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.

Apex (9)

Chris Diaz, baseball, N.C. State

Jake Milinichik, baseball, UNC-Greensboro 

Houston Hawley, football, Cornell

Kevin Fogg, football, Liberty

Josh Powell, football, Campbell

Joey Powell, football, Campbell

Zac Tigner, men's soccer, Appalachian State

Kelsey Sax, women's soccer, Utah State

Mari Edwards, women's soccer, St. Mary's 

Athens Drive (3)

Drew Woodall, baseball, Charleston Southern 

Katie Durst, women's soccer, UNC-Greensboro

Lauren Kijewski, women's soccer, Methodist

Fuquay-Varina (2)

Derrick Redman, football, Fayetteville State 

Joe Figueroa, football, N.C. Central

Adria Fecteau, volleyball, Georgia 

Panther Creek (5)

Gabe Latigue, men's soccer, Elon

Nate Latigue, men's soccer, Appalachian State

Lester Nare, men's soccer, Princeton

Alyssa Bearden, women's soccer, College of Charleston

Kayla Walker, softball, Meredith 

Thursday's East regional wrestling semifinals and final in the state dual-team playoffs will take place at Panther Creek High School. The weigh-ins take place at 5 p.m. and the competition starts at 6.

The hosting Catamounts will face Durham Riverside on one mat while Cary grapples with Leesville Road on the other. The winners of those two matches will go against each other at approximately 7:15 p.m.

A lot is on the line in these matches, as the team that emerges from these four will host the state championship on Saturday.

To recap- at 6 p.m. 

Panther Creek vs Riverside

Cary vs Leesville Road

at 7:15 p.m.

PC/Riverside winner vs Cary/LV Road winner 

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 

Cary 

After demolishing Chapel Hill 64-9 and Green Hope 58-12, Cary has advanced to the third round of the state dual-team playoffs.

The Imps were especially proficient in dismantling the latter, giving up just two takedowns the entire match. The Falcons got team points only by forfeitures.

Cary has asked the NCHSAA if they could host the next round which seems likely since.. oh, just keep reading... 

Green Hope

Everything went downhill fast after the Falcons went up 31-9 over East Wake in the first round of the state dual-team playoffs. Green Hope held on to win 42-31 and was very fortunate East Wake didn't have a wrestler at 125, which happened to be the last match of the meet.

The Falcons then ran into their usual post-season buzz-saw Cary. The Imps were up 35-0 before finally forfeiting a match at 215. They ended their season 23-4, with two of those losses coming to the Imps

Panther Creek

I saw this coming. The Catamounts went down to Fayetteville and toppled host (and heavy favorite) Seventy-First 37-34. Can't wait to hear how that went down.

Panther Creek then defeated New Bern in the next round to advance to round #3 for the first time in school history.

In the next round, they will take on Durham Riverside, with the winner getting the winner between Cary vs. Leesville Road. Since all three schools are centrally located, it's probably not out of the question that Cary will host.

Should the Imps and Catamounts both win, it would make for a fourth-round rematch of the 33-27 win by Cary earlier in the year.

Holly Springs

The Golden Hawks had a tough task, facing Riverside on its home turf. Nonetheless, Holly Springs made it a competitive fight, falling 40-31. Next year the team will be competing in the same conference as those listed above, when the Tri-Eight makes room for Holly Springs and becomes the Tri-Nine. 

You can call this a compromise or a game of chicken, but the school board is only willing to pay a little more than half the $1.4 million cost for road work near Panther Creek High School.

The school board voted 5-4 this afternoon to authorize its leadership to negotiate with Cary to pay up to $750,000 for the road improvements. The inability to work out a deal has blocked the use of 22 modular classrooms on Panther Creek's campus.

"This is not how our funds are supposed to be used," said school board member Beverley Clark, who proposed the $750,000. "Our funds are supposed to be used to build schools."

Panther Creek will be headed south to Fayetteville on Tuesday to face host Fayetteville Seventy-First in the first round of the state dual-team playoffs. The winner from the match between the Catamounts and Falcons will face the winner from Sanderson-New Bern.

That rounds out the four teams in our area that will be competing in the state dual-team playoffs.

To recap: Cary vs. Chapel Hill (at Chapel Hill), winner advances to play winner of Green Hope vs. East Wake; Holly Springs vs. Durham Riverside (at Riverside), winner takes on winner of Hope Mills South View and Scotland County. 

The Super Bowl, traveling to South Carolina and back, and the common cold delayed the TCN/SWW boys' basketball rankings for a day — but I wouldn't let these things keep them down for long.

One playoff team finds itself slipping in the polls this week after three straight disheartening losses...

We're a day late and possibly a dollar short, but here are this week's TCN/SWW rankings for our area's girls' basketball teams. There are just two weeks left in the regular season counting this week's action.