Last season, the Panther Creek men’s basketball team had to win a play-in game against Holly Springs just to get into the playoffs. The Catamounts then fell short of upsetting of the first-seeded Jordan Falcons to put an end to the season. This season, Panther Creek had no such struggles getting into the playoffs, finishing the season with a 20-5 overall record and a 12-3 conference record. The Catamounts earned the ninth seed on the Eastern side of the 4-A NCHSAA men’s basketball playoffs. Panther Creek will face 24th-seeded East Wake High School at home on Monday night at 7:00 p.m.

East Wake finished the season with a 13-9 overall record and a 6-7 record in the Greater Neuse conference. East Wake’s only win over any other team in the 4-A playoffs was an 83-66 win over the 25th seed Southeast Raleigh. Southeast Raleigh won 62-55 in a rematch at the end of the season.  Including their lone win, East Wake was outscored by an average of nine points in games against teams that are in the playoffs this season. The Warriors rely on two standout players for their scoring. Forward Quincy Jackson averages 16.2 points per game, while guard Nahjuwan Potts averages 15.9 points per game of his own. Unfortunately for East Wake, their next leading scorer averages just 6.2 points per game. By comparison, four of the Panther Creek starting five average almost ten points or better per game.

Should the Catamounts defeat East Wake at home on Monday, the next game would be on Wednesday either against eighth-seeded Hoke County, or 25th-seeded Southeast Raleigh. In the event that Southeast Raleigh defeats Hoke County, Panther Creek would play them at home. Most likely, however, Hoke County will emerge from the first round victorious and the Catamounts would have to take the 85-mile road trip to Raeford. Hoke County finished the season with a modest 15-7 record, but won their conference title, which led to them receiving such a high seed.

It is unlikely that the Catamounts will host the second round of the playoffs, but should they make it all the way to the third round, or rather the Sweet Sixteen, they would have a decent shot at a home game. In all likelihood, Panther Creek would face the winner of a matchup between first-seeded New Hanover and 16th-seeded Knightdale. If New Hanover were to win, the Catamounts would have to take another grueling road trip on Friday, in this case 150 miles. New Hanover was given the number one seed out of the entire Eastern bracket due to its 21-1 record, however, they have likely benefited from an easy schedule. The Wilmington area only sent two teams to the state playoffs, the other being Hoggard. New Hanover’s only win over a playoff team was a non-conference home victory over fourth-seeded Millbrook. Knightdale is a very formidable opponent despite being only the 16th seed. The Knights finished the season 18-4 overall with an 11-3 record in the Greater Neuse conference. Knightdale has an impressive win over 13th-seeded Garner. The Knights also came just two points away from defeating second-seeded Clayton.

Should the Catamounts advance to the Elite Eight, or the quarterfinals, their most likely opponents would be fourth-seeded Millbrook, champions of the Cap-8 conference, or the fifth-seeded Seventy-First high school of Fayetteville. Both teams hold 20-2 overall records.

Both Panther Creek students and players alike would like a rematch with Apex. Apex was granted the seventh seed for winning the SWAC title. Unfortunately for the Catamounts, a rematch with Apex would only occur in the event that both teams advance all the way to the Final Four, or semifinals. This is unlikely, however, if both teams managed to advance that far so, the game would be for even higher stakes than the conference championship, and to quote Coach Reddington, “He who laughs last, laughs loudest.” If Apex does not advance to the semifinals, Panther Creek’s hypothetical opponent would most likely be Clayton or Northern Durham. Many people thoughout Northern Durham deserved the one-seed for its stacked roster and tough schedule. As for Clayton, the Greater Neuse conference champions have a 6’7” superstar forward named Gary Clark. Clark averages a ridiculous 24.7 points per game and is committed to play basketball for the University of Cincinnati. It is worth noting that the Cincinnati men’s basketball team is currently ranked seventh in the entire country, so Clark is definitely not settling.

If Panther Creek was able to make their way all the way to the state championship, all roads seemingly lead to the heavy 4-A favorite, Page High School of Greensboro. This basketball juggernaut has just one loss on its record, but has demolished almost every team that it has faced this season. The other candidate for a state title run in the west is 2nd-seeded Lake Norman, whose harsh Mecklenburg schedule will finally pay off.

All playoff games will be played at 7:00 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. In the event that Panther Creek were to play a road game against a school whose women’s team also has a home game, the men will play at 8:00 p.m. instead.