BASKETBALL: Playoff seeding delayed

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on February 18, 2017 11:06 PM

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By RUDY COGGINS

rcoggins@newsargus.com

CHAPEL HILL -- Who expected this?

The N.C. High School Athletic Association delayed seeding the basketball playoffs until today due to computer problems.

The Association made the announcement via Twitter.

Before the glitch occurred, at least five girls' teams in the News-Argus readership area learned who they could possibly face in the opening round. However, those matchups -- released in a preliminary format -- are not final.

Coaches and athletics directors now have the opportunity to check behind the Association for errors. Until the corrections are made, there could be multiple versions of the brackets for all four classifications -- men and women -- made throughout the day.

First-round play begins Tuesday.

Princeton's girls clinched the automatic bid after they won the Carolina 1-A Conference regular-season title for the first time in three decades. The Bulldogs (20-4 overall) claimed the "double" with a victory over arch rival Rosewood in the tournament final Friday.

Spring Creek and James Kenan shared the Carolina 1-A boys' crown for the second time in the past three seasons. The Gators (19-6) earned the automatic bid with a victory over the Tigers in the tournament championship game.

"We are in the right place at the right time," said head coach Taylor Jones earlier Saturday afternoon before the Association made its stunning announcement later in the evening.

"We are peaking when you have to if you want to achieve big things. This is as good as we have played all year and with that being said, we have been very consistent this year."

Princeton and SC will start their playoff journeys at home.

So will Eastern Wayne's boys and girls. They each clinched the AQ from the 3-A portion of the split-classification Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference.

The Warrior girls, directed by first-year head coach Michael Gurganus, have racked up a county-high 17 wins this season. They were seeded third from the East and anticipated a first-round battle against Southern Durham.

Gurganus said his team must remain focused for 32 minutes.

"(We have to) take it one possession at a time, defend on all accounts, know where to be and when, stay positive and move on to the next play no matter what," he said. "We need to execute and know our role. Plus give 110 percent every second of each minute.

"Clicking on all cylinders helps, too."

According to the prelim brackets, wild cards were awarded to three girls' teams -- Charles B. Aycock, Rosewood and Spring Creek. Each is expected to travel in the opening round.

SC is making its second consecutive playoff appearance with head coach Charlie Cotten. The Gators (13-11) have faced adversity throughout the season and may be without Ashley Marriner, who endured a concussion during the conference tournament.

Rosewood reached the regionals in 2014 and 2015, and fell in the eastern semifinals a year ago.

Goldsboro's boys are expected to earn a wild card after advancing to the Eastern Carolina 2-A Conference tournament final Friday.