And then there were three.

A field of 17 Delaware County teams to make the postseason has narrowed to just three after the elimination of two local teams on Wednesday.

Class A Delco Christian lost in the district semifinals. Offering up the quote of the night was Knights senior Jake Godino, who was truly hurt by his team's loss: "I don’t know what happened," Godino said. "A loss is a loss … and we worked hard. But things didn’t work out for us."

And Jamal Melvin (pictured) and Monsignor Bonner dropped a heartbreaker in the Catholic League semifinals. The Friars tied the game with five seconds remaining, but subsequently fouled an Archbishop Ryan player with 0.8 ticks left. A la Villanova / Georgetown, this one was decided at the free-throw line.

Only three Delco teams are still playing this season: Chester will tipoff Friday with a district championship on the line; and Penn Wood and Ridley are in Class AAAA's play-back games before heading to states. As for Ridley, the Green Raiders' loss Wednesday means they can attain no higher than District One's seventh seed in states.

EVANS NETS HONOR
McDonald's All-American team was announced Wednesday, and star guard Tyreke Evans of American Christian made the cut. The two-time All-Delco averages 33.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 4.3 steals for the Eagles (26-4).

It appears recruiting services are making their marks on youth basketball players earlier and earlier these days.

The Dallas Morning News reports today that, according to recruiting service HoopScoop.com, some of the nation's top elementary school basketball players hail from Texas. My question is this: When did recruiting services begin rating kids before reaching high school?

Then I remembered how Sebastian Telfair (pictured) was heralded among national media only years ago. He was ranked among the nation's top fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders before heading to Brooklyn's Lincoln High. In the end, he's a middle-of-the road NBA player averaging 7.5 points per game.

So is all the attention necessary? Does it set the bar too high? Does it only set these kids up for failure and missed expectations? I welcome your thoughts.

In Saturday's playoff games:
I was at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School Saturday, where Radnor's season came to an end. The Red Raiders weren't alone. Also in the District One Class AAA tournament, Springfield's season concluded in defeat.

Elsewhere, Monsignor Bonner and Delco Christian advanced to the second rounds of their respective tournaments. The Friars knocked off Neumann-Goretti in the Catholic League playoffs, while the Knights took down Renaissance Academy in the District One Class A tourney. Check out Matt Smith's report on the Radnor/Holy Ghost game and Terry Toohey's account from the Delco Christian game.

I've been in the office for only a couple minutes but here's what I've learned concerning tonight's area basketball games:

• POSTPONED: Class AAA - Harriton at Marple Newtown. Snow caused the cancellation of classes today leading to tonight's postponement. The game will be played Thursday.
• ANNOUNCED: Class A - The eight-team Class A bracket will be announced Thursday, and I'm hearing that Delco Christian could be seeded among the top 4. Stay tuned.
• STILL ON: Class AAAA - Central Bucks West at Ridley. Despite popular belief (and the district Web site, which says the game is Thursday), this one will be played tonight. Ridley coach Keith Heinerichs assures me of it.

More to come in playoff hoops tonight and tomorrow. Stick to the blog.