NCHSAA 3A: Round 2 Bracket Busters/Sweet 16 Overview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>There's no better time to sign up for PrepHoopsNC! Get&nbsp;30% OFF payment&nbsp;on your first billing cycle with offer code:&nbsp;<strong>JAYANDERSON30</strong>, sign up&nbsp;<a href="https://prephoops.com/subscribe" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>TODAY</strong></a>!</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 9 First Flight, No. 11 East Wake and No. 14 Ben L. Smith took the honors in the second round as the key brackets busters in the NCHSAA 3A State Playoffs. No. 14 Ben L. Smith was probably the most notable winner as they took down No. 3 seed Central Davidson, 62-46 behind a strong 3Q performance from [player_tooltip player_id='1947989' first='Gage' last='Lattimore']. They're a group that's beginning to flex their depth as the state playoffs roll along into the Sweet 16. 6-foot-1 junior point guard [player_tooltip player_id='2093827' first='Caiden' last='Brewer'] has East Henderson playing well as a 6-seed heading into their matchup.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 11 East Wake took down No. 6 Southern Lee on the road in rather convincing fashion. Freshman [player_tooltip player_id='2326276' first='Corban' last='Woodard'] and junior [player_tooltip player_id='1610224' first='Ben' last='Fox'] are starting to find their stride together as they head into a matchup against Southern Durham and highly-rated 2025 prospect, [player_tooltip player_id='1225444' first='Jackson' last='Keith'] and unsigned sharpshooter [player_tooltip player_id='1454624' first='Camren' last='Daniels'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 9 First Flight punched their ticket to the Sweet 16 with a 72-61 victory over North Brunswick on the road this past Friday night. It's winning time and [player_tooltip player_id='1220133' first='Mason' last='Dobie'] is difficult to stop when he's in a rhythm. No. 1 Swansboro will look to slow down their 3-point barrage after surviving No. 17 JH Rose, 58-55, in overtime this past Friday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">NCHSAA 3A Sweet 16 Overview</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">No. 1 Swansboro vs. No. 9 First Flight</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Swansboro faced a ton of adversity in the second round as they head into a pivotal meeting against First Flight. Composure will be the name of the game for both sides heading in as [player_tooltip player_id='1361282' first='Jermaine' last='Cunningham'], [player_tooltip player_id='1990377' first='Tay' last='Tangiora'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1990376' first='Jonah' last='Holt'] will look to slow down [player_tooltip player_id='1220133' first='Mason' last='Dobie'] and the perimeter-centric Nighthawks in a rematch that saw the Pirates win, 67-60, back on Jan. 6.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">No. 1 Hickory vs. No. 8 Piedmont</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Red Tornadoes remained unbeaten and unscathed heading into the Sweet 16 against Piedmont High. [player_tooltip player_id='1743964' first='John' last='Holbrook'], [player_tooltip player_id='2319837' first='Izaiah' last='Littlejohn'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1743968' first='Jamien' last='Little'] have proven to be a formidable force with a number of other pieces for them to showcase as evidenced by their last victory, 88-46 over North Lincoln. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">No. 4 Seventy-First vs. No. 5 South Central</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>South Central jumped out to an 18-9 lead in the first quarter and never looked back, though White Oak battled to keep it close this past Friday night. They'll look to keep the momentum going on the road against a scrappy Seventy-First group led by [player_tooltip player_id='2316265' first='Mylon' last='Campbell'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">No. 4 Southern Guilford vs. No. 5 Crest</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Crest has proven to be the best out of the Big South Conference in the NCHSAA 3A ranks while Southern Guilford ran the tables in the 3A Mid-State at 16-0. [player_tooltip player_id='1273255' first='Jamias' last='Ferere'], [player_tooltip player_id='1273254' first='Jucqarie' last='Love'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2043250' first='Jyi' last='Dawkins'] vs. AJ Adams, [player_tooltip player_id='2301229' first='King' last='Rhodes'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2301227' first='D'various' last='Surratt'] should be an exciting, strategic battle.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">No. 3 Southern Durham vs. No. 11 East Wake</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>East Wake has a junior guard in [player_tooltip player_id='1610224' first='Ben' last='Fox'] who will get a good look at another top name in the state in [player_tooltip player_id='1225444' first='Jackson' last='Keith'] when he faces Southern Durham High. The game will be a great measuring stick for his progression/development.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">No. 6 East Henderson vs. No. 14 Ben L. Smith</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2093827' first='Caiden' last='Brewer'] has led his Eagles squad to some tough wins so far in his junior campaign in leading them to a first-place finish in the 3A Mountain 7 Conference but Ben L. Smith is a well-coached group led by head coach Derrick Partee with some underrated perimeter threats. Look for it to be an interesting battle!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">No. 2 Westover vs. No. 7 Northern Nash</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Northern Nash used a 25-point third quarter to get a 68-60 victory over Orange High at home but things aren't always the same on the road. [player_tooltip player_id='1076361' first='Ari' last='Fulton'] and Westover High have won 21-straight games heading into Tuesday's matchup. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">No. 2 Central Cabarrus vs. No. 7 AC Reynolds</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Still hard to see how Central Cabarrus was given a 2-seed but they've won by 63 and 65 in the opening rounds to continue to let their play do the talking. AC Reynolds will look to slow down a Vikings squad that hasn't lost a game since March 5, 2022 dating back to their loss in the NCHSAA 3A West Region Finals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->