Postseason tournament week in NCCC and CCC begins Monday

It’s tournament championship week in the NCCC and CCC. Canton’s Paige Brown, left, Simsbury’s Mary McElroy, center, and Canton’s Josh Burke will be playing in their respective championship tournaments.

The winter season of 2021 has just one week remaining. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic there are no CIAC state tournaments for the second straight season.

But individual leagues do have the option to hold conference wide tournaments.

On Monday, tournament action begins in the North Central Connecticut Conference (NCCC) in boys basketball and girls basketball and in the Central Connecticut Conference (CCC) in boys basketball, girls basketball, boys hockey and girls hockey.

In the NCCC, the top eight teams in the league earned a spot in the championship bracket to determine the league champion. The remaining teams will play in a postseason tournament experience with an additional two games.

The league was split into two geographical division – NCCC West and NCCC East.

Defending NCCC Tournament champion Canton (10-2) won their first seven games of the season will be playing in the championship tournament hosting Somers (8-4) on Monday at 5:30 p.m. Guidelines for spectators remain as they have been throughout the season. The game will be streamed live on the NFHS Network under Canton.

The semifinals will be Wednesday with a championship game on Friday.

In the girls tournament, Canton (8-4) is also the defending tournament champion. The Warriors will be playing at Coventry on Monday beginning at 5:15 p.m.

The girls tournament semifinals are Wednesday with a championship game on Friday.

In the CCC, the league was split up into four regional divisions (A, B, C, D) and in basketball the top eight teams were put into the championship bracket. The remaining 24 teams were placed into eight-team tournaments based on how they finished overall in the CCC.

In the championship and Pool 2 tournament, the quarterfinals are Monday with semifinals on Wednesday and championship games on Friday. In the Pool 3 and 4 tournaments, quarterfinals are Tuesday with semifinals on Thursday and the championship game on Saturday.

In boys basketball, Avon (6-4) played just 10 of 12 games this winter due to COVID-19 related issues with two of their opponents.

Avon is the No. 3 seed in the Pool 2 tournament and will host Berlin on Monday in the Pool 2 quarterfinals. If Avon beats Berlin, they could face No. 2 Farmington for the third time this winter on Wednesday in the semifinals if the Indians win their respective quarterfinal contest.

Avon’s girls basketball team (3-9) received a first round bye in Pool 4. They will host the winner of Tuesday night’s game between Maloney and Lewis Mills on Thursday in the Pool 4 semifinal.

Simsbury’s girls basketball team is seeded No. 3 in the CCC girls championship bracket. The Trojans (11-1), who have 11 straight games, host No. 6 Middletown (10-2) in Monday’s quarterfinals at 6:15 p.m.

In boys hockey, Wethersfield spoiled Newington’s co-op drive for an unbeaten season with a 2-0 win on Saturday night. Newington (9-1-1), which includes players from Canton, will be the No. 3 seed in the CCC South tournament.

The two teams meet again in the semifinals on Wednesday. The Blue and Gold was supposed to host No. 6 Suffield co-op in a quarterfinal game on Monday but the Wildcats and No. 5 Conard withdrew due to COVID-19 protocols. The CCC South title game is set for Friday.

In the CCC North, the Farmington Valley co-op team (Farmington, Avon, Windsor, Lewis Mills) is seeded No. 2 and hosts No. 3 Simsbury in Wednesday’s semifinal game. The title game is on Friday.

In girls hockey, the Suffield co-op team, which includes Canton, will host Mercy/NWC in the first round of the CCC Tournament on Monday. The winner advances to Wednesday’s semifinal to face the Avon co-op team (9-3) at Newington Arena at 4:25 p.m. The title game is set for Friday.

Monday, March 22
NCCC championship quarterfinals
GIRLS BASKETBALL: Canton at Coventry, 5:15 p.m.
BOYS BASKETBALL: Somers at Canton, 5:30 p.m.

CCC championship quarterfinal
GIRLS BASKETBALL:  Middletown at Simsbury, 6:15 p.m.
CCC Pool 2 quarterfinals
BOYS BASKETBALL: Berlin at Avon

Wednesday, March 24
NCCC championship semifinals and consolation round
GIRLS BASKETBALL: Teams TBA
BOYS BASKETBALL: Teams TBA

CCC championship semifinals and consolation round
GIRLS BASKETBALL: Teams TBA

CCC Pool 2 semifinals and consolation round
BOYS BASKETBALL: Teams TBA

CCC North semifinals
BOYS HOCKEY: Simsbury at Farmington Valley
CCC South semifinals
BOYS HOCKEY: Newington co-op at Wethersfield

Thursday, March 25
CCC Pool 4 semifinals
GIRLS BASKETBALL: Maloney/Lewis Mills winner at Avon

Friday, March 25
NCCC championship finals
GIRLS BASKETBALL: Teams TBA
BOYS BASKETBALL: Teams TBA

CCC championship finals
GIRLS BASKETBALL: Teams TBA

CCC Pool 2 finals
BOYS BASKETBALL: Teams TBA

CCC North final
BOYS HOCKEY: Teams TBA
CCC South final
BOYS HOCKEY: Teams TBA

Saturday, March 27
Pool 4 finals
GIRLS BASKETBALL: Teams TBA