APEX — For the first time since 2001, the Lumberton boys basketball team has advanced to the second round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state playoffs, and the second-round opponent brings a new challenge for the Pirates after already defeating the defending 4A state champions.
Ninth-seeded Lumberton (22-5) travels to No. 8-seed Apex Friendship (23-4) in the second round tipoff is set for 7 p.m. The Pirates defeated South Central 61-54 in the first round.
The Patriots shared the South Wake Athletic Conference title, and are led by 6-foot-6 senior big man Nick Farrar, an N.C. State commit. Lumberton coach Bryant Edwards said after looking at film he will bring out a different defensive style that Farrar might not have seen in the games he’s viewed.
“Maybe it will force him out to the perimeter. That’s our gameplan,” Edwards said. “He takes the ball and can dribble it coast to coast. He can shoot the 3-ball. He will face up on the low post and he can go left and go right.”
Edwards also hinted at the scoring presence of senior Jayden Beloti, who stands at 6-foot-4, as another player that helps Apex Friendship go on offense.
“He’s really good and he’s athletic. He’s a scoring combo guard. He can score 30 when he’s feeling it, but he also can score five to six when he’s not,” Edwards said. “We are going to try and contain him a little bit, but their supporting cast is really efficient. They can really shoot the basketball.”
All 13 players on the roster are either a junior or a senior for P.J. Lowman’s squad.
“They are really athletic. Offensively they are really poised and they don’t turn the ball over a lot from what I’ve seen,” Edwards said. “
Lumberton got off to a slow start offensively as a whole on Tuesday, as senior Jordan McNeill scored 21 of the first 23 points in the game. After halftime, McNeill was a distributor for the Pirates as they outscored the Falcons 32-23 in the second half as six different Lumberton players scored after halftime.
“Everything starts with Jordan, but the good thing about our team is if you focus in on one guy, we have four or five other guys that can produce,” Edwards said. “Mike (Todd) has got to play big. Mike’s got to dominate the boards like he did (Tuesday) night. His mindset is not to score, but to lot allow someone to score on him.”
The winner of this game will play the winner of top-seeded Garner and No. 16 Green Hope on Saturday.
St. Pauls boys set for Dixon rematch
ST. PAULS — As the St. Pauls boys basketball team plays in the second round in the 2A East regional, they will do so against a familiar opponent.
No. 10-seed Dixon (20-7), who St. Pauls defeated in the first round last year, will visit No. 7-seed St. Pauls (22-5) for a 7:30 p.m tip-off.
St. Pauls won last year’s game in a 36-27 defensive battle.
“We’re familiar with them, and coach Bernie Poole is a great coach,” St. Pauls coach Corey Thompson said. “We also played them this summer, so we’re familiar with them and we know what they’re capable of. Hopefully it’s not one of those games this year, but I can expect they’re going to be better. They have some really good players.”
Dixon, whose nickname is also the Bulldogs, features three double-figure scorers on their experienced roster: senior Everett Lewis (18.2 points, 2.5 assists, 2.0 blocks per game), junior Logan Hubbard (16.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, 6.0 assists per game) and junior Max Bailey (10.7 points, 8.2 rebounds per game). Lewis had 10 points and Hubbard scored eight in last year’s meeting, while Emonta Smith led St. Pauls with 15 points.
But as St. Pauls prepares for Dixon again, Thompson said he’s focusing just as much on his team as on the oppoenent.
“For us it’s just survive and advance,” Thompson said. ‘This time of year it’s all about us, it’s all about your team and just fine-tuning things and getting better. You’ve only got one day to prepare; you can’t prepare (for an opponent) in one day, so you’ve just got to fine tune what you have and be ready to play, and execute.”
Dixon reached the second round for the first time in recent history with a 68-55 win over No. 23 T.W. Andrews in the first round. St. Pauls is in the second round for the third time in four seasons, but will look to avoid the same fate from the first two trips of being eliminated in the second round.
Lady Bulldogs to host North Pitt
For nearly everyone on the St. Pauls girls basketball roster, Tuesday’s night’s first-round playoff game was a new experience. It was also the first playoff game for head coach Mike Moses.
The No. 5-seed Bulldogs (26-0) earned a 59-34 win over No. 28 Roanoke Rapids in the 2A East regional.
Now, as the competition level improves, the Bulldogs will look to keep the same energy and focus as they prepare for their second-round contest with North Pitt.
“I feel pretty good where we’re at, if I’m judging off (Tuesday) night’s performance and the practices we’ve been having,” Moses said. “More than anything, I just feel like we’ve been having really good practices, and really good practices leads, most of the time, into really good performances in the game. For our coaching staff, since the conference tournament was cancelled that’s been the focus.
“We’ve played 26 games, so there’s not much to teach in practice; it’s just game planning and tuning up what you already know.”
No. 21-seed North Pitt (15-12) defeated No. 12 Ledford in the first round Tuesday, 47-45 in overtime.
“From what I’m watching on them, they’re a really good team,” Moses said. “They play hard, they have size, they have guards. They have a really good guard, Ashanti Hines, and then they have a big (Aquarius Pettaway) that’s long, pretty athletic. This is going to be a good test for us.”
Hines, a senior, averages 17.9 points and 2.7 steals per game, whiel Pettaway averages a double-double with 10.1 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. J’Nadia Maye (7.9 points, 3.7 assists per game) and Shakyra Bryant (5.4 points, 7.3 rebounds per game) are also key for the Panthers.
The North Pitt program lost in the first round last season, but is no stranger to the second round and beyond; the Panthers reached the second round every season from 2014-18, and won the 2A state championship in 2016 and 2018.
