Hoping to get both of the Metro 4-A Championship Games on GreensboroSports Radio…Be sure to tune in and listen along to our Friday Night High School Basketball Action….GreensboroSports Radio….
Let’s start with the Girls Games for this Friday Night:
Metro 4-A Conference Tournament Championship Game…Northwest Guilford(17-9) at Northern Guilford(17-7) 6pm
The two teams split during the regular season with NWG winning at home, 78-75 in 3 OT, and Northern winning at NG vs. NWG, 60-56…
Northern led in scoring by Leena McField, averaging 25.7 points per game, then comes Cara Trippett at 11.7 ppg, and Malena DeLisa at 9.0 ppg…No stats available on Northwest Guilford, but based on what we have seen this season, led by PG freshman Sophie Montana, who can break down defenses, handle the ball at the point, and she can nail the three…She is a huge thorn in your side, on Defense…Sophia Apple is a very good shooter, and she has that senior leadership that she brings to the table every game…Lauren Byerly is another guard for NWG, and she has the long arms and quick feet that make her a very strong part of the NWG “D”…Grace Henline is another solid guard for NWG, and also has range and she gives NWG another quick defender that helps NWG cover the defensive end of the court and works to force their opponents to start their offense miles away from the basket…Another freshman guard, Amani Sides, is very quick with the basketball and she gets to the basket on offense in a hurry and finishes well…Georgia Lewis has been starting some, and she is one of those Vikings with the long arms on and quick feet on defense that cause you problems, if you are on offense…No stats again for NWG, so giving you all we can, as we can…Going to be a real battle in this game, and both teams trying very hard to limit their mistakes and every offensive possession will be crucial…Got to make something happen on offense, when you have the ball….Listen on GreensboroSports Radio…
Mid-State 2-A Conference Tournament Championship Game…North Forsyth(15-7) at High Point Andrews(21-1) 6pm
HP Andrews heavily favored in this game, and the Red Raiders look to take the Title…Pretty sure only loss this season by Andrews was to local girls powerhouse, Bishop McGuinness(Villains won by 11 points)…
Northwest Piedmont 1-A Conference Tournament Championship Game…WS Carver(17-5) at Bishop McGuinness(22-2) 6pm
Bishop should win this one going away…Only losses by Bishop girls this were to Winston-Salem Christian, and to Lake Norman…
Central Piedmont 4-A Conference Tournament Championship…East Forsyth(18-5) at Davie County(19-6) 6pm
NCISAA 1-A State Championship Game:Caldwell Academy(12-5) vs. Rocky Mount Academy(21-0) 5:30pm at Providence Day School, in Charlotte…Rocky Mount strong favorite with that (21-0) mark, and Caldwell Academy led by former Page Pirate, Caroline Kelly….
BOYS Games for Friday Night:
Metro 4-A Conference Tournament Championship Game…Southwest Guilford(17-7) at Northern Guilford(17-8) 7:30pm
#1 Seed NG taking on #2 SWG…The teams split their games during the regular season with Southwest Guilford winning at NG, 67-59, and Northern won at SWG, 69-65…Northern won 74-71 over Northwest Guilford in the semifinals, while SWG rolled over Grimsley, 87-61, with that being a statement win for Southwest Guilford…Northern took down Grimsley hard last Friday night, at NG, topping the Whirlies, 60-38…SWG very young and very quick to the bucket, with Brayden Gatling leading the Cowboys offense from the point…Gatling is a sophomore and was a member of the SWG Middle School County Championship Team, in 2023…Myles Graves, another soph. and also a guard, was also on the Championship Team with Gatling…Freshman Darrell Howze was on the County Middle Runner-up team last year, and Howze can burn you inside and out…Be careful of him, and also look out for Savion Brooks…I think it was Brooks that got hot shooting the three-ball over at Northwest Guilford, vs. the Vikings, and almost took the House down…Again, Southwest Guilford Cowboys Fast, Furious, and they can Finish…I had to see it to believe it, and I saw it last Friday night, as Josh Echenique was burning the nets up for the NG Nighthawks…And Echenique takes it hard and fast to the hole, and he finishes…Echenique, like so many of the NG Nighthawks, is long…Northern plays long, and most of them are like guards on offense, with exception of Isaiah Drew-Hill, who is 6’8, and he is a true post player, if there ever was one…But Echenique is 6’5 and he plays like a smooth hard-attacking at the rack, guard…He is smooth, and he finishes right the square on the backboard, so it makes his shot harder to block…Chance Crews is big power player for NG, and at 6’3, Crews also gets to hole hard…He will get you some key putbacks/stickbacks, based on his strength alone…Will Thomas is nice/smooth and steady shooting guard for Northern and he checks in at 6’4, and that allows him to see over most defenses, as he sizes up his outside shot…Christian Davis at 6’3 does most of the point guard work for NG, and Caleb Baptist give NG another tall guard at 6’5, and he can shoot the lights out too….Tall team, NG, with a very tall selection of guards that can drop down and help out Drew-King and Crews, with the rebounding…A tall team that gets up and down the court in a hurry(NG), and a team that just gets up and down the court in fast forward motion(SWG)….The team with the hot hand should win this game…Hot hand from outside, and the hot hand on the short pull-up jumpers, just inside the lane…Got to think both teams will be able to get stops, and control the hard dribble drives to the basket…Got to cut those off…Got to Stop the Ball….Outside shots, if somebody gets hot, they may hard to stop…Let’s See…
Listen on GreensboroSports Radio…
Mid-State 2-A Boys Conference Tournament Championship Game…Walkertown(16-8) at Reidsville(24-0) 7:30pm
Kendre Harrison and Diante Neal should wheel and deal and help give the Reidsville Rams another Tournament Title…81-53 and 61-49, those were the winning scores for Reidsville over Walkertown, in the Regular Season…Only close games for Reidsville in the regular season were 7-point wins over Farmville Central, St. Anne’s-Belfield, and Corvian Community School…
Northwest Piedmont 1-A Boys Conference Tournament Championship Game…College Prep and Leadership Academy/CPLA(21-5) at Bishop McGuinness(23-2) 7:30pm
The Bishop boys are super tough, with Nicholas Graves, Patrick Graves, Thomas Thompson, Alex Waterfield, Arop Chom, Aiden Martin, Bryce Chapman and MORE….I just don’t see Coach Josh Thompson and his Bishop Boys losing this game…
Central Piedmont Conference 4-A Boys Conference Tournament Championship Game…West Forsyth(24-2) at Mount Tabor(21-5) 8pm
No matter the difference in the records, Andy Muse and his Mount Tabor Spartans are always a tough team to beat, especially if they are at home…
The NCISAA Boys 1-A State Championship Game…The Burlington School(19-11) vs. Caldwell Academy(25-9) 7:30pm at Providence Day School, there in Charlotte…Caldwell with Jaylen Cross, Ayden Johnson, Cole Cloer, King Kendrick, Neal Swindell, and MORE…That top five of Caldwell Academy Eagles can go with any top five in the state…And Caldwell has a very detailed and dedicated coach, in Brandon Clifford, the former Page Pirates star post man, who played at Page for the legendary Coach Robert Kent…Burlington School has King Gibson, who was teammates with Faizon Brandon(Grimsley HS) when they were both with the Southeast Guilford Middle School team that won the Guilford County Championship….Cam Flippen, also with the Burlington School, and he used to be with the Dudley Panthers…For Caldwell, Jaylen Cross was with NWG, Cole Cloer at Orange, Neal Swindell at Westchester Country Day, and as you can see, the players will move around and find their right fit….