It's come down to this: The Riverhead Blue Waves boys varsity basketball team must win two of their remaining four games to qualify for the playoffs.
Two of those games are against the teams that share a 1-6, record at the bottom of League III, the Newfield Wolverines and the Centereach Cougars. With the other two remaining games against the top two teams in League III, tonight's game on the home court against Newfield is a must-win for the Waves (4-4, 6-8).
The Waves beat the Wolverines 73-51 at Newfield on Jan. 5. Game time in Riverhead tonight is 5:45/
If the Waves take another game from Newfield tonight, they could clinch a playoff berth on Thursday afternoon, when they travel to Smithtown East for a 4 p.m. rematch against the Bulls (6-2, 10-4). The Waves pulled out a 65-63 victory in the last seconds of their previous game against the Bulls in Riverhead on Jan. 10.
Next Thursday, Feb. 9, the league-leading East Islip Redmen come to town for Riverhead's final home game of the regular season. The Waves will be looking to even things up with the Redmen (7-1, 8-3), who handed them a 73-59 loss on Jan. 17 in East Islip.
The Waves hit the road for the final game of regular season play, traveling to Centereach for a Feb. 14 contest against the Cougars (1-6, 2-11), who took a 69-45 drubbing by the Waves in Riverhead Jan. 19.