It’s Playoff Time! 4 East First Round Matchups & Players to Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>The First round of the NCHSAA state playoffs starts tonight, with teams from all across the state meeting for a chance to advance to the next round. Let's take a glance at some of the matchups that could develop into some very competitive games. </em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>#15 St.Pauls vs #18 Cummings </em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Pauls has put together a nice streak of games over the last few weeks with their latest win coming in the championship game of their conference tournament. Cummings has also been on a nice streak as of late, winning their last 8 games, which also included their conference championship. The tempo of this game will have a huge impact on who will take home the win in this matchup, as St. Pauls will want to play at a slower pace while Cummings will look to force turnovers and play faster. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>#14 Northeastern vs #19 Red Springs</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Northeastern goes into this matchup with a huge height advantage but Red Springs has one of the top backcourt duos on the eastern side of the state which is always important during tournament time. Look for the Red Devils to get out into transition to score while Northeastern will play through their bigs more often and dominate the paint. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>#7 Lumberton vs #26 Clayton</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Normally when you have two teams that are ranked this far apart, you would normally expect a blowout win for the higher seed. However, Clayton has shown their ability to play against talented teams and they feature one of the more talented sophomore Forwards in the state. Lumberton is the team with more senior leadership and are playing at home, but things could get very interesting early on if Clayton is able to find their rhythm. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>#8 Scotland vs #25 Terry Sanford</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another matchup that could be interesting simply due to the fact that we have seen flashes of how good each of these teams could be as well as how things can go for both squads when they are not locked in. Scotland has played at a high level as of late while Terry Sanford has seemed to be on the decline, but this is the same Terry Sanford team that picked up some big time wins against some of the better teams in the area, early on this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1128969"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"If Scotland County hopes to make a deep run in the playoffs, they will need big time play from this young man, as he has given them in the past few weeks. He has the ability to be dominant scoring and rebounding the ball due to his size, which will create matchup problems for several teams that they may face.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["1086991"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"The Red Devils will look to him to provide some perimeter scoring which is always needed when you're looking to pull off an upset on the road. He has the ability to knock down shots from deep range at a high level and once he sees a few shots drop, he can quickly go for a high number of points.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["1365466"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"One of the top young talents on the eastern side of the state, he's continued to progress and college coaches at the D1 level have taken notice. If the Comets hope to pull of the first round upset, they will need to run the offense through him, and allow him to have the opportunity to put together a big-time game.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["1030033"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"With the loss of their starting SG, he will be called on to provide more of the scoring for his team while also being able to continue to facilitate and run the show as the senior leader. The fact that he has played in plenty of big games before should only help the Pirates as they look to rebound from a recent loss in the conference championship game.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["1382077"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"He may be young but he's more than ready to showcase his ability to make plays on both ends of the floor on the big stage. He has impressive end to end speed, can knock down shots at a solid level and can be just as good on the defensive end, coming up with a good number of steals and deflections.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-63f521f59a0e6"} /-->