Conference tournament time is here, and we're glad to supply you with another edition of the TCN/SWW boys' basketball rankings as you get geared up for this week's action:

1. Panther Creek (22-2, 13-1): defeated Cary 74-55, def. Middle Creek 61-44

I guess that settles it. Panther Creek is the best team in this area, and probably the eastern half of the state. Keeping a level head amidst all my praise in the coming weeks will be key for the Catamounts if they want to win the state title this year — which its entirely capable of.

2. Athens Drive (21-3, 11-3): def. Middle Creek 57-52, def. Green Hope 67-47

Credit Athens coach Robert Clemons. After his team was humiliated at Panther Creek, they found themselves down 46-37 to Middle Creek going into the fourth quarter. The Jaguars rallied to win 57-52 and them demolished playoff-bound Green Hope on Friday. Josh Davis had a monster week, going for 31 on his senior night against Middle Creek and then 27 against Green Hope. He's the reason they are No. 2 in the conference tournament (him and the luck of the draw) and also No. 2 in the TCN/SWW rankings.

The regular season is done, but the TCN/SWW girls' basketball rankings keep marching on. This week, we had some big upsets (Green Hope over Athens, Fuquay over Cary) which prompted us to have to move a number of teams as we head into the conference tournaments for the EPIC, TISAC, Tri-Eight and Greater Neuse.

1. Apex (21-0, 14-3): defeated Fuquay-Varina 69-20, def. Lee County 86-51

The Cougars have been No. 1 every week in '09 and it looks like they'll stay that way for the rest of the weeks. They are the clear-cut class of this year's TCN/SWW teams and have a legitimate shot of winning the state title — especially if they can make it out of the East against teams like SE Raleigh and Wakefield.

Players named for the North Carolina/ South Carolina all-star basketball game

Boys' basketball scores:

Green Hope 58, Lee County 53

Apex 63, Fuquay-Varina 52

Forsyth Country Day 78, Cary Academy 65

Panther Creek 74, Cary 55

Southeast Raleigh 67, Holly Springs 59

Cary Christian--Halifax Academy*

Athens Drive 57, Middle Creek 52**

Girls' basketball scores:

Athens Drive 56, Middle Creek 42

Cary--Panther Creek*

Cary Christian 60, Halifax Academy 41**

Forsyth Country Day 53, Cary Academy 47

Apex 69, Fuquay-Varina 20

Southeast Raleigh 70, Holly Springs 54

Green Hope 68, Lee County 43 

*denotes game scores not yet reported 

**denotes game score updated on Wednesday 

(Note: boys' basketball only. The girls' side is pretty wrapped up at this point)

Cary (3-18, 3-9) vs Panther Creek (20-2, 11-1):

If Cary wins: It stays alive in the race for the final playoff spot, and Panther Creek can win the conference title outright on Friday.

If PC wins: Cary is eliminated from playoff contention and the Catamounts can still win the conference outright with a win on Friday, no matter what Middle Creek does.

 Athens Drive (20-3, 9-3) vs Middle Creek (19-3, 11-1):

If Athens wins:  They can hope to win a tiebreaker for the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, but will need Middle Creek to lose on Friday to do so. The Mustangs can still tie for a regular-season conference championship on Friday against Panther Creek.

If MC wins: Athens is in the third slot in the conference tournament playoffs. Middle Creek can win the conference outright on Friday.

Lee County (6-14, 4-8) vs Green Hope (8-14, 4-8)

If Lee wins: Green Hope is eliminated from playoff contention, and if Cary loses, Lee clinches the final spot.

If GH wins: It can clinch on Friday with a win over Athens. It also means that if the two teams are tied at the end of the week, there will be a play-in game next week. 

Fuquay (0-21*, 0-12*) vs Apex (11-10, 6-6)

If FV wins: That's technically win No. 1 for Fuquay now that they've had to forfeit the previous ones.

If Apex wins: Nothing. They're still fourth and will be no matter what goes down on Friday. 

*denotes new record after forfeits 

1. Apex (19-0): defeated Panther Creek 68-30, def. Cary 63-27 --up next: Fuquay-Varina (Tue.), @ Lee County (Fri.)

• It's perplexing, really. Apex is the only undefeated 4-A team in the state, yet is ranked fourth and has just one No. 1 vote. What's up with that? One possible explanation is that not playing in a Christmas tournament hurt Apex from a exposure and competitive standpoint. While No. 1 Wakefield, which has comparable margins of victory and record, was in South Carolina taking on the best-of-the-best, Apex was at home staying both out of sight and mind of the voters. The Cougs will just have to prove themselves in the state playoffs in two weeks.

2. Athens Drive (18-4): def. Lee County 89-41, def. Panther Creek 67-29 --up next: @ Middle Creek (Tue.), Green Hope (Fri.)

• As easy as last week's schedule was, this week's is a complete 180 for Athens. If the Lady Jaguars want to keep their hold on second place in the conference, they can't afford a losing to the third-place teams in Middle Creek or Green Hope. It should be a good test heading into the conference tournament, where you just know the Jags want nothing more than a third try at taking down Apex.

3. Cary Christian (21-3-?): def. Arendell-Parrott Academy 52-13, ?? Rocky Mount Academy --up next: @ Halifax Academy (Tue.), Rocky Mount Academy (Wed.)

• We don't know how they did against Rocky Mount Academy (yet). But while we're talking about how good Apex has been on the public school 4-A level, Cary Christian has been pretty darn impressive on the private school 2-A level. They are the lesser-known team that will be shooting for a state championship in the coming weeks.

4. Green Hope (10-10): def. Cary 69-34, def. Fuquay-Varina --up next: Lee County (Tue.), @ Athens Drive (Fri.) 

•  You just can't say enough about the job Michael Robinson has done at Green Hope this year. His Falcons have won eight of their last 12 with losses to just Apex, Athens and Middle Creek. If they can beat Athens and Middle Creek can't, they lock up the No. 3 spot in the Tri-Eight.

5. Middle Creek (15-7): def. Fuquay 58-27, def. Lee County 70-51 --up next: Athens Drive (Tue.), @ Panther Creek

•  The Lady Mustangs have a huge showdown with Athens on Tuesday. They certainly have the size to match-up with the Jaguars, but Middle Creek lost their first meeting by 20. If the Mustangs are hitting their 3-ball, which is a lot more likely on their home rims, it could be an exciting game.

6. Cary Academy (16-9): lost to Durham Academy 48-32, lost to North Raleigh Christian Academy 55-49 --up next: Forsyth Country Day (Tue.), Ravenscroft (Fri.)

• Somehow, Cary Academy turned a 17-point victory into a six-point loss in just a week with two games against NRCA just seven days apart. Losers in three of their last four, the Lady Chargers have plummeted in our rankings, falling from fourth to sixth. Good news isn't on the horizon either, as they play conference-leading Ravenscroft on Friday. We considered dropping the Chargers even further, but the fact Holly Springs plays in the GNC stopped their fall at No. 6.

7. Holly Springs (13-9):  lost to Knightdale 38-34, def. Smithfield-Selma 48-45 --up next: @ SE Raleigh (Tue.), Garner (Fri.)

•  Holly Springs missed a chance last week. If they beat Knightdale, they are all alone in second-place in the Greater Neuse Conference. Instead, they're tied with East Wake. I know what you're thinking: "Why is that bad? Those two teams split the regular-season series." But East Wake doesn't have Southeast Raleigh (12-0 in GNC play) on the schedule and the Golden Hawks do. Advantage: East Wake. Pencil HSHS in for third place — still not bad for a third-year program. 

8: Cary (5-15): lost to Green Hope 69-34, lost to Apex 63-27 --up next: @ Panther Creek (Tue.), @ Fuquay-Varina (Fri.)

• The Lady Imps round out their regular season with two teams they've defeated before. While Cary hasn't beaten anyone it wasn't expected to beat, it hasn't lost to anyone it shouldn't have either. A pair of wins will clinch the fifth and final playoff spot in the Tri-Eight.

9: Fuquay-Varina (4-17): lost to Middle Creek 58-27, lost to Green Hope --up next -- @ Apex (Tue.), Cary (Fri.)

• The bad news is Fuquay has little chance to get the fifth spot and a playoff berth this year. The good news is they have at least a chance when they host Cary on Friday, and the better news is they'll lose just two seniors from this year's team and will have a better chance next year. 

10: Panther Creek (3-19):  lost to Apex 68-30, lost to Athens Drive 67-29 --up next: Cary (Tue.), Middle Creek (Fri.) 

• The girls' program at PC didn't take off in year three like the boys' did, but then again there was no Earnest Ross or Marques Oliver to be found. They will close out this regular season with a pair of home games.

What a night for boys' basketball. The conference is now turned on its head after two upsets.

Losers of their last three, Apex stood tall on its home court and handed the No. 1 team in the state, Panther Creek, their first conference loss. That opens things up now for Athens Drive and Middle Creek to get back into the race for first. And to think, just as I dropped Apex a spot in the rankings behind Green Hope, they knock off Panther Creek. Speaking of Green Hope...

Remember how Cary nearly beat Middle Creek at Middle Creek? On Tuesday, the Imps found themselves on the winning side of a one-point game as they upset Green Hope at home. That win muddles things further when deciding which of the three teams will get the final playoff spot. The Tri-Eight gets five bids, and now Cary, Green Hope and Lee County are tied for the fifth spot. If the playoffs began today, Lee County would hold the edge as its 2-1 against the other two, but still has to play Green Hope. Cary went 2-2 against the teams and will not face them again this year.

Here are all our area's final scores from Tuesday night:

Athens Drive 63, Lee County 54

Apex 72, Panther Creek 62 

Cary 58, Green Hope 57 

Cary Academy 68, Durham Academy 54

Cary Christian 59, Arendell-Parrott Academy 36 

Knightdale 67, Holly Springs 49 

Middle Creek 94, Fuquay-Varina 48 

And here are the current standings with conference records and overall records: 

Panther Creek 10-1 19-2

Middle Creek 10-1 18-3

Athens Drive 9-2 19-2

Apex 5-6 10-10 

Cary 3-8 3-17 

Green Hope 3-8 7-14 

Lee County 3-8 6-12

Fuquay-Varina 1-10 3-17

This Friday's games:

Cary @ Apex

Athens Drive @ Panther Creek

Fuquay @ Green Hope

Middle Creek @ Lee County

Smithfield-Selma @ Holly Springs

Cary Christian @ Rocky Mount Academy

Cary Academy @ North Raleigh Christian Academy