SEC Friday matchups

Another week of action around the Union area will be capped off on Friday night with the Southeast Conference once again in some intriguing matchups.

As the postseason continues to draw near, the SEC matchup become ever more important as the conference title race favorites battle for the crown.

On the boys’ side, Mt. Pleasant, Washington and Burlington all battle for the top spot. The trio of teams are all sitting at 5-1 in conference play.

Two of those teams will leap ahead of the other with a huge matchup come Friday night.

Mt. Pleasant (10-3, 5-1) and Washington (6-5, 5-1) will squad off in a battle for the top spot with the Panthers heading up to Washington to square off with the Demons.

In the first meeting between the two teams, Mt. Pleasant edged Washington 62-49.

The winner will take the top spot alone barring a Burlington (11-3, 5-1) loss.

Fairfield (4-7, 2-4) is the one team that can make that happen this week. The Trojans currently sit at fourth in SEC play but have been in games until the very end.

That includes the Grayhounds, who defeated the Trojans in the first matchup 61-52.

The final game from the SEC boys’ matchup is Keokuk (4-8, 0-5) heading to Fort Madison (4-7, 1-5).

Fort Madison and Keokuk represent the fifth and sixth spots in the conference.

On the girls’ side of things, it’s a tight race as well.

Mt. Pleasant (8-7, 4-2) will take on Washington (6-7, 3-4) at home.

The Panthers are looking to say in the SEC title race with a win.

A win for Washington would propel them into the conversation with some big SEC games left to play.

In the first meeting between the two teams, Mt. Pleasant topped the Demons 50-43.

Fairfield (2-11, 2-5) will take on Burlington (3-9, 1-5). The two squads hold the fifth and sixth spots in the conference.

A victory for Fairfield would be huge, as the Trojans sit one game out from the fourth position. They downed the Grayhounds 45-41 in the first meeting.

The top two teams in the SEC will take on one another, those being Keokuk (9-5, 5-1) and Fort Madison (9-5, 5-1.

A loss by either would pay dividends to Mt. Pleasant who is just one game back. The Panther have already defeated the Chiefs once.