The MIAAC ruled today that the St. Mary's and Braintree boys basketball teams would be allowed to retain their seeding in the tournament, but would be forced to play all its games on the road.
The two schools appealed based on the fact they didn't feel that Rule 29.3 of the MIAA Rule Book applied to them. The rule states that students or teams that have gained court injunctions forcing their entry into the state tournament will be seeded last. While St. Mary's and Braintree both have players who are playing due to a court injunction, their primary argument was neither forced their way into the postseason as both have easily clinched tournament berths.
As of right now, St. Mary's is 14-2 and seeded second in Div. 3 North. Today's ruling was certainly a blessing to schools such as Hamilton-Wenham and Lynnfield, both of whom have 17 wins and could have been looking at the prospects of playing St. Mary's in the first round of the tournament.
Braintree isn't quite in the same boat. The Wamps are 12-8 and look to seeded somewhere around 13 in the Div. 1 South, meaning barring a major upset they would be on the road anyway.
