosphere, and with a lot of juniors coming back, hopefully it will do them good to see what it's like," boys coach Joe Barcellos said. "Obviously, no one expects a 16-seed to beat a 1-seed, but it has happened. We're excited. We extended our season a little. Now we'll try to get some film and see what we're up against. At this point, there's no expecations, so we'll just go in and have fun." The boys finished the season with a 6-4 record in the Western Athletic Conference, capped by a 51-44 road victory over Central Valley. The Tigers then needed other teams to lose in order to sneak in.
"Friday we got some help," Barcellos said. "Inderkum lost and El camino lost. Either of those two win and we're done." LB's girls team finished with a victory over Central Valley, a 39-32 win Feb. 15 that netted them a share of the WAC title. The win helped the Tigers jump from No. 19 to No. 16 in the section's Division II power ratings, which decides playoff seeds. LB's first-round opponent, St. Mary's of Stockton, is ranked No. 4 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports.
GIRLS
SAC-JOAQUIN SECTION DIVISION II BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS
First round, Feb. 22 Higher seed is home team
No. 16 Los Banos (17-10) at No. 1 st. Mary's-Stockton (20-2)
No. 9 Woodcreek-Roseville (17-10) at No. 8 Florin-Sacramento (22-5)
No. 12 Benicia (17-10) at No. 5 Antelope (20-6)
No. 13 Rio Linda (17-10) at No. 4 Bella Vista-Fair Oaks (21-5)
No. 14 Central Valley-Ceres (14-7) at No. 3 El Camino-Sacramento (26-1)
No. 11 Vacaville (13-12) at No. 6 Rocklin (17-10)
No. 10 Bethel-Vallejo (18-7) at No. 7 Inderkum-Sacramento (25-2)
No. 15 River City-West Sacramento (18-9) at No. 2 Del Oro-Loomis (22-3)
OTHER Merced County and WAC schools: DIVISION I No. 12 Merced (19-8) at No. 5 Armijo-Fairfield (22-5)
DIVISION IV No. 11 Hilmar (15-9) at No. 6 Capital Christian-Sacramento (19-8)
BOYS
SAC-JOAQUIN SECTION DIVISION II BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS
First round, Feb. 23 Higher seed is home team
No. 16 Los Banos (16-11) at No. 1 Woodcreek-Roseville (23-4)
No. 9 Wood-Vacaville (18-8) at No. 8 Bethel-Vallejo (15-9)
No. 12 Vallejo (16-11) at No. 5 Bella Vista-Fair Oaks (15-12)
No. 13 Folsom (12-14) at No. 4 Antelope (22-5)
No. 14 Buhach Colony-Atwater (14-13) at No. 3 Cordova-Rancho Cordova (20-6)
No. 11 Del Oro-Loomis (18-9) at No. 6 Del Campo-Fair Oaks (20-7)
No. 10 Rio Americano-Sacramento (14-13) at No. 7 St. Mary's-Stockton (17-10)
No. 15 Oakmont-Roseville (15-11) at No. 2 Fairfield 20-6)
Other Merced County and WAC Schools DIVISION I No. 9 Rodriguez-Fairfield (19-8) at No. 8 Golden Valley-Merced (23-4)
DIVISION III No. 13 Livingston (15-12) at No. 4 Weston Ranch-Stockton (24-2)
No. 11 Ceres (16-8) at No. 6 Foothill-Sacramento (19-8)
DIVISION IV No. 12 Central Catholic-Modesto (17-10) at No. 5 Highlands (19-6)
No. 15 Le Grand (13-12) at No. 2 Summerville-Tuolumne (22-4)