College basketball may have its March Madness.

But in the high school ranks, it gets wild in February.The regular season is winding down and it's time to breakdown the District 11 playoff scenarios for the Times News area schools.Let's start with the boys.CLINCHEDTamaqua (11-8) has clinched a D11 berth in Class 4A. The Raiders are currently the sixth seed, and have a chance to catch Jim Thorpe (10-8) and Saucon Valley (11-9) in the rankings. Second year head coach Jim Barron has a mix of young talent stepping up, paired with the emergences of Thad Zuber, Zeke Wassell and a talented Marian transfer in Josh Inama.One of the surprise D11 teams is Lehighton (15-4), who currently holds the second seed in 4A. Three of the Tribes' four losses have come to Schuylkill League Division 1 opponents in Blue Mountain and Pottsville.The Indians defeated Marian (16-2) on the Colts' opening night. But Marian then went on a 10-game winning streak behind the strong play of senior Brandon Mohammed, and the freshmen duo of Tyler Fritz and Noah Stauffer. The Colts are currently locked in as the 2A second seed, and still have a chance to earn the top seed.IN THE HUNTJim Thorpe is on the verge of qualifying. The Olympians need to win just one of their last four games to secure a D11 berth. Thorpe will have its next opportunity to clinch on Friday against North Schuylkill.Northern Lehigh (6-14) can't mathematically finish .500, but with the expanded district classifications, the Bulldogs can still claim the final spot in class 3A - but it won't be easy."I knew once they went to the six classes, what the effect would be," said Northern Lehigh head coach Jeff Miller, whose team currently holds a slight edge over Pine Grove for the final spot. "They (Pine Grove) have four games left, we have two games left, let the chips fall where they may. We're not the most talented, we're not the tallest, but we really work hard and play well together."We certainly would like to have two more wins than what we have, but it's been a fun group to coach. Come out and see us play, because it's fun to watch. If you want to see young guys diving on the floor after loose balls and giving everything they have, we're the group. It's been a fun year."With a 53-50 loss to Pen Argyl on Wednesday, Northwestern (7-12) will need a ton of help to earn a D11 berth with a record under .500. Jim Thorpe, Wilson, and Pen Argyl would all have to fail to reach .500. Additionally, the Tigers would have to finish with a higher rating than each of those teams to sneak in.Pleasant Valley is still alive in the rugged reigns of class 6A. But, the Bears (6-11) and their balanced attack behind Chris Barker, Isaiah Howard, Justin Richardson, and Elijah Munford have no room for error, as they need to win their final five games to get in.ELIMINATEDWith a 59-51 loss to Mahanoy Area on Wednesday, Panther Valley (7-12) can no longer make the postseason. Panther Valley led the Golden Bears after three, but couldn't hang on, as the Panthers needed to win-out to get in the dance. Head coach Patrick Crampsie returned to the helm in January after a battle with prostate cancer a few months ago. The Panthers are led by senior big-man Tristan Blasko, who has recorded double figures in every game except one this season.Two other programs under first-year head coaches in Weatherly (2-16) and Palmerton (2-17) have been eliminated from postseason play. Weatherly has competed in a number of games this season, led by senior Zach Moon, who recently dropped a career-high 38 points against Schuylkill Haven. The future is also bright for the Bombers, as their nucleus of Nate Dougherty, Eric Baumgardt, and Justin Hosier are all underclassmen and will be returning next season.GIRLSCLINCHEDMarian (12-5) is the current fourth seed in a loaded 2A division, which is led by undefeated Minersville (18-0), who is ranked first in the 2A in the state. Joining the Fillies are Mahnoy Area, Moravian Academy, and Shenandoah Valley, who are all well above .500 and have each clinched a D11 berth. The Fillies have five games remaining.Chris Deutsch and his Northwestern Tigers (13-7) always seem to be playing into late February, regardless of who is on the roster. The Tigers currently hold the second seed in 4A, behind Bethlehem Catholic.IN THE HUNTIn 3A, Jim Thorpe needs to win one of its final four games to be .500 and automatically qualify for D11 play. The Olympians are led by Kayley Kovac and her TN-area-leading 25.88 points per game.Two TN teams are on the bubble in 4A.Tamaqua (10-9) is up-and-coming young team that has made a prolific turnaround behind second-year coach Erika Davis. The Raiders and the dynamic freshman duo of Emma Kuczynski and Jamie Zuber will need to win one of its next three to get in.Lehighton has been up and down this year, but can still qualify by winning its final four games. The Tribe dropped a critical contest to Jim Thorpe on Wednesday night."I haven't really talked about it much," said Lehighton head coach Eric Gidney. "Only because I think they know it. While I think we do play better with a sense of urgency, I don't want us to be overcome with that yet. I think if we just play our brand of basketball to the best of our ability. Our team slogan this year is "everyday". And that's to bring a workmanlike effort and attitude every single day. Whether your back is against the wall, or you have already qualified, I still think you need to have that attitude every single day."Every team wants to play meaningful basketball this late in the season. And a lot of teams are not. I think with our hard work we've been blessed that we are in that position, and that's one of the goals that I've set-forth when I took this job at Lehighton four years ago."In 6A, Pleasant Valley (9-9) will need to win two of its last four to qualify. The Bears fell to Pocono East 49-44 on Wednesday. Left for Pleasant Valley on the schedule are East Stroudsburg South, Stroudsburg, Freedom, and Pocono West.Weatherly (7-10) has had a strong second half, thanks in large part to sophomore guard Emily Zoscin. The Wreckers need to win four of their five remaining games to guarantee a berth in class 1A, but could still sneak in with a sub .500 record if they fend off Lincoln Leadership for the final qualifying spot.Although Palmerton (4-13) and Northern Lehigh (4-15) are not officially eliminated in class 3A, they are both long shots to grab one of the six guaranteed spots for District 11 teams in the field. The Bulldogs or Bombers would have to finish strong enough to pass Palisades in the power rankings.ELIMINATEDPanther Valley (2-16) is the lone TN girls team to be mathematically eliminated from postseason play.*******FROM DISTANCE... The Marian boys had 11 three-pointers against Nativity on Jan. 27 during a 73-57 victory. The last time the Colts had that many in a game was Feb. 9, 2007 (span of 241 games), in an 89-37 victory against Weatherly. Tyler Fritz drained seven of the three's on Jan. 27. The last Marian player with that many in a game was Ryan Karnish in January 2013 against Minersville.*******PERSONAL BEST... Lehighton's Caine Carpenter set back-to-back career-high scoring marks this week. He scored a career-high 16 points and led the Tribe in scoring during the Indians' 50-45 victory over Jim Thorpe last Saturday. On Wednesday, Carpenter dropped 19 en route to beating North Schuylkill.*******EVERYONE CHIPPING IN... The Lehighton boys currently have no players averaging double figures, but is the only Times News team to feature four players with at least 100 points this year.*******GO WITH ZO... The Weatherly girls basketball team hung 82 points on Lincoln Leadership behind sophomore Emily Zoscin's game-high 32 points on Jan. 28. Zoscin is averaging roughly five more points per game than she was last season and is leading the Wreckers' charge into February.