NCHSAA 3A: Round 2 Bracket Busters/Sweet 16 Overview
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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 Gage Lattimore Gage Lattimore 6'2" | CG Ben L. Smith | 2024 State NC . 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 Caiden Brewer Caiden Brewer 6'1" | PG East Henderson | 2025 State NC has East Henderson playing well as a 6-seed heading into their matchup.
No. 11 East Wake took down No. 6 Southern Lee on the road in rather convincing fashion. Freshman Corban Woodard Corban Woodard 6'4" | SF East Wake | 2027 State NC and junior Ben Fox Ben Fox 6'3" | SG East Wake | 2025 State NC are starting to find their stride together as they head into a matchup against Southern Durham and highly-rated 2025 prospect, Jackson Keith Jackson Keith 6'6" | CG Southern Durham | 2025 State #84 Nation NC and unsigned sharpshooter Camren Daniels Camren Daniels 6'5" | SG Southern Durham | 2024 State NC .
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 Mason Dobie Mason Dobie 6'2" | SG First Flight | 2025 State NC 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.
NCHSAA 3A Sweet 16 Overview
No. 1 Swansboro vs. No. 9 First Flight
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 Jermaine Cunningham Jermaine Cunningham 6'3" | CG Swansboro | 2025 State NC , Tay Tangiora Tay Tangiora 6'6" | PF Swansboro | 2025 State NC and Jonah Holt Jonah Holt 6'3" | SG Swansboro | 2025 State NC will look to slow down Mason Dobie Mason Dobie 6'2" | SG First Flight | 2025 State NC and the perimeter-centric Nighthawks in a rematch that saw the Pirates win, 67-60, back on Jan. 6.
No. 1 Hickory vs. No. 8 Piedmont
The Red Tornadoes remained unbeaten and unscathed heading into the Sweet 16 against Piedmont High. John Holbrook John Holbrook 6'8" | PF Hickory | 2024 State NC , Izaiah Littlejohn Izaiah Littlejohn 6'5" | SF Hickory | 2024 State NC and Jamien Little Jamien Little 6'1" | SG Hickory | 2025 State NC 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.
No. 4 Seventy-First vs. No. 5 South Central
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 Mylon Campbell Mylon Campbell 5'11" | CG Seventy-First | 2024 NC .
No. 4 Southern Guilford vs. No. 5 Crest
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. Jamias Ferere Jamias Ferere 6'5" | SF Southern Guilford | 2024 State NC , Jucqarie Love Jucqarie Love 6'5" | PF Southern Guilford | 2024 State NC and Jyi Dawkins Jyi Dawkins 6'3" | SG Southern Guilford | 2026 State NC vs. AJ Adams, King Rhodes King Rhodes 6'4" | SF Crest | 2026 State NC and D’various Surratt D’various Surratt 6'0" | CG Crest | 2026 NC should be an exciting, strategic battle.
No. 3 Southern Durham vs. No. 11 East Wake
East Wake has a junior guard in Ben Fox Ben Fox 6'3" | SG East Wake | 2025 State NC who will get a good look at another top name in the state in Jackson Keith Jackson Keith 6'6" | CG Southern Durham | 2025 State #84 Nation NC when he faces Southern Durham High. The game will be a great measuring stick for his progression/development.
No. 6 East Henderson vs. No. 14 Ben L. Smith
Caiden Brewer Caiden Brewer 6'1" | PG East Henderson | 2025 State NC 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!
No. 2 Westover vs. No. 7 Northern Nash
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. Ari Fulton Ari Fulton 6'7" | SF Westover | 2024 State NC and Westover High have won 21-straight games heading into Tuesday’s matchup.
No. 2 Central Cabarrus vs. No. 7 AC Reynolds
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.