Jack Britt upsets top-seeded Pinecrest
By Chris Koonce
Correspontdent
Jack Britt upset Pinecrest, the No. 1 seed from the 4-A Southeastern Conference, in the first round of the state 4-A playoffs Monday night.
Britt (14-14) hit 12 of 14 free throws in the fourth quarter to pull out a 62-60 upset victory over Pinecrest (24-3).
Britt had lost three of four games last week before entering state tournament play as the No. 4 seed from the Mid-South Conference.
The Bucs will travel to Knightdale for a second-round game at 7 p.m. today.
Gray's Creek scored its most points in a game this season as the Bears picked up their first win in conference play with an 80-75 victory against Overhills. Junior Will McLaughlin led the way with 17 points.
Gray's Creek lost at Westover, 70-55, in the first round of the 3-A Cape Fear Valley Conference tournament, to close the season with a 2-23 record. McLaughlin was the Bears' top scorer for the year and averaged 13.9 points per game.
South View (6-19) closed the season with an 82-51 loss at Pine Forest in the first round of the Mid-South Conference tournament. The Tigers lost their final 12 games of the season. Junior T.J. Gill led the Tigers in total points and averaged 10.8 per game.
Wrestling
Eleven local wrestlers qualified for the 4-A state tournament with their performances at the Eastern Regional tournament held last weekend at UNC-Pembroke. A wrestler had to finish in the top four of his weight class to qualify for the season-ending event.
Jack Britt scored the most points to win the regional team title as the Buccaneers qualified six wrestlers for the state finals.
Senior Darius Delgado won four matches to capture the title in the 135-pound weight class and improved his overall record to 42-6.
Junior Aubrey Blad upset top-seeded Derrick Newkirk of Seventy-First in the second round and finished in second place in the 125-pound division.
Other Britt wrestlers to advance included Calvin Hinton (third place, 119 pounds), Allen Vines-Brown (third place, 152), Jared Bartram (third place, 160) and Bryce Carter (fourth, 171).
South View seniors Kamal Leak and Timmy McCall won four matches in their weight classes to take home regional championships.
Leak defeated Blad for the sixth time this season to win the 125-pound weight class and improved his overall record to 41-9.
McCall, the defending state champion in the 189-pound division, defeated Kevin Radford of Pine Forest 4-2 to win the regional title.
The Tigers had three other wrestlers qualify for the state finals.
Xavier Martinez provided the biggest surprise of the tourney as the sophomore finished in third place despite entering the tourney as the No. 14 seed in the 16-person bracket for the 112-pound weight class. Martinez lost his first match to William Clayton of E.E. Smith, the No. 3 seed. He bounced back and upset five consecutive better-seeded opponents to qualify for the state finals.
John Thomas Cameron wrestled for the first time since sustaining an injury in early January. The junior won four of six matches and finished in fourth place in the 140-pound class.
Tiger senior Corey Raven finished in fourth place in the 285-pound division as he won three of five contests.
Gray's Creek wrestlers Bradley Moore, Steven Porter and David McDonald each won an individual match at the 3-A Mideast Regional, but for the first time in the six-year history of the school, the Bears did not qualify anyone for the state finals.
Girls' basketball
South View and Jack Britt's seasons ended Monday night with first-round losses in the state 4-A tournament.
South View, the No. 3 seed from the Mid-South Conference, lost 49-46 at Richmond. The Tigers led 23-19 at halftime.
Jack Britt fell to No. 1 seed Lumberton 68-64 after taking a four-point lead into the fourth quarter. Lumberton hit a 3-pointer with 8 seconds left to take a 66-64 lead and added two free throws with 1.9 seconds left to ice the game.
South View (17-9) was led during the year by sophomores Ciara Morris and Rachel Temple. Morris averaged 12.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Temple shot a county-best 81 percent from the foul line, led the team in assists and averaged 12.6 points per game.
Jack Britt (13-13) was paced by senior Caitlin Sandy, who averaged 13.2 points per game.
Gray's Creek (1-24) closed the season with a 63-35 loss at Westover in the first round of the conference tourney. Sophomore Tayler Collins averaged 10.5 points per game for the Bears.
Upcoming schedule
Wednesday
Basketball - Second round of the state playoffs
Friday
Basketball - Third round of the state playoffs
Friday-Saturday
Wrestling - Individual state championships at the Greensboro Coliseum
Monday
Baseball - West Bladen at South View, Jack Britt at Scotland County
Softball - Jack Britt at Scotland County
Boys' tennis - Gray's Creek at South View
Girls' soccer - South View at Wilmington Ashley, Whiteville at Gray's Creek
Tuesday
Baseball - Pine Forest at Gray's Creek
Softball - Pine Forest at Gray's Creek
Boys' tennis - Jack Britt at Cape Fear, South View at Terry Sanford