Playoff action starts Tuesday night, Feb. 13 for Escalon, with both the varsity girls and varsity boys basketball teams hosting first round contests.

The varsity girls, who forged a tri-championship for the Trans-Valley League title with Hughson and Riverbank with a 10-2 record in league, come in with a 25-2 overall record. They were granted the number three seed in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 4 playoffs and will host Sac High with a 5:30 p.m. tip off on Tuesday.

Sac High, the Dragons, come in at 13-15 overall and finished fourth in their league.

“We got a tough draw in Sac High,” said head coach Joseph Dalpogetti. “They are the 14 seed but they play in a larger school league.”

The Lady Cougars, however, will be looking to start another long postseason run but need to get a win on their home court to advance to the second round on Thursday, Feb. 15. If Escalon does win, they would host the winner of the No. 6 Liberty Ranch-No. 11 Sonora match up on Thursday night.

For the varsity boys, they ended with a third-place finish in TVL play with an 8-4 record and come in with an overall mark of 22-6, earning the most wins in the regular season since the 2004-05 campaign.

The Cougar boys received the number five seed in Division 4 and will host the number 12 seed, Marysville, with tip off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13. Marysville was 9-5, third place in league, and has put together a 17-11 overall record.

“They are the defending Division 4 champions. We know that we have a difficult task in front of us, and are excited for the opportunity to host a playoff game,” head coach Nate Bartelink said.

A first round win would put Escalon into the second round on Thursday, Feb. 15 against the winner of the No. 4 Ripon-No. 13 Ben Holt Academy first round match up. It would be a road game for the Cougars if Ripon wins, if Ben Holt wins they would travel to Escalon for the Thursday contest.

“It should be a fun evening with the girls’ team, who has had an amazing season, playing right before us,” Bartelink said of the Tuesday night home doubleheader. “I hope the whole community of Escalon shows up. We need everyone’s support!”