Prep basketball playoff pairings set

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on February 22, 2014 11:21 PM

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Goldsboro's boys are seeded 14th in the 2-A portion and will entertain 19th-seeded Randleman. The Cougars (16-8 overall) finished runners-up to Eastern Carolina rival Kinston in regular-season and tournament play.

"(We) had a great win against a really, really good team that's going to make some noise next week," said KHS head coach Perry Tyndall after a 27-point win over Goldsboro on Friday.

"They're going to shock some people."

Less than three weeks ago, Princeton's playoff bubble seemed about ready to burst. But a double-overtime, three-point loss to archrival Rosewood lit a fire under the Bulldogs. They reeled off eight consecutive wins and finished runners-up to Neuse Charter in Carolina 1-A Conference regular-season play.

Fifth-seeded Princeton (16-7) entertains 12th-seeded East Columbus.

"I think that loss to Rosewood may have done something to get us back in focus," said PHS head coach Jeff Davis, whose team has won four games by seven points or less during its win streak.

"It's been a great end to the season. I felt like when the year started we had a chance to play for the conference championship. I'm proud of them. It's a good group of kids."

Ninth-seeded James Kenan, which finished third in the Carolina 1-A ranks, travels to eighth-seeded Granville Central.

In 3-A play, Southern Wayne grabbed the No. 8 seed and plays a first-round game at home against Southern Lee. The Saints are one of six teams with a losing record in the eastern half of the 32-team draw.

Eastern Wayne is the 31st seed and visits Wilson Hunt.

On the girls' side, Carolina champion Rosewood (22-1) is the No. 2 seed and will entertain Heide Trask. The Eagles have won 18 straight games since a mid-December loss to South Johnston.

"I like the way they work, how hard they play (and) the way they play together is a big double-check mark for me," RHS head coach Rick Grantham said. 'Everybody has handled their role, which I never technically told them what that would be. Winning takes care of a lot of things that could go wrong.

"I didn't want them to worry about stuff and just go play basketball. We just want to give ourselves a chance to win. They've bought into it."

League archrival and eighth-seeded Princeton plays host to Whiteville. The Bulldogs and seventh-seeded James Kenan, which entertains Raleigh Charter, shared second place in the Carolina 1-A regular-season standings.

An eastern regional semifinalist last season, Eastern Wayne (11-8) is home against Southern Lee. The Warriors have lost four of their last five games.

Southern Wayne hits the road for a contest at ninth-seeded Northern Guilford. The Saints started the season 9-1, but stumbled to a 14-11 record that included an opening-round defeat in the Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference tournament.

Eastern Carolina 2-A runner-up Goldsboro (12-12) heads west to Burlington Cummings. Until this year, the Cougars had played every sectional playoff contest at home with fourth-year head coach LaTina Bullock.

North Lenoir visits Clinton.