jjohnson@heraldsun.com; 419-6667
Cedar Ridge and Northwood are two teams with players who really believe in themselves, and that has helped both reach the 2-A regional semifinals tonight in Greenville at East Carolina's Minges Coliseum.
The belief they carry has blossomed as the season has gone on. The Red Wolves (23-2) hit the ground running and have the best record in school history. It doesn't hurt that the team has eight seniors.
Northwood's confidence was slower to build, but now the Chargers (19-6) believe they have as good a chance as any team despite facing perennial state contender Kinston.
Northwood was a state finalist a year ago, and the burden of reaching that plateau again weighed heavily when the Chargers got off to a 6-5 start. Since then, Northwood has gone 13-1, losing only to Cedar Ridge.
The Red Wolves, according to Coach Jim Pappas, are a tight bunch, who have grown up playing sports together since they were in the seventh grade. He said their lasting friendships have allowed them to put aside any jealousy and compete as a team.
"This is a special group of seniors," Pappas said. "They've played ball together for a long time. It has helped them develop roles and build their teamwork."
Cedar Ridge ran through its conference schedule and tournament undefeated.
The Red Wolves, led by sharpshooter Jake Lliteras, reached the Eastern 2-A semifinals to play Clinton (24-6) tonight at 7 p.m. after three tough games a week ago. After getting by their first-round game, Cedar Ridge played on consecutive nights. First they rallied from 16 points down at home against Reidsville, then they had to go Roanoke Rapids and face what Pappas called a very spirited crowd.
Pappas said he's been thrilled to coach this season, saying that his seniors, including his oldest son Josh, almost have taken all the hard parts of coaching out of the team.
"They really look out for each other and make sure they're doing the right things," Pappas said. "It's made my job easy this year. On the court, when one player isn't on, another one is there to pick it up."
Northwood coach Russ Frazier said his team really came together as the pressure to get back to the state finals subsided.
"When we were at 6-5, people stopped asking us about getting back to the playoffs," Frazier said. "But that's exactly when we started playing better. We just started playing without any worries, and that's when we reeled off like nine in a row."
Frazier said he knows facing Kinston (25-4) is a tall task, including a matchup against UNC recruit Reggie Bullock.
"When we saw the brackets, we knew what was ahead of us." Frazier said.
The schedule for tonight's games has been changed a bit by the inclement weather on Tuesday. There will be a triple-header today beginning at 5:30 p.m. with a 1-A semifinal game between Weldon and Goldsboro. The other semifinal matchup between Pender and Perquimans, which was to take place Tuesday, will be played Thursday at 5:30 p.m., followed by the 3-A games.
Cedar Ridge and Clinton will have the second game, which is supposed to start around 7 p.m., followed by the Northwood-Kinston matchup.
