Four Triangle area teams could make it to Regionals in Greenville with a win tonight

Friday February 26, 2010

Teams from the Triangle remaining and their seed:

CAP-7-#1 Millbrook, #2 Enloe, #4 Broughton,

PAC-6-#1Riverside

Tri-9-No teams remaining

Greater Neuse-#1 Garner, #2 Knightdale 

Sectional Final Match ups:

#1 Garner at #1 Wilmington New Hanover

The Wildcats needed overtime to take care of Pine Forest on Wednesday night, while the Trojans have been rolling.  As their records would suggest, these are two fairly evenly matched squads.  The Wildcats rely heavily on third year players Detwon Rogers and Cole Daley.  Garner will look to set the tone with Drane and Reed early, as will New Hanover.   The Wildcats are pretty good at defending the paint, but do not always defensively rebound well.  Whether or not New Hanover can match up with Donald Johnson and Gavin Wilson on the wing could determine the outcome.  Keep in mind the Trojans have a long way to travel and may come out sluggish.

#2 Knightdale at #1 Fayetteville Terry Sanford

The Knights and coach Battle Watkins have the task of taking on the top ranked team in the state.  Those of us that have been around long enough can remember Terry Sanford’s coach Bill Boyette’s Cary teams.  Just like the days at Cary, Terry Sanford plays stifling defense.  On Wednesday, they held Wilmington Hoggard to just 25 points.  Bulldog PG Chris Wilson is the team’s leading scorer and is also the assist leader.  If the Knights find a way to neutralize Wilson, then the chances for success are greatly increased.  Robert Carpenter is Terry Sanford’s second leading scorer and best three point shooter, while Brandon Brown and leads the team in rebounding.  The problem with defending Brown is that he is an excellent free throw shooter.  The Knights will need premium production from the perimeter as they should look to outscore the Knights.  Tyler Nicholson, Aaron Smith, Anthony Pope, and Ronnie Frederick will have to find a way to chip away at the Bulldog armor.   

#2 Enloe at #1 Riverside

This may go down as one of the best games of the season.  Riverside finished #1 in our final Triangle Top 20 and Enloe was #2.  The Pirates and Eagles are both balanced and can score from inside and out.  Riverside likes to pressure a little more in the backcourt and get out on the break at every chance.  However, they are just as comfortable in the halfcourt shooting the ball.  Enloe does not have a player that can match up with TJ Warren on the perimeter, but what they do have is arguably the best PG in the area (Emanuel “Poobie” Chapman) and stable of frontcourt players in Melvin Tabb, Marcus Walker, and Jared Blakney.  Over the last couple of weeks Tabb has shown the versatility in his game which may be needed tonight.  Riverside has tough inside players, but lack the overall height.

#4 Broughton at #1 Millbrook

Millbrook has owned this matchup all season, but the Caps have been on quite a roll this week.  Millbrook cannot let Prince Williams and J.R. Owens go on a tear, or the “upset” streak for Broughton could continue.  The problem for Broughton is addressing Donzell Hill and Tyrrel Tate inside.  Should Cap coach Andy Ferrell decide to double down on Hill, then Brown, Moore, and Townsend will kill you off the bounce.  And you can’t forget about Danny Mizereck’s perimeter shooting.  Broughton will need almost a perfect game to pull this one out.

Kerry Smith

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