Cross Court Vision: The Final Stretch

Written by: Sterling Cross on January 29, 2026

As we come down the final stretch of the regular season in the LL, there is still a lot to be determined in the final week of league play.

Let’s take a look at where things stand before games tip on Thursday, January 29th. As always, views and opinions expressed in this column represent my personal perspective, and not those of LLHoops staff or contributors more broadly:

Section 1

Four teams — Cedar Crest, Hempfield, Manheim Township, and McCaskey — are locked in a dead sprint to the finish line. With two games remaining, Crest and Hempfield hold a one-game lead over Manheim Township and McCaskey. Crest plays at Township tonight, and Hempfield hosts McCaskey on Tuesday.

There is a very realistic scenario where all four teams finish with the exact same league record. That would happen if Manheim Township beats Cedar Crest tonight, McCaskey beats Hempfield on Tuesday, and none of the four are upset by Lebanon or Penn Manor in the interim.

In that case, all four teams would finish 7-3 in section play. So who gets the top two spots? Cedar Crest would be 1-1 against the other three teams. Hempfield is 2-0 against Township, Township is 2-0 against McCaskey, and in this scenario McCaskey would be 2-0 against Hempfield. I think win percentage would be the deciding factor, which would put Crest and Township in, and McCaskey and Hempfield out (but don’t quote me on that). Regardless, it would be a brutal outcome for whichever Section 1 teams end up on the outside looking in.

After doing all of those mental gymnastics (so you don’t have to), I actually think this will be decided on the court. I’ve got Crest beating Township on the road tonight, and McCaskey beating Hempfield on the road in the final game of the season. That would give Cedar Crest and McCaskey the 1 and 2 seeds, respectively. But honestly, no outcome would surprise me at this point — including Penn Manor or Lebanon playing spoiler.

Section 2

There is only one game left to play in Section 2, and with Conestoga Valley undefeated in league play, there’s not quite as much drama here as in Section 1. That said, the final stretch is still exciting — just more focused.

One game will decide the two seed: Warwick goes on the road to Elizabethtown tomorrow. Winner is in the LL postseason. Loser is out. It’s really that simple.

Warwick handled ETown fairly easily at home earlier this month (55-41) and has been red hot since getting Washington back in the lineup after he missed time in mid-December with a knee injury. Since then, the Warriors are 11-1, with the lone loss coming by just four points on the road against undefeated Conestoga Valley.

The Bears have been more of a mixed bag lately, and almost any way you look at it, Warwick appears to be the favorite. But ETown sits at 7-3 in the section and has a home game to clinch a postseason berth. At the end of last season, I had Nate Poff, Carter Torborg, and Prince Wratto all on my Returning Stars list, and they’ve absolutely lived up to it this year.

I’ve got Warwick coming away with the win — but there are plenty of reasons to doubt that outcome.

Section 3

With two games left in Section 3, there is still a ton of playoff intrigue. Like Section 2, the top spot has long been decided. Octorara is not only undefeated in the section, but undefeated on the season as a whole.

Lancaster Catholic, ELCO, and Lampeter Strasburg are all in the mix down the stretch, with LCS and ELCO controlling their own destinies while LS would need a little help.

Some may think LCS came out of nowhere, but Colton Hegener and Tyler Humphrey lead a senior-heavy roster that’s been bolstered this year by freshman Rowan DeMarco. Blowout losses from a year ago have turned into wins — or at worst, very close losses. At 5-3 in section play, LCS currently sits alone in second place. Even if they drop their final game to ELCO, they’ll still qualify as the second postseason team if they beat Donegal and ELCO fails to beat Octorara tonight.

Speaking of ELCO, a one-point loss to LCS and a lackluster performance at LS has put them a bit on the back foot after a strong start. They still control their own destiny, albeit narrowly. The road goes through Octorara tonight in Atglen. If ELCO can pull off the win, they’d earn a second shot at LCS at home in Myerstown with a playoff berth on the line — likely heading to a tiebreaker, which I believe ELCO would win on overall record. Octorara still has plenty to play for with an undefeated regular season within reach, and LCS is a tough out anywhere. If ELCO does make the LL postseason, it will be well earned.

Lastly, LS is still technically alive. They need to win out — on the road tonight at Manheim Central, then at home next week against Octorara — to finish 6-4. They’re behind both LCS and ELCO in tiebreakers, so they need to finish ahead of both, which is still mathematically possible.

My guess is this gets settled tonight. I like LCS over Donegal and Octorara over ELCO, which would make it impossible to deny LCS a return to the postseason. If ELCO does happen to beat Octorara, I like them to win again at home against LCS.

Section 4

With one game left in Section 4, there is technically still some intrigue. Lancaster Mennonite is once again undefeated in the section, so the race for second comes down to Pequea Valley and Northern Lebanon.

Pequea Valley swept the season series against NL, so a win tonight against Lancaster Country Day will settle it. Northern Lebanon needs PV to lose tonight and to beat Lancaster Mennonite on the road tomorrow.

I don’t see NL beating LMH — but anything is possible? They’ll know if they’re playing for a postseason berth, with the benefit of the PV/LCDS result tonight, so maybe they pull off the unthinkable.

Good luck to everyone still fighting in the LL. I’ll be back with in-depth playoff previews once everything is settled.

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