FARMVILLE – The fourth-seeded West Bladen Knights take down the number-one seeded Farmville Central Jaguars for a 68-66 victory in the fourth round of the 2A NCHSAA East Regional last Friday. Farmville Central senior guard MJ Williams led all scorers with 25 points but his effort wasn’t enough to edge out the battle-tested Knights. West Bladen got an 18-point performance from their star center Chase Williams and junior guard Jackson Pait netted five three-pointers in a 17 point night in a hostile environment.
West Bladen defeated the fifth-seeded Northeastern in a comfortable 30 point victory in their final home game of the season and they managed a perfect 17-0 record in home games this season. Williams dropped a season-high 38 points in the victory over the visiting Northeastern Eagles. Head Coach Travis Pait and the Knights moved their overall record to 27-1 as they booked their trip to the 2A East Regional Final.
The Knights have a chance to earn their second East Regional Title in school history, with their last appearance in the final four coming in the 2007/08 season. They’ll have to contend with the third-seeded Northwood Chargers(29-2) in the Regional Final for a chance to lift the trophy. The Chargers defeated the second-seeded Southwest Onslow Stallions for a 59-44 victory to earn the opportunity to compete for the 2A East Regional title.
The Chargers have averaged 58.5 ppg and they’ve held their opponents to 38.8 ppg in their last four postseason games. They are led by junior guard Cam Fowler, who’s explosive scoring has been the Chargers trump card for much of the year. The last time the Knights played Northwood was in 2012 for the 2A East Regionals as they steamrolled their opponents 75-44 on the day. The 2A West Regional will be contested between the number-one seeded Reidsville Rams and the 15th-seeded Bandys Trojans.
Reidsville is an established powerhouse seeking their third straight State Final appearance and their second straight 2A State Title. The Rams squeezed past the fourth-seeded Salisbury Hornets in a 77-69 victory. Bandys has continued their Cinderella story this postseason by defeating sixth-seeded Lincoln Charter Eagles for a 63-57 victory in the fourth round last Friday night. The Trojans also defeated the seventh-seeded Shelby Lions in the third round en route to Western Regional Finals. The 2A Final Four match ups will tip-off this Thursday and the State Finals will be this Saturday at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum on the campus of Wake Forest University.
Schedule for 2A Regional Finals for Boys & Girls:
2:00 PM — 2A East Girls: (12) Southeast Alamance vs. (2) Seaforth
4:00 PM — 2A East Boys: (4) West Bladen vs. (3) Northwood
6:00 PM — 2A West Girls: (2) East Burke vs. (1) North Wilkes
8:00 PM — 2A West Boys: (15) Bandys vs. (1) Reidsville