Ten days after Ridgway topped Smethport 50-33, the Elkers and Hubbers are set to meet again. 

The two teams will face off in the District 9 Class AA playoffs Thursday night at Kane, with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m. Ridgway enters as the 3-seed, while Smethport is ranked sixth. The winner will advance to face No. 2 Coudersport on Feb. 25. 

In the two team’s first matchup, Smethport played the Elkers tightly until turnovers and missed shots allowed Ridgway to pull away late in the third quarter. 

To Smethport coach Jay Acker, correcting those two issues are the biggest key heading into the rematch. 

“First, we have to make shots. We were within five points for pretty much three quarters and then we had some mental breakdowns,” he said. “We did some dumb things because we weren’t making shots. We need to eliminate the dumb mistakes and do a better job of handling pressure, because that’s one of the things Ridgway does really well is pressure the ball relentlentlessly.” 

Acker says focus amongst the Hubbers is high, particularly after finishing the season with a comeback 50-47 win over North Tier League rival Otto-Eldred, and that the Hubs used that game and the Ridgway loss as learning experiences.

“We’ve had a couple really good days of practice. It seems that the guys are dialed in,” he said. “Things are really starting to click for us… Ending the season on a high note is always a good thing; it gives you confidence going into the playoffs.

“We had a really tough game against O-E, and I think we learned a lot from that. We learned you can’t come out flat in the first half. You have to put four quarters together, especially against someone like Ridgway. You can’t play three quarters and expect to win.”

Ridgway head coach Tony Allegretto is expressing similar sentiments ahead of the rematch. Allegretto says he wants his Elkers to jump out quickly so that they can play their disciplined, methodical brand of basketball the rest of the night. 

In the win, no Hubber scored in double figures, and the 33 points Smethport scored were tied for the third-fewest the Hubbers have scored in a game this year.

But, Allegretto notes, Smethport will likely be more prepared for the Elkers’ high-pressure defense this time around. 

“I think they’ll probably watch that video (of the first game) and have some confidence that as long as they avoid turnovers, they’ll be fine,” Allegretto said. “We’ll have to be able to do some things to them and not be overconfident. We’ve told our guys it won’t be an easy game. Hopefully we can get the lead and play our way.” 

To do so, Allegretto wants his team to do two things offensively: get to the rim and protect the ball. 

“Hopefully we can avoid turnovers like we had against Johnsonburg,” he said. “If we give Smethport life and make them feel like they’re able to get us turned over and defend us that way, and can’t get to the rim, it’ll be a long night for us.” 

On the other side of the bracket, No. 5 Karns City and No. 4 Clarion will battle for the right to take on No. 1 Keystone. Tip-off is set for 7 o’clock Thursday night. 

Here is a capsule look at the rest of the D9 playoffs: 

Class A

Play-in Game (Tonight)

No. 9 Northern Potter (9-13) at No. 8 Austin (11-11), 7 p.m.

Austin will look to topple Northern Potter for a third time this season. 

Austin defeated NoPo by scores of 59-46 and 58-46 earlier this year, but Northern Potter won three of its final four games to close the regular season. 

The game features two potent scorers in NP’s Carter Anderson (20.2 points per game) and Jackson Glover (18.9), who stand as the North Tier League’s No. 1 and No. 4 scorers, respectively. 

Quarterfinals (Friday, Feb. 21)

NoPo/Austin vs. No. 1 Elk County Catholic (23-1), at Bradford, 7 p.m.

No matter who advances out of the Class A play-in game, the winner will face a tall task in the quarterfinals. 

Elk Catholic enters the postseason with a 23-1 record. The Crusaders ran the Allegheny Mountain League table and finished 9-1 in D9 League play, with the only loss coming to Class AAAAA DuBois. 

ECC features a balanced attack, but Mark Kraus, Carter Lindemuth and Regis Wortman tend to lead the backcourt, while Leo Gregory heads the frontcourt. 

No. 5 A-C Valley (15-7) vs. No. 4 Johnsonburg (16-8), at DuBois, 7:30 p.m.

Allegheny-Clarion Valley closed its regular season on a four-game win streak, while Johnsonburg finished as the AML’s runner-up and had won five straight before dropping two of its last three games. 

Those losses, though, came to 15-7 Brookville (47-43) and 23-1 Elk Catholic (49-42). 

A-C Valley is paced by Levi Orton, who averages 22.8 points per game, while Jburg is led by Gabe Watts and Austin Green. 

No. 6 North Clarion (14-8) vs. No. 3 Cameron County (18-4), at Kane, 7:30 p.m.

Cameron County figures to have a realistic shot at competing for the Class A championship, but North Clarion won’t be an easy out. 

The Red Raiders feature one of Class A’s most powerful 1-2 punches in Dino Brown (17.4 points per game) and Caden Beldin (17.3), and posted impressive wins over Smethport, Coudersport and Kane in the regular season, though they split home-and-home series with the Hubbers and Falcons. 

North Clarion, meanwhile, toppled a good Class AAA Moniteau team in the regular season, but finished 2-3 in its final five games of the regular season. 

No. 7 Otto-Eldred (11-10) vs. No. 2 Clarion-Limestone (19-4), at St. Marys, 7:30 p.m.

The Terrors figure to be heavy underdogs, but history indicates they’ll at least give Clarion-Limestone a run for its money. 

O-E met the Lions under similar circumstances a year ago, and narrowly lost, 61-58. 

This year, the Lions finished the regular season with five straight wins before dropping the KSAC title game to Keystone, 59-54. 

C-L gets most of its offense from Hayden Callen and Deion Deas, who average 20.3 and 19.7 points per game, respectively. 

On the other side, the Terrors’ Jake Merry leads the pack with 14.6 points per game. 

Class AAA

Semifinals (Thursday, Feb. 20)

No. 3 Moniteau (12-10) vs. No. 2 Kane (14-8), at Brookville, 7:30 p.m.

Kane enters having won five of its final seven home games, while Moniteau lost three of its last four before the postseason. 

The Wolves feature a 1,000-point scorer in guard Chad Greville and finished as the AML North’s No. 3 team behind Johnsonburg and Elk County Catholic. 

Moniteau placed fourth in the KSAC South Division behind Keystone, Clarion and Karns City. 

The winner gets top-seeded Brookville in the title game next week.