By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — Eight Rowan County basketball teams made the state playoffs, but only three survived the first round.

They were three that were supposed to advance to Round 2. They were conference regular-season champs, teams that played at home in the first round against a lesser seed.

North Rowan’s third-seeded boys, Carson’s third-seeded girls and Salisbury’s second-seeded girls will try to keep it rolling tonight. All three will face tougher opponents than they did in the first round.

North boys

Shortly after the NCHSAA  brackets were released, North coach Jason Causby predicted a meeting with Monroe’s Union Academy in the second round. Union Academy is only seeded 19th, but Causby expected Union Academy’s Cardinals to win on the road at No. 14 High Point Andrews in the first round — which the Cardinals did.

“This is a really tough second-round game,” Causby said. “It will be more like a sectional final.”

North (25-2) dunked at will and demolished Carolina International School 77-36 in the first round for its 18th straight victory.

Union Academy only finished fifth in the Pac 7 with a 7-7 record, but that’s a league stacked with stout prep schools and charter schools. Union Academy (18-9) averages 68 points per game and has four players averaging double figures, led by 6-foot-4 Derek Young Jr., who averages 14.6 points and 8.7 rebounds.

Tip-off in Spencer is at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $7. Gates open at 6:30 p.m.

 

Carson girls

Southwestern Randolph is a perennially strong program and meets Carson (25-2) in the playoffs for the first time.

Both teams are known as the Cougars.

The blue-and-gold SWR girls tied for third with a 7-5 record in the strong Mid-Piedmont Conference, which also includes Southeast Guilford and Asheboro. Carson saw the bottom team from that league, Southern Guilford, in the first round, and took a 63-46 victory.

Seeded 19th, SWR (20-7) has three key players with the last name of Maness.

Junior Heaven Maness is the team’s top player and was the Asheboro Courier Tribune’s Player of the Year as a sophomore.  She’s a quick guard. She scored 17 in SWR’s road win against Cox Mill in the first round. Kenzie Whitson also scored 17 against Cox Mill.

Tip-off in China Grove is at 6 p.m.

 

Salisbury girls

It’s an intriguing matchup here as Salisbury takes on a Madison County program that won in Salisbury, 58-46, to end the Hornets’ 2017 season in the second round of the playoffs.

Salisbury veterans such as Bryanna Troutman and Anayia Fulson will certainly have strong memories of that disappointing game, as will SHS coach Lakai Brice.

Madison County’s leading scorer, senior Hannah Chandler, was one of the key performers in the upset win two years ago.

No. 18 seed Madison County (17-10) won on the road at 15th-seeded Bandys in the first round, while Salisbury (23-4) was routing Fred T. Foard.

Madison County plays in a six-team 1A/2A league, the Western Highlands Conference. Madison County finished fourth with a 4-6 record. That league includes Avery County, a strong 1A team, as well as 2A powerhouse Mountain Heritage.

Tip-off at SHS is at 6:30 p.m.

 

A.L. Brown boys

The 11th-seeded Wonders (20-7) host a very familiar foe in South Piedmont Conference rival Northwest Cabarrus.

While the Wonders were finishing second in the SPC behind Cox Mill, Northwest (12-12) was the fourth-place team in the six-team league with a 4-6 mark.

The Trojans are seeded 27th, but went on the road and won at No. 6 Asheville in the first round, while A.L. Brown was grinding out a tight win at home against A.C. Reynolds.

A.L. Brown won both regular-season meetings, but the second one in February was tight — 53-50.

Guard Josh Abee is the leading scorer for a balanced NWC team that has a lot of athletes in the 6-4 to 6-6 range.

Tip-off in Kannapolis is at 7 p.m.

 

Davie County boys

Davie’s fourth-seeded boys, regular-season champs in the Central Piedmont Conference, enjoyed a first-round bye and now face a tough opponent.

The War Eagles (23-2) will host Hopewell (16-10), a school in Huntersville.

Hopewell plays in the 4A I-Meck Conference, which is considered the state’s best league by a lot of people. Hopewell went 9-5 in league play and tied for third with Vance. That league also includes powerhouses North Meck and West Charlotte.

Hopewell is led by 6-foot-7 power forward Brice Williams, who signed with the Charlotte 49ers. He averages 21.2 points per game.

Davie has a senior-laden team and has 6-foot-8 Owen McCormack, a Presbyterian signee, back from an ankle injury.

Tip-off in Mocksville is at 7 p.m.