Tuesday's top HS games to see (2/19)

No. 1 South Side vs. No. 2 Liberty (District 14-AA boys’ championship)

Time: 7:30 p.m. at Chester County

Previous meetings: Split two meetings (Liberty won 69-63; South Side won 72-71)

Players to watch: South Side guard Jaylen Barford; Liberty guard Kendall Walker

Next opponent: Winner hosts Crockett County in the Region 7-AA quarterfinals Saturday. Loser hosts Westview in the Region 7-AA quarterfinals Saturday.

What to know: This district has won six of the last nine Class AA state championships and both of these teams have a chance of making a trip to Murfreesboro to keep that streak going. The two teams split during the regular season with each winning on the road. South Side looked unbeatable on Saturday in the semifinal win over Bolivar. Liberty fought back in the fourth quarter to beat Fayette-Ware. The Crusaders have won 10 of their last 11 games. South Side is on a seven-game winning streak.

 

No. 2 TCA vs. No. 4 Riverside (District 15-A boys’ championship)

Time: 7:30 p.m. at Middleton

Previous meetings: TCA swept (73-60; 67-51)

Players to watch: TCA guard William Hall; Riverside guard Payton Hehe

Next opponent: Winner hosts the Westwood-MASE loser in the Region 8-A quarterfinals. Loser hosts the Westwood-MASE winner.

What to know: Riverside beat Middleton for the first time this season on Saturday in the semifinals. The Panthers will look to do the same tonight against TCA. The girls won their second district title in over a decade, and now the boys will look to win one of their own. Riverside’s offense runs through Payton Hehe and Dylan Scott. TCA will look to use their deep bench to win its first district title. William Hall is a strong scorer for the Lions, but look for a player like Ben Moroney, James Bond or Kyle Akin to get hot tonight to help on offense.

 

No. 3 Hardin County vs. No. 4 North Side (District 13-AAA boys’ consolation)

Time: 6 p.m. at Munford

Previous meetings: Split two meetings (Hardin County won 63-61 (2OT); North Side won 64-50)

Players to watch: Hardin County guard Kelby Wardlow; North Side guard Storm Shivers

Next opponent: Winner travels to the Craigmont-Cordova loser in the Region 7-AAA semifinals. Loser travels to the Craigmont-Cordova winner.

What to know: Both of these teams had a chance to advance to championship game, but lost by the slimmest of margins. North Side fell in overtime to Dyer County with seven players fouled out. Hardin County lost by two points to Munford. Now both teams will try to rebound with a win in the consolation game before starting region play. The two had a double-overtime battle at North Side early in the season, and this one should be similar.