NCHSAA Playoffs: Second Round Preview & First-Round Upsets

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Take a look at the second-round matchups to watch as well as the first-round upsets and close calls across the NCHSAA State Playoffs.</h3>   <p><em>USE CODE</em><strong><em> anderson30</em></strong><em> for 30% OFF THE FIRST PURCHASE OF ANY ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION!</em><a href="http://www.prephoops.com/subscribe/?coupon=anderson30"> Subscribe</a> today!</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">1A</h2>   <p>In 1A action, all the top 5 seeds advanced in both regions and things got interesting after that in the West. No. 6 seed Robbinsville dropped their opening round home game to 27-seed Bradford Prep, 68-55. No. 19 Winston-Salem Prep took down No. 14 Andrews 55-52. The Phoenix will travel to 3-seed Queens Grant on Friday in the second round.</p>   <p>There are some intriguing matchups in the second round of the 1A West. 14-seed Carolina International should give No. 4 Mountain Heritage all they can handle. Don't be surprised if the Comets come out on top in that one. [player_tooltip player_id='2502840' first='KJ' last='Shouse'], [player_tooltip player_id='2415029' first='Landon' last='Griffin'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2840734' first='Josiah' last='Bridges'] are playing some good basketball. 15-seed Carver has a budding star in [player_tooltip player_id='1220138' first='Jeremiah' last='Glaspie'] as they take on 2-seed South Stokes on Friday. That should finish as a close contest. The 8/9 game is always a good one and the West region's game shouldn't disappoint. Thomas Jefferson Classical and North Rowan square off in what should be a fun one.</p>   <p>In the East region, things went "according to seeding", so to speak. 17-seed Chatham Charter took down 16-seed Woods Charter in a conference rivalry in the first round, 52-45. They'll take on the East region's top seed, Washington County, on Friday. Lejeune vs. Ocracoke in the 8/9 matchup in the second round should be a good one this Friday. Devon Charles has been a prolific scoring presence for the Devil Pups this season. Chatham Central hosts defending champion Wilson Prep in the 7/10 matchup. Keep an eye on that game in the East.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2A</h2>   <p>Reidsville held their matchup to 19 points while Northwood held theirs to only 25 points in opening-round victories. </p>   <p>In the East, Seaforth is the first double-digit seed to take down a top seed. They took down No. 9 Franklin Academy 62-55 in the opening round. They'll look to keep the upsets going when they visit No. 8 Eastern Wayne on Friday. 20-seed Greene Central took down 13-seed Washington in a close battle 64-60. Deitrich Williams and Dontrez Evans have the Rams surging at the right time. </p>   <p>No. 5 Northeastern hosts No. 12 Kinston on Friday and something tells me, that's going to be a defensive battle. Look for that final to be a close one. No. 7 Martin County vs. No. 10 Whiteville should be a good one as well in the East. </p>   <p>On the West side, No. 2 seed Randleman went down 70-62 to 31-seed Forest Hills in what should certainly shake things up. 19-seed Community School of Davidson took down 14-seed Surry Central 75-67. The Spartans jumped out to a 14-6 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. [player_tooltip player_id='2514971' first='Dermot' last='Lowry'], Austin Moran and Jack Sullivan are their leading senior trio. They'll face No. 3 North Surry on Friday. The Greyhounds put up 95 points in their opening-round victory.</p>   <p>No. 12 Lincolnton has top 2027 prospect LJ Smith playing some of his best basketball going into the second round. Keep an eye on their matchup against No. 5 Maiden on Friday. Maiden escaped on Tuesday with an 82-73 victory over East Surry. No. 8 Monroe will host No. 9 Hendersonville in the 8/9 game in the West. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">3A</h2>   <p>There were a few big upsets in the East region. 24-seed Fike took down 9-seed East Wake, 68-58, in their third meeting of the season. Fike lost twice in Quad County Conference action this season but took home the playoff victory on Tuesday. Westover went on the road as a 22-seed against 11-seed West Brunswick and took home a convincing 72-55 victory. They'll face 6-seed Seventy-First, who beat 27-seed Jacksonville handily 79-43. 18-seed Triton beat 15-seed Eastern Alamance 77-71 behind 24 points from [player_tooltip player_id='1165179' first='Romello' last='Pegues'], 20 points and 10 rebounds from Demar Devane and 11 points from junior Jamaury Taylor. They'll look to give 2-seed Southern Durham all they can handle in the second round on Friday.</p>   <p>In the West, 20-seed Franklin Central took down 13-seed Franklin, 67-60, to advance to the second round. They'll face 4th-seeded Robinson after they defeated Rockingham County, 78-61. 26-seed Northwest Cabarrus took down 7-seed Freedom 72-54. 15-seed Oak Grove took down 18-seed Kings Mountain 91-84 in double overtime for their first playoff win in school history. They'll look to keep things going with 2-seed East Henderson on Friday. No. 25 Concord took down No. 8 Ledford 59-56. No. 24 Central Davidson took down No. 9 Piedmont 51-33. Needless to say, the NCHSAA 3A Playoff bracket is going to be a good one.</p>   <p>Don't be surprised if 11-seed Ben L. Smith comes out on top in their matchup with No. 6 AC Reynolds on Friday. The Eagles are playing with a huge chip on their shoulder since receiving the 11-seed. No. 19 East Lincoln visiting No. 3 Dudley will be a good one as well. East Lincoln stole a big victory at Hickory in the opening round. [player_tooltip player_id='2709258' first='Jaxon' last='Dollar'] got a big steal then came down and hit a big 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to give the Mustangs a 70-64 lead with less than a minute to go on the road. They hung to win that one 72-70.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">4A</h2>   <p>The 4A East had quite a few "upsets" and close calls in the bracket, though the top 5 seeds in both regions are still in play.</p>   <p>15-seed Cardinal Gibbons escaped their opening rounder against 18-seed Broughton, 79-77 in double overtime, on a [player_tooltip player_id='1948023' first='Griffin' last='Cockerham'] layup in the final seconds to advance to the second round. They'll travel across town to face 2nd-seed Garner in the second round on Friday.</p>   <p>21-seed Leesville Road took down 12-seed Holly Springs, 74-59. [player_tooltip player_id='1030016' first='Hayes' last='Oxendine'], [player_tooltip player_id='2455202' first='Kaden' last='Drumgo'] have a lot to prove still on the NCHSAA Playoff stage. The Pride will take on 5-seed Green Level this Friday. The Gators beat 28-seed Southeast Raleigh, 76-63, in their first-round matchup. 19-seed Millbrook took down 14-seed Laney 62-59 in a back-and-forth road battle. The Wildcats will travel to 3-seed Sanderson on Friday. No. 26 Apex Friendship took down No. 7 Knightdale 56-53. Jadon Green and company shocked a lot of people on Tuesday night. No. 23 Panther Creek beat out No. 10 New Bern 72-55. Head coach Shawan Robinson always has his team playing well in the playoffs. They'll host Apex Friendship on Friday. No. 17 Heritage continues their surge with a 53-46 victory over Chapel Hill on the road. They'll travel to New Hanover on Friday. </p>   <p>Richmond/Overhills in the 8/9 game in the East should be an exciting game given the different styles and pace. No. 13 Clayton visits No. 4 Jordan as well in what should be a good, strategic game for both sides.</p>   <p>14-seed Davie County trailed 54-46 with 7:23 left in the game and stormed all the way back to take a 69-66 victory over 19-seed South Mecklenburg. They'll look to play spoiler on Friday when they travel to 3-seed North Mecklenburg. No. 25 Reagan took down No. 8 Northern Guilford 69-57. No. 17 Hopewell beat out No. 16 Charlotte Catholic 53-52. </p>   <p>No. 4 McDowell hosts No. 13 JL Chambers in what should be a good game. The Cougars are certainly playing with a chip on their shoulder after a strong regular season. </p>   <p></p>