Elevator

UP – Mecklenburg County basketball: Nine teams will try to win sectional games tonight and advance to next week's regionals in Greensboro.

DOWN – Mecklenburg County basketball: Four of the local teams play each other.

UP – Alexander Central basketball: Girls have 20 wins, boys have 22 and both teams are in sectional finals tonight.

Thursday's Top Performers

Justin Gordon, Northside Christian: 15 points, 16 rebounds, five steals and three assists for Gordon in 97-50 win over First Assembly in the private school 2A quarterfinals. Teammates Dionte Adams (16 points, 15 rebounds), James Logan (15 points, three rebounds, three steals) and L.C. Cooks (15 points, seven assists) had big games.

Dacia Thompson, Providence Day girls: 16 points, four rebounds in 79-38 win over Charlotte Latin in private school quarterfinals. Teammates Jada Brayboy (13 points, six steals, five assists) and Tiffany Mitchell (18 points, four rebounds, four steals) also had strong games.

Patrick Rooks, Charlotte Christian: 24 points for junior Clemson recruit in a 77-64 season-ending loss to Christ School in the private school 3A quarterfinals.

Goddess Steele, Paris Johnson, First Assembly girls: Pair combined for 29 points in NCISAA semifinal win over Fayetteville Christian. Steele had 19 points and Johnson had 10 points, eight rebounds.

Keyshawn Woods, Gaston Day: 46 points -- on 14-of-18 shooting and 15-of-16 from the free throw line -- in an 96-82 win over Victory Christian in the NCISAA 2A quarterfinals. Woods, a sophomore, also had 10 rebounds. Teammate Ray Chen had 28 points, seven assists and seven steals for Gaston Day, which will play Davidson Day in today's 5:30 p.m. quarterfinal.

Tonight's Key Matchups

No. 2 West Charlotte (24-5) at No. 4 South Mecklenburg (23-5): The Lions are reigning 4A state champs and are I-Meck 4A regular-season and tournament champions this season. Tonight, they carry a 14-game win streak to the sectional championship game. West Charlotte last lost Jan. 6 to Lake Norman at home.

Southwestern 4A regular-season champ South Mecklenburg, looking to make its first regional appearance since 1999, has won 10 of its past 11 games. The Sabres allow 46.8 points per game for the season and about 41 in the playoffs.

Kennedy Charter (20-2) at Oak Hill (42-0), 7 p.m.: Kennedy Charter, which has burst onto the scene this year with a serious infusion of talent, gets a shot at the nation's top team tonight. Kennedy Charter, averaging 92.5 points and allowing 53, has won nine straight games and tries to pull off one of the season's biggest upsets. Oak Hill is ranked No. 1 in most national polls and is led by McDonald's All-American Tyler Lewis, a Statesville native who has signed with N.C. State.

Alexander Central (22-6) at No. 1 Olympic (27-1), 7: Alexander Central made 12-of-21 3-point attempts in an 80-64 win over McDowell Wednesday and shot 57 percent overall. Alexander Central ended McDowell's 11-game win streak. In the second half of the game, Alexander Central shot 68 percent.

Tonight, the Cougars will have a much tougher task with perhaps the Carolinas' top team. Olympic has allowed about 47 points per game in the postseason and is looking to return to the N.C. 4A Western Regionals. Last season, Olympic was upset in the regional semifinals.

No. 15 Charlotte Catholic (22-6) at No. 8 Concord (26-2), 7: Concord is averaging more than 80 points per game in the postseason, and Catholic has topped 70 points in each of its playoff games, so this one could be high scoring. Catholic is looking for its fourth regional appearance overall and its first in three years.

Concord is in the sectional final for the seventh straight year. The Spiders advanced to the regionals every year but one (2008).

No. 4 Ardrey Kell girls (24-5) at Alexander Central (20-7), 7: Neither team has made a Western Regional appearance, so there's history for someone tonight. Ardrey Kell has five losses to teams still playing in the postseason. Myers Park beat the Knights three times and Ardrey Kell lost to 4A sectional finalist Porter Ridge and to 3A sectional finalist Berry. Alexander Central is in the playoffs for the first time since 1991. Freshman Madi Suddreth had a career-high 31 points in a 90-62 win over West Charlotte in the first round.

Butler girls (17-11) at No. 1 Myers Park (29-0), 7: Butler, a No. 12 playoff seed, is one of the biggest surprises of the playoffs making it this far one year after graduating Cierra Burdick, one of the state's best-ever players. Myers Park won two earlier meetings against Butler: 72-46 on Dec. 9 and 66-50 on Jan. 20. Butler, however, has won seven of its past eight games led by Jaymee Fisher-Davis (19.2 points per game) and Symphonie Richardson (16).

Robinson girls (23-6) at No. 6 Berry (24-3), 7: Robinson beat Anson Senior 59-45 Wednesday behind 24 points from Desiree Gray to reach the third round of the playoffs for the second time in school history. Robinson lost in the 2008 sectional finals, when it was a 4A team, and hunts its first regional berth tonight. Berry has won six of seven games and has only one loss to a 3A team all year, 47-35 to Harding in the MEGA 7 tournament championship.

No. 13 Harding (22-3) at North Iredell (21-5), 6: North Iredell has beaten two playoff teams by an average of 18 points. North Iredell has won 10 straight games and is looking for a third straight regional berth tonight. Harding has won six straight games, led by Alexius Hampton and Abrea Harris, who average 12 points each. The Rams have only lost to 3A sectional finalist Berry (twice) and to 4A sectional finalist Ardrey Kell.