NCHSAA regional championship central: Your guide to this week’s basketball playoffs
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- NCHSAA regional basketball finals run this week across Hickory and Greenville venues.
- Complete schedules, live streams on NFHS Network, and score updates follow each game.
- Multiple class finals staged daily; winners advance to next round in state playoffs.
It’s Day 4, the final day of the NCHSAA Eastern and Western regional championship games in Greenville and Hickory.
We’ve got the live scoreboards, schedules, streaming info and complete coverage from Saturday’s games — plus recaps from Wednesday’s, Thursday’s and Friday’s games below.
Be sure to bookmark and come back.
Live boys’ scoreboard
Live girls’ scoreboard
Saturday’s roundup
2A WEST GIRLS: Cherokee to go for three-peat
Cherokee took a big step toward a three-peat as girls’ basketball state champion Saturday by surging in the closing minutes and beating rival Bishop McGuinness 58-48 for the 2A West Regional title.
In a renewal of what has become one of the state’s best prep basketball rivalries, Cherokee (28-1) delivered in the clutch. Cherokee defeated Bishop McGuinness en route to its 2023 and 2024 state championships.
Saturday’s contest packed Shuford Gym, on the Lenoir-Rhyne campus in Hickory. And a large number of fans stood in the lobby or outside the front doors.
The Villains (24-4) put up a fight. They fell behind 9-0, committing seven turnovers in the first six minutes. But they slowly battled back and got within 22-18 at halftime.
Bishop McGuinness closed to 24-23 on a Cecilia Drabek 3-pointer with 6 minutes, 12 seconds left in the third quarter and finally tied the score on the closing play of the third quarter — on Claire Sullivan’s half-court shot for a 3-pointer. That knotted the score at 35-35.
A Sullivan free throw put the Villains ahead 36-35, and they led by margins of 44-39 and 46-41.
But the Braves stepped up in the closing minutes. They retook the lead 47-46, with 2:28 left on Lilly Lossiah’s 3-pointer, then forced a turnover and made it 50-46 on Joscelyn Stamper’s layup and free throw.
A layup by Daisee Fourkiller-Raby and two free throws by Dvdaya Swimmer made it 54-46 with 51 seconds left, and the Braves had a comfortable lead.
Stamper led Cherokee with 15 points and nine rebounds. Swimmer, a multi-event state champion in track and a Hawaii commit (in track), added 14, as did Lossiah. Fourkiller-Raby scored 12 points.
Sullivan (20) and Drabik (18) led the scoring for Bishop McGuinness.
5A WEST BOYS: Hunter Huss wins 15th in a row
Hunter Huss survived a Jay M. Robinson rally and scored a 72-63 victory Saturday evening for the 5A West Regional championship in Hickory.
The Huskies, winning their 15th straight game, built a sizable lead before Jay M. Robinson came back. Huss pulled away with a late 6-0 run.
5A WEST GIRLS: North Lincoln moves to title game
They might be the best 8-21 team you’ll ever see. North Lincoln’s emotional, wild season continued Saturday evening with a 79-51 romp over Forest Hills for the 5A West girls’ regional championship.
Ally Smith scored 29 points as the Knights, forced to forfeit 17 regular-season games, snapped Forest Hills’ 18-game winning streak.
2A WEST BOYS: Queen’s Grant Charter reaches first final
Queen’s Grant Charter cruised past South Stokes 62-49 in Hickory and captured the 2A West Regional championship.
The victory sends the Stallions to their first-ever state championship game.
5A EAST BOYS: Fike outscores Southeast Alamance
Jamir Lofton poured in 40 points and led Fike to an 84-77 victory over Southeast Alamance in the highest-scoring affair of North Carolina’s 32 regional championship games this week.
In winning the 5A East Regional crown, the Golden Demons (23-5) built a big early lead, then survived a comeback by the Stallions (25-5).
Trailing by double digits, Southeast Alamance got within 62-61 on a Nate Yellock free throw with 5:37 left in the game. But Fike outscored Southeast Alamance 14-2 over the next three minutes.
Loftin hit five of six shots from three-point range and got support from 6-10 junior center Da’Qavis Greene, who had 20 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out late in the game. Fike has not played in a boys’ basketball championship game since 1990.
Donnie Fairley had a big game for the Stallions, with 31 points and 14 rebounds. James Kenan added 25 points. The Stallions had a bad long-distance shooting night, hitting three of 23 from three-point range.
5A EAST GIRLS: SE Alamance runs win streak to 34
Southeast Alamance ran its unbeaten streak to 34 games and moved within a victory of repeating as a state champion with a 49-31 romp over Rocky Mount on Saturday evening.
The Stallions (29-0) opened the second half with a 10-0 run and outscored the Gryphons 17-2 in the third quarter. Southeast Alamance led a tight game 19-17 at halftime. By the time the fourth quarter started, the Stallions were up 36-19.
Reanna Johnson scored a game-high 17 points for Southeast Alamance, a school that opened for the 2023-24 academic year. Kinston (22-3) got 12 points from Keysha Mizzell.
In the state finals, Southeast Alamance will face a team, North Lincoln, that the Stallions beat 65-62 on the scoreboard on Nov. 28. North Lincoln later was forced to forfeit most of its games from the regular season due to use of an ineligible player.
2A EAST BOYS: Warren County rallies past Voyager Academy
Nazir Shaw scored Warren County’s final seven points Saturday afternoon and carried the Eagles to a 61-55 victory over Voyager Academy in the 2A East boys’ regional finals.
The Eagles (14-9), who were 2-6 in mid-January and just 10-9 in the regular season, advanced to their first state championship game since 2005. Warren County lost that contest but won a state title in 1982.
Saturday’s game had 14 lead changes, the last occurred when Shaw hit a 3-pointer with 1:24 remaining and put Warren County up 57-55. Shaw then added two free throws with 35 seconds left and two more with 19 seconds to play.
He finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. Teammate Khalil Townsend had a game-high 17 points. Darin Jones led Voyager Academy (22-8) with 14 points.
2A EAST GIRLS: Pamlico County tops Gates
Pamlico County shut out Gates County’s leading scorer Saturday afternoon in a 72-53 victory that earned the Hurricanes a berth in next week’s 2A girls’ state championship.
Pamlico County (26-2) pulled away in the second quarter of the East Regional finals at East Carolina, piling up a 23-8 margin over the Red Barons (25-6). That gave Pamlico a 42-24 halftime lead, and the Hurricanes coasted from there.
Three players accounted for 68 of Pamlico’s 72 points. Sydney Whitley-Reese scored 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Nya Clark added 22 points, and Shaiera Jones scored 20.
Semiyah Saunders, who led Gates County in scoring during the regular season with 13.4 points per game, was shut out. Zariah Rogers led the Red Barons with 20 points.
4A EAST BOYS: Reidsville nips Washington
Paul Cauthen Jr. capped a big day with a steal and two key free throws in the final minute Saturday, as Reidsville got past Washington 59-58 in a heavyweight battle for the 4A East boys’ regional championship.
Reidsville (23-1), qualifying for its seventh state championship game in boys’ basketball, avenged its only loss of the season — a 78-74 setback on the day after Christmas to Washington (23-6).
Washington looked like it would repeat that Dec. 26 performance as it raced to a 21-9 lead early in the second quarter. The Pam Pack led 37-31 midway in the third quarter after a Shimere Garris layup. But Reidsville went on an 8-0 run and took a 39-37 lead on a Cauthen jumper with 1:44 left in the period.
The game remained close from there, and a Zac Lovick layup with 1:33 left cut Reidsville’s lead to 57-56.
Cauthen made one of two free throws with 1:26 left, then stole the ball and was fouled with 25 seconds remaining. Once again, he made on of his two fouls shots for a 59-56 lead.
Washington’s Tyrone Outlaw scored on a layup with seven seconds left, but Reidsville got the ball inbounds successfully and avoided being fouled by Washington in the closing seconds.
Cauthen finished with 27 points and seven rebounds. Washington was successful in defending N.C. Player of the Year front-runner Dionte Neal, holding him to 10 points. He entered the game averaging 35.6 points a contest.
Garris scored a team-high 19 points and had seven rebounds for the Pam Pack.
Reidsville won its first boys’ basketball state title in 1924 and repeated in 1973, 1994, 2003 and 2024.
NCHSAA scoreboard
(All games streaming on NFHS Network)
CLASS 8A
BOYS
Wednesday’s regional finals
WEST
(at Lenoir-Rhyne, Hickory)
West Charlotte 74, West Forsyth 70 (OT)
EAST
(at East Carolina, Greenville)
Hoggard 51, Laney 33
CLASS 7A
Friday’s regional finals
WEST
(at Lenoir-Rhyne, Hickory)
Mooresville 55, North Mecklenburg 52
EAST
(at East Carolina, Greenville)
Southern Durham 65, Cardinal Gibbons 55
CLASS 6A
Wednesday’s regional finals
WEST
(at Lenoir-Rhyne, Hickory)
Kings Mountain 68, Charlotte Catholic 61
EAST
(at East Carolina, Greenville)
Northern Nash 50, E.E. Smith 39
CLASS 5A
Saturday’s regional finals
WEST
(at Lenoir-Rhyne, Hickory)
Hunter Huss 72, Jay M. Robinson 63
EAST
(at East Carolina, Greenville)
Fike 84, Southeast Alamance 77
CLASS 4A
Thursday’s regional finals
WEST
(at Lenoir-Rhyne, Hickory)
Salisbury 47, Central Davidson 46
EAST
Saturday’s regional finals
(at East Carolina, Greenville)
Reidsville 59, Washington 58
CLASS 3A
Friday’s regional finals
WEST
(at Lenoir-Rhyne, Hickory)
Walkertown 67, East Surry 45
EAST
(at East Carolina, Greenville)
Kinston 73, Martin County 62
CLASS 2A
Saturday’s regional finals
WEST
(at Lenoir-Rhyne, Hickory)
Queen’s Grant Charter 62, South Stokes 49
EAST
(at East Carolina, Greenville)
Warren County 61, Voyager Academy 55
CLASS 1A
Thursday’s regional final
WEST
(at Lenoir-Rhyne, Hickory)
Thomas Jefferson Academy 61, Jackson Day 48
EAST
Wednesday’s regional final
(at East Carolina, Greenville)
Vance Charter 56, Southern Wake Academy 52
Girls
Class 8A
Wednesday’s regional finals
WEST
(at Lenoir-Rhyne, Hickory)
Mallard Creek 59, Ardrey Kell 44
EAST
(at East Carolina, Greenville)
Hoggard 58, Willow Spring 38
CLASS 7A
Friday’s regional finals
WEST
(at Lenoir-Rhyne, Hickory)
North Mecklenburg 73, Lake Norman 57
EAST
(at East Carolina Univ., Greenville)
Southern Durham 42, South Garner 37
CLASS 6A
Wednesday’s regional finals
WEST
(at Lenoir-Rhyne Univ., Hickory)
Northern Guilford 62, Alexander Central 59
EAST
(at East Carolina, Greenville)
Terry Sanford 62, Seventy First 51
CLASS 5A
Saturday’s regional finals
WEST
(at Lenoir-Rhyne, Hickory)
North Lincoln 79, Forest Hills 51
EAST
(at East Carolina, Greenville)
Southeast Alamance 49, Rocky Mount 31
CLASS 4A
Thursday’s regional final
WEST
(at Lenoir-Rhyne, Hickory)
Maiden 69, Pisgah 41
EAST
Friday’s regional final
(at East Carolina, Greenville)
Fairmont 59, First Flight 40
CLASS 3A
Friday’s regional finals
WEST
(at Lenoir-Rhyne, Hickory)
East Surry 53, North Wilkes 39
EAST
(at East Carolina, Greenville)
Goldsboro 54, Northwood 44
CLASS 2A
Saturday’s regional finals
WEST
(at Lenoir-Rhyne, Hickory)
Cherokee 58, Bishop McGuinness 48
EAST
(at East Carolina, Greenville)
Pamlico County 72, Gates County 53
CLASS 1A
Thursday’s regional finals
WEST
(at Lenoir-Rhyne, Hickory)
Robbinsville 53, Andrews 38
EAST
(at East Carolina, Greenville)
Wilson Prep 60, Falls Lake Academy 42
Friday’s roundup
7A WEST BOYS: Mooresville upsets North Mecklenburg
Mooresville’s boys were 4-21 just six years ago, but now the Blue Devils are going to the NCHSAA state championship game.
Mooresville beat two-time defending state champion North Mecklenburg, 55-52, at Lenoir-Rhyne Friday.
7A WEST GIRLS: North Meck advances past Lake Norman
North Meck’s girls advanced to their first state final in 40 years, beating reigning state championship Lake Norman in the regional championship game.
7A EAST BOYS: Morman powers Southern Durham
AJ Morman Jr. wasn’t going to let classmate Aliyah Herndon have all the glory Friday afternoon.
A half-hour after Herndon finished scoring 25 points and leading Southern Durham’s girls into the state championship, Morman went out and scored 27, powering the Spartan boys’ team to next week’s state title game.
Morman was a nearly unstoppable force as Southern Durham turned back Cardinal Gibbons 65-55 in a game the Spartans led all the way.
A 5-10 sophomore guard who already has a number of Division 1 offers, Morman hit eight of 16 shots from the floor and 11 of 12 from the foul line. One sign of his dominance in the game: Cardinal Gibbons fouled him nine times.
The Spartans (27-3), who have won 19 in a row and haven’t lost since the day after Christmas, outscored the Crusaders (26-3) by a 16-4 margin on fast breaks and 32-18 in the paint.
Cardinal Gibbons’ Ty Lange scored 16 points and shot 50 percent from the floor, but the rest of the team shot 34 percent. The Crusaders were able to go on an 8-0 run in the fourth quarter to make the score closer, but Southern Durham was comfortably in front most of the way.
Keyonee Terry added 17 points for the Spartans, and Aden Jeffries added 10.
This will be the school’s first appearance in a boys’ state championship basketball game.
7A EAST GIRLS: Southern Durham reaches title game
It was a day when one good shooting performance could make a big difference. And Southern Durham had that performance Friday afternoon.
Aliyah Herndon scored 25 points and led the Spartans past South Garner 42-37 in the 7A East girls’ regional finals.
The victory sends Southern Durham (27-3) to its second championship game in school history. The Spartans’ other trip was in 2004, when they lost to Asheville.
Friday’s result was a far cry from the teams’ meeting on Nov. 18, when South Garner walloped the Spartans 73-38.
Herndon was the difference-maker Friday. She made eight of 11 shots from the floor, connecting on 72 percent of her attempts. The rest of her teammates made seven of 42 shots for 16 percent.
South Garner, meanwhile (23-7), shot 22 percent as a team.
Southern Durham — officially known as the Southern School of Energy and Sustainability — took the lead 17 seconds into the game and never gave it up. The Spartans led by as many as 10 points in the third quarter before the Titans tried to rally in the final period.
In addition to her scoring, Herndon had six rebounds, three assists and five steals. Teammate Ashlyn Hudson had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
South Garner’s Calise Crawford had 12 rebounds but was held scoreless. Taylor Moore had 11 points and 14 rebounds, and Makensey Dillard scored 12 points.
South Garner outrebounded Southern Durham 42-25 but was hurt by poor shooting.
3A WEST BOYS: Walkertown powers into finals
Walkertown broke open a tight game with a 13-0 run late in the third quarter and trounced East Surry 67-45 in the Class 3A West boys’ championship at Lenoir-Rhyne.
The Wolfpack (20-8) earned the school’s first-ever berth in a state title game by hitting 51 percent of its shots against the Cardinals (21-6).
East Surry led 9-5 and 16-11 early in the game, but Walkertown took the lead to stay, 21-20, on a three-pointer by Jaden McCandies late in the second quarter.
The Wolfpack opened the lead to seven points, but East Surry climbed to within 33-31 late in the third quarter. That’s when Walkertown went on a run and pulled away.
The Wolfpack’s big run was fueled by six East Surry turnovers. East Surry turned the ball over 17 times in the game, and Walkertown scored 26 points off those mistakes.
Kenan Grady led the Wolfpack with 15 points and eight rebounds. Ricco Daniels and Jordan Autry each added 14 points, and McCandies scored 11. Braxton Davis had 11 points and six rebounds for East Surry.
3A WEST GIRLS: East Surry rallies over North Wilkes
East Surry erased a halftime deficit by going on a 10-0 run to start the second half, and the Cardinals downed defending West regional champion North Wilkes 53-39 in the 3A West Regional final Friday.
North Wilkes (19-7), which lost in the 2A finals a year ago, led 24-23 at halftime Friday. But the Cardinals (25-3), fueled by North Wilkes turnovers, went on their big run for a 33-24 lead. East Surry led 41-28 after three quarters and cruised.
East Surry, which won the 1A state title in 2001 and lost in the 2019 finals, outscored North Wilkes 26-3 off turnovers.
3A EAST BOYS: Kinston pulls away
Kinston outscored Martin County 10-1 over the final 2:10 and beat the Gators 73-62 Friday evening for the 3A East boys’ regional championship.
Chance Matthewson sank two free throws with 2:27 left, enabling Martin County (25-5) to narrow Kinston’s lead to 63-61. But a jump shot and a layup by Jamarion Washington triggered the decisive run for the Vikings (21-3).
Kinston, which won a boys’ state basketball championship in 2013 but lost in 2015, got 22 points from Keyshawn Herring. Washington hit nine of 10 shots from the floor and finished with 20 points, six rebounds and six assists.
Kinston shot 60 percent from the floor.
Martin County, which shot 51 percent, was led by Kamarion Larry with 17 points.
3A EAST GIRLS: Goldsboro captures regional
Freshman Kennedy Barbour came off the bench and helped lead Goldsboro to a 54-44 victory over Northwood in the girls’ 3A East regional championship game.
Despite playing only 16 of the 32 minutes, Barbour finished with 18 points and six rebounds. She was a key part of Goldsboro’s surge in the second and third quarters.
The Cougars (27-2), who will play in their fifth state title game but haven’t won a championship since 1982, played a tight game early on with Northwood (21-6).
The Chargers took the lead briefly in the first quarter, but Goldsboro went on an 8-0 run and held the lead from there. The Cougars piled up a 39-19 edge in rebounds and outscored the Chargers 32-18 in the paint.
Aziyah Boyer led Goldsboro with 20 points and nine rebounds, and Amiyah Ford had 10 rebounds. Neah Henry scored a team-high 16 points for Northwood.
4A EAST GIRLS: Fairmont trounces First Flight
Stopping the opponent’s top player is a good recipe for victory, and that’s what Fairmont did Friday afternoon in the 4A East Regional final at East Carolina University.
The Tornadoes (27-2) shut down junior Maddy Beatson of First Flight (21-3) and trounced the Nighthawks 59-40.
Beatson came into the game averaging 20.8 points a game, but Fairmont’s defense held her to seven points. Under nearly constant pressure, Beatson made just two of 12 shots from the floor. Her First Flight teammates were also cold, connecting on 12 of 43 field goal attempts.
Fairmont, meanwhile, shot 48 percent from the floor. The Tornadoes scored the game’s first basket just six seconds after tipoff and never trailed.
Fairmont, headed to its first state championship game, got 19 points from Aaliyah Duran. Kimiyah Smith and Kaziyah McLean each added 10. First Flight’s scoring leader was Sara Basnight, with 12 points.
Thursday’s roundup
BOYS’ 4A WEST: Half-court shot wins it for Salisbury
Royce Perkins is only a freshman, but he might find it difficult in the remainder of his high school basketball career to beat what he did Thursday night in Hickory.
Perkins sank a shot from half-court as the buzzer sounded, lifting Salisbury to a 47-46 victory over Central Davidson and putting the Hornets in the boys’ state title game for the first time in 39 years.
Central Davidson (20-7) appeared to have a hero of its own in Eli Staten, who connected on a 3-pointer from the right corner with 2.8 seconds remaining. That put the Spartans ahead 46-44.
Salisbury coach Albert Perkins called a timeout, and then Central Davidson coach Dustin Tysinger used his team’s final timeout.
Perkins took the inbound pass on the right side of the court, dribbled about two steps to the half-court line, and unleashed a shot. The ball hit the backboard about two feet above the basket and fell through the net.
It was the only 3-pointer Perkins made in four attempts. But it sent the Hornets (23-7) to the state championship for the first time since they won the crown in 1987.
Perkins and Jon Ross each scored 12 points for Salisbury, while Carson Hulsizer had a game-high 14 for Central Davidson.
GIRLS’ 4A WEST: Maiden takes unbeaten mark to finals
Maiden’s chase of the perfect season will take the Blue Devils to the state championship game.
The Blue Devils ran their record to 29-0 Thursday evening by swamping Pisgah 69-41 in the girls’ Class 4A West finals.
Maiden, reaching the state championship game for the first time, didn’t allow Pisgah (29-2) to stay within reach. The Blue Devils roared to an 18-7 first-quarter lead and padded the margin to 37-16 at halftime.
The Blue Devils outrebounded the Bears 45-28, and Pisgah didn’t have an answer for Maiden sophomore forward Ava Anderson.
Anderson hit 10 of 12 free throws, scored 22 points, and grabbed eight rebounds. If she wasn’t dominating the paint, teammate Khiara Culliver was. Culliver finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Pisgah standout Chandler Lowery had a team-high 14 points, along with eight rebounds and four assists. But Maiden’s harassing defense forced Lowery into seven turnovers.
BOYS’ 1A WEST: Charlotte’s Jackson Day loses
Jackson Day struggled to make shots for three of four quarters Thursday, and the Mariners’ hopes of winning a state basketball championship in the school’s second N.C. High School Athletic Association season came to an end.
Thomas Jefferson Academy toppled Jackson Day 61-48 for the 1A boys’ West regional championship. The Mariners had beaten Thomas Jefferson Academy in both their previous meetings this season.
GIRLS’ 1A WEST: Robbinsville tops rival
The fourth time was the charm Thursday for the Robbinsville girls’ basketball team.
After losing three earlier meetings this season with Smoky Mountain 1A/2A rival Andrews, Robbinsville finally broke through, beating the Wildcats 53-38 for the 1A West regional championship in Hickory.
It was a game of runs, and Robbinsville had two big surges to Andrews’ one. Robbinsville (17-11) opened on a 16-0 run, capped by Abby Wehr’s layup to close the first quarter.
Then Andrews (19-11) went on a 13-0 run and trailed only 20-19 at halftime.
But the Black Knights had one more surge in them. Leading 33-26 midway through the third quarter, they then went on a 14-2 run for a 47-29 lead with 1:11 left in the period.
Wehr finished with 17 points and seven rebounds, and Zaelyn Phillips added 12 points and six rebounds, as Robbinsville advanced to the state finals for the first time. Drea Cutshaw led Andrews with 12 points and nine rebounds.
GIRLS’ 1A EAST: Wilson Prep cruises
Wilson Prep led nearly all the way Thursday and easily downed Falls Lake Academy, 60-42, in the girls’ Class 1A East Regional championship at East Carolina University.
The Tigers (25-3), earning their first berth in a girls’ state title game, went on an 11-0 run midway through the first quarter, took a 19-11 lead at the end of the period, and pulled away from there. The Tigers’ lead reached 31 points midway in the fourth quarter.
Sophomore wing Paris Best led four scorers in double figures with 18 points. Another sophomore, MyAngel Brimage, grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
Jeneen Mason led Falls Lake Academy (19-3) with 12 points.
Wednesday’s roundup
BOYS’ 8A WEST: West Charlotte wins in OT
West Charlotte hands West Forsyth its first loss of the season and advances to the state championship game, winning 74-70 in overtime.
GIRLS’ 8A WEST: Mallard Creek blows past Ardrey Kell
Mallard Creek built a big early lead, then answered an Ardrey Kell challenge in the second half, en route to a 59-44 victory Wednesday afternoon in the Class 8A West Regional championship.
The victory sends the Mavericks (23-6) into next week’s state championship game against the East Regional winner, either Hoggard or Willow Spring.
Mallard Creek has been a girls’ basketball power for several seasons, but the Mavericks never reached the title contest until now.
BOYS’ 8A EAST: Hoggard topples city rival
Hoggard won the one that counted.
The Vikings made the most of their fourth game this season against Wilmington city rival Laney, beating the Buccaneers 51-33 for the 8A East boys’ regional championship.
The two teams are members of the Carolina Coast 6A/7A/8A Conference, and Laney (21-10) had beaten Hoggard (23-6) in two of their three previous meetings this season. That included a 50-46 decision 12 days ago in the conference tournament finals.
But with a berth in the state title game on the line Wednesday, Hoggard dominated — at least for three quarters.
Laney raced to an 11-2 lead after the first quarter, but the Vikings outscored the Bucs 49-22 the rest of the way.
Hoggard pushed the ball inside and ended up shooting 23 free throws. Laney, which shot mostly from the outside, went to the foul line four times.
Will Seward, a 6-6 senior, led the Vikings with 20 points, seven rebounds and six blocks. Hunter McGrath added 15 points. Colin Lamb had 17 points and six rebounds for Laney.
This will be Hoggard’s first title game appearance in 56 years, since the Vikings lost to Bobby Jones-led South Mecklenburg.
GIRLS’ 8A EAST: Hoggard wins, will face Mallard Creek
Tristan Shivers scored seven of her 32 points in a second-quarter run that helped Hoggard trounce Willow Spring 58-38 Wednesday evening in the Class 8A girls’ East Regional championship at East Carolina.
Willow Spring (26-2), a fifth-year school making its deepest-ever run in the playoffs, led 12-10 in the second quarter when Hoggard (28-1) made its run. Avery Fitzgerald hit a 3-pointer for the go-ahead points. Then Shivers hit a 3-pointer, scored on a layup, and made two free throws 25 seconds later
That put the Vikings up 20-12, and they pulled away from there.
Hoggard, which has won 20 straight games, shot 43 percent from the floor and held Willow Spring to 26 percent.
Shivers, a Bellarmine commit, hit 9 of 13 field goal attempts and 13 of 14 free throws for her 32 points.
Willow Spring, which had just two seniors on its 12-player roster, was led by sophomore Lily Temple (12 points) and her freshman sister Ahnala (11).
BOYS’ 6A WEST: Charlotte Catholic falls
Kings Mountain’s Micaiah Daniel made his first 10 shots, and the upstart Mountaineers (16-12) stunned Charlotte Catholic 68-61 for the boys’ 6A West regional title at Lenoir-Rhyne University.
The Cougars finished with a 25-5 record. Kings Mountain continued its late-season surge with its seventh straight victory
GIRLS’ 6A WEST: Northern Guilford edges Alexander Central
Northern Guilford’s Anaya Pearley rebounded a missed Alexander Central shot with 6.5 seconds remaining Wednesday night, and the Nighthawks (26-4) edged the Cougars 62-59 for the girls’ 6A West championship.
Alexander Central (25-4) trailed 61-59 and had the ball with 21 seconds left. The Cougars missed a potential go-ahead three-point shot, and Pearley grabbed the rebound. She was fouled with 5.5 seconds remaining and made one of two free throws for the 62-59 lead.
The Nighthawks’ defense then prevented Alexander Central from getting off a shot in the final seconds.
It will mark Northern Guilford’s fourth appearance in a girls’ basketball state title game. The Nighthawks lost in 2016 but won in 2017 and ‘18.
BOYS’ 6A EAST: Northern Nash trounces E.E. Smith
Northern Nash surged in the final six minutes and trounced E.E. Smith 50-39 Wednesday for the Class 6A boys’ East Regional championship at East Carolina University.
The Knights (24-3) advanced to their first boys’ basketball state title game in 56 years. They won a title in 1968 and lost in the finals in 1970.
The teams were locked in a close game through three quarters, and the score was 35-all with 7:15 remaining. But Northern Nash’s Jamiere Harris hit a jump shot and followed with a 3-pointer at the 5:42 mark, putting the Knights up 40-35.
The teams then traded baskets, but Jah’Marzae Williams hit a jump shot with 1:50 left and followed with a dunk 15 seconds later, giving Northern Nash a 48-39 lead.
Nick Smith scored a game-high 19 points for E.E. Smith (20-6). Williams led Northern Nash with 14 points, and 7-foot center Chris Silver dominated the inside with seven rebounds and six blocked shots.
GIRLS’ 6A EAST: Sanford rolls into finals
Terry Sanford rocketed to a 20-4 first-quarter lead and coasted to a 66-51 victory Wednesday over Seventy First, in a battle of Fayetteville rivals that decided the 6A East regional title.
The Bulldogs (22-6), who beat Seventy First 64-35 on Dec. 20, made it 2-0 this season against the Falcons, thanks to a big start. Alani-Skye Wilkerson hit a pair of 3-pointers in the Bulldogs’ first-quarter surge.
Terry Sanford, which is 0-4 in state championship games, got 15 points and eight rebounds from Wilkerson. Zaniya Reddick added 13 points and seven assists, and Jaidiah Blake and Ameya Brown each added 12 points.
Seventy First (23-3) was led by Karjana Williams, with 16 points. Makalah Bryant added 10 points, and Kaydance Campbell had nine points and nine rebounds.
BOYS’ 1A EAST: Vance Charter rallies for win
Vance Charter battled back from an 18-point deficit and scored the final 14 points of the game, knocking off Southern Wake Academy 56-52 for the boys’ 1A East regional title at East Carolina in Greenville.
The top-seeded Knights (22-2), advancing to their first-ever state championship game, trailed Southern Wake Academy 46-29 late in the third quarter before mounting a comeback.
Vance Charter whittled away at the Lions’ lead but trailed 52-44 with 3:46 left, after a basket from Southern Wake Academy’s Sodienye Fubara.
But Knights senior center Gary Wilkins hit a layup and added a free throw, and Keyan Richardson connected on a 3-pointer with 2:32 left. That brought Vance Charter within 53-52.
The Lions (23-6), outscored 23-4 in the fourth quarter, missed a shot, and Vance Charter took the lead on Nick Pentoney’s 3-pointer with 1:36 remaining.
Southern Wake Academy, which lost in the 1A state finals a year ago, missed four shots in the closing 90 seconds, and Vance Charter made three of four free throws to open a lead.
Pentoney finished with 20 points, and Wilkins added 19 points and 10 rebounds. Kobe Plaza and Tony Lopez each scored 14 for Southern Wake Academy.
This story was originally published March 4, 2026 at 11:51 AM.
