Last week I wrote about L.C.C. basketball and how good they've been to this point in the season against a very good schedule. I still maintain the T-Birds are the best team in the area but there is another team that is putting together a body of work that should have it well prepped for a strong push toward a league title and a long tournament run.

It was another dramatic weekend for Elida as they beat Van Wert on a buzzer beater Friday night and lost to Archbold in overtime on Saturday.

This is nothing new for the Bulldogs. They've played perhaps the toughest schedule around.

Their record is 8-4 with the four losses coming to teams with a combined record of 36-8! Bath is 10-2, Delphos St. Johns is 8-3, Liberty Benton is 9-1 and Archbold is 9-2. The Bath and Archbold games were both overtime affairs.

The Dogs have also beaten four teams with winning records (L.C.C. 11-1, Van Wert 7-4, Spencerville 6-4 and Wapakoneta 6-5).

In addition, many of their games have been played in high energy settings and have come down to the very end. Sounds like tournament basketball to me.

Elida still has to play L.C.C. and Bath again along with Ottawa Glandorf so when all is said and done, not many teams will be more battle tested and tournament ready than Elida.

Even though they've lost a few games, Elida is getting better as the players around Dakota Mathias are developing and gaining confidence while playing in pressure packed situations.

-- Even though we are only at the midpoint of the conference seasons, some leagues are basically already over.

L.C.C. has already beaten contenders Crestview and Columbus Grove. The only other NWC teams that may be able to threaten the 'Birds are Spencerville and Paulding and they don't appear to really be in the same class as L.C.C.

In the Putnam County League, it's all but in Leipsic's pocket as the Vikings have wins over Miller City, Columbus Grove and Continental under their belt. Of their three games left in the league (Kalida, Ottoville and Ft. Jennings) only Ottoville, at 6-7, looks to have decent chance for an upset. They have much more work to do the Blanchard Valley Conference. They're tied with Liberty Benton atop the standings at 3-0 but in addition to a future meeting with the Eagles, the Vikes will play McComb this Friday and also have Arlington to deal with.

In the WBL, it looks like at least one of the triumvirate of Bath, Elida and Ottawa Glandorf will be the champion(s). All are 3-0 so the meetings between them will most likely decide the issue. Here are the dates to save on your calendar: 2/1 OG at Elida; 2/8 Elida at Bath; 2/15 Bath at OG.

In the MAC, Delphos St. Johns is in search of its first outright title since 2005. They're signature win was versus Ft. Recovery but there is much work to be done with dates against St. Henry (home Jan. 25), Versailles (away Feb. 8) and New Bremen (home Feb. 15).