Hoop fans in the Blackstone Valley have to love the amount of area teams playing in next week's Clark Tournament in Worcester.

Six of the eight teams in the Small School Division are from the Blackstone Valley. Milford (13-2) is the lone representative from the valley in the Large School Division. Nearby Westboro (14-2) is also in the large division. Westboro is seeded fourth and Milford fifth.

All told, eight of the 16 teams in the tourney are from the east county. Business leaders say Millbury (15-1) is in the Blackstone Valley so we'll go along with that reasoning. The Woolies are the top seed in the small school division. Nipmuc Regional (15-1) is seeded second, Uxbridge (14-2) third, Blackstone Millville (12-4) fifth, Hopedale (12-4) sixth, and Sutton (7-9) eighth.

The big game of the year in these parts is tonight in Millbury when Uxbridge meets the Woolies. Both teams have one loss in the league. Uxbridge's only loss in the Southern Worcester County League (SWCL) was to Oxford, which is in the large school division of the Clark tourney. Uxbridge sheared the Woolies earlier this year to set up tonight's showdown.

BIGGEST GAME

"It's our biggest game in a while, there's no question about that," said 13-year Uxbridge coach Mark Donahue. "It's our last game of the regular season and the winner will win the league."

Uxbridge will be at a disadvantage playing in the Woolies' lair but not as much as you might think.

"You have to remember that this is a team that went to Russia last summer," Donahue explained. "It was the kind of a long road trip that when it was through made the kids tougher."

The toughness is reflected in a team Donahue says is one of his most consistent and confident.

"We've played really well, executed well all year," Donahue said. "This is a team that has exceeded our expectations."

The SWCL this year adopted a Monday-Thursday schedule for this week so the teams in the league will be fresher for the Clark Tourney. It's worked out well because four teams from the loop are making the trek to Worcester.

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The Spartans begin play Sunday with a first-round game with Hopedale that starts at 1 p.m. The Raiders have a little extra incentive because there is a good bet that students at the school will be going to Holliston or another town next year. Budget cutbacks and possible problems with accreditation have forced school officials to consider sending their students to Holliston.

Meanwhile, a little trip down Route 16 takes us to Douglas where the Tigers are 0-14.

Longtime junior varsity coach Kevin Connors took over the varsity this year and he knew it was going to be a tough season.

"We have a young team and we told the kids we were going to take our lumps this year," Connors said.

The Tigers have come close to winning twice this year, losing by two to Sutton and Valley Tech.

"I know it's a cliche but I really believe we're not as bad as the 0-14 or 0-16 record sounds," Connors said.

TWO LOSSES

The season will likely end up with two losses because the Tigers close out with Hopedale and Nipmuc.

"We've been telling the kids that they should look at those two programs because that's where we want to be," Connors said.

The top six players consist of three seniors, one junior and a freshman-sophomore backcourt. Senior Chris Gray, at 5-foot-7, is probably the smallest center in Worcester County. Senior Mike LeBlanc plays forward while senior George Holt and junior Joe Bolte alternate at the other forward position.

The Poole brothers, sophomore Chris and freshman Jason, make up the backcourt.

"I won't tell you losing all our games so far this year doesn't hurt," Connors said. "Of course, it hurts. But we tell the kids that life is sometimes like that. We'd especially like to win for our three seniors, but we close with two, tough, tough teams."

Connors said his team will make the Clark Tournament someday.

"We are going to start winning ball games," he said. "We do have a good attitude and a good work ethic here. I can't wait until the day you call me to talk about Douglas going to the Clark Tournament because we will be going there."