The NCHSAA state basketball playoffs opened on Monday with eight area teams fighting for a shot at a state championship.
Heading into today’s second round the number is down to four.
Boys teams from Kinston and Ayden-Grifton along with the girls programs at South Lenoir and Kinston continue their drive towards a state championship in some big second round matchups.
Ayden-Grifton’s boys will face Carolina 1A Conference foe Goldsboro for the fourth time this year while South Lenoir’s girls will head down to Jacksonville for their third battle of the season with East Central 2A Conference opponent Northside.
Kinston will host a doubleheader today with its girls playing North Johnston at 6 p.m. and its boys Pittsboro Northwood at 7:30.
GIRLS
(10) SOUTH LENOIR (18-6) at (2) NORTHSIDE (23-4): The Blue Devils used a big fourth quarter to upset East Bladen on Monday and their reward is a third meeting with the Monarchs. The teams split their regular season meetings with each team winning at home. The Blue Devils knocked off Northside 51-45 on Jan. 8 for their first-ever win over the Monarchs, then they defeated South Lenoir 67-45 on Feb. 5. Northside won the conference regular season and tournament titles.
The Monarchs defeated Edenton Holmes 49-43 to advance.
(6) NORTH JOHNSTON (20-6) at (3) KINSTON (22-4): The Panthers and Vikings haven’t played each other this season, but they’ve shared a few common opponents. The teams have each played North Lenoir, Bunn and Franklinton this season and some of the games had mixed results. Both Kinston and North Johnston played a pair of non-conference games with North Lenoir, which the Vikings swept and the Panthers split — one of the Hawks’ two wins on the year. North Johnston fell to Northern Carolina 2A Conference foe Bunn three times this season while Bunn defeated Kinston in a post-Christmas tournament. Kinston defeated Franklinton with ease in the first round on Monday while North Johnston took two from the Rams during conference play.
North Johnston defeated North Pitt 46-30 to advance.
BOYS
(8) NORTHWOOD (17-10) at (1) KINSTON (23-2): The last time these two teams met was for the 2A Eastern Regional championship in Fayetteville in 2011, which the Chargers won 56-42. Those teams shared a couple of head coaches who were close friends in former Vikings coach Wells Gulledge and former Northwood coach Russ Fraizer, who is now the head coach at Raleigh Leesville Road. This time, the new coaches share an alma-mater in North Carolina. Kinston’s Perry Tyndall is a UNC alum while his counterpart, Donald Williams, was the 1993 Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player for the Tar Heels in their national title win over Michigan.
Northwood defeated Warren County 72-56 to advance.
(7) AYDEN-GRIFTON (14-11) at (2) GOLDSBORO (18-6): The Carolina 1A Conference foes — soon to be Eastern Carolina 2A Conference foes after realignment — will meet for the fourth time this season tonight. Goldsboro defeated the Chargers the previous three times by an average of 30.7 points.
Goldsboro defeated Dixon 90-49 to advance.
Ryan Herman can be reached at 252-559-1073 or Ryan.Herman@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter: @KFPSports.
NCHSAA state basketball playoffs, second round
Area pairings for today’s second round of the NCHSAA state basketball playoffs:
BOYS
1A: (7) Ayden-Grifton (14-11) at (2) Goldsboro (18-6), 7:30 p.m.
2A: (8) Pittsboro Northwood (17-10) at (1) Kinston (23-2), 7:30 p.m.
GIRLS
2A: (10) S. Lenoir (18-6) at (2) Jacksonville Northside (23-4), 6:30 p.m.
2A: (6) N. Johnston (20-6) at (3) Kinston (22-4), 6 p.m.