Chapel Hill and East Chapel Hill both won their opening games in the NCHSAA boys’ basketball state tournament and will play second-round games Wednesday. Orange and Northwood also won.
East Chapel Hill (21-7), a 68-46 winner Monday over Apex, will play at Middle Creek (23-4) Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. Champions of the Tri-9 4-A Conference, the Mustangs eliminated Sanderson 78-56 in the first round.
Chapel Hill (19-4), which beat Mayodan McMichael 82-51 on Monday, will host Fayetteville Westover (20-3) at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Westover’s Wolverines burned Asheboro 56-42 in the NCHSAA 3-A’s first round.
Orange (11-12) will also be on the road Wednesday, playing a second-round 3-A game at Cape fear Valley champion Southern Lee (19-4). The Panthers advanced Monday with a 71-59, come-from-behind win at Eastern Guilford, thanks to a career-high 43 points by Devantay Jones.
In 2-A action, Northwood (23-4) got by Franklinton 54-47 on Monday and will host a surprising St. Paul’s team (9-14) Wednesday. Despite its lackluster record, St. Paul’s defeated 17-7 Northwest Halifax by a 50-36 score in the first round.
Carrboro (15-11) bowed out of the 2-A first round with a 64-58 loss at Bunn.
Northwood had the only local girls to survive the NCHSAA first round. The Chargers (17-9) easily handled North Johnston, 72-52 on Monday, and will travel to Winston-Salem Carver (18-7) for Wednesday’s second round.
All four Carolina-6 girls’ teams were eliminated from the 3-A tournament by the four Mid-State Conference teams — Northern Guilford, Eastern Guilford, Burlington Williams and Rockingham.
Chapel Hill (12-12), three nights after winning the Carolina-6 Conference tournament, fell 52-35 to Williams (24-3). Orange’s girls (11-11) lost 54-42 at Eastern Guilford (22-5); Cardinal Gibbons (17-7) was upset 64-62 by Mid-State No. 4 seed Rockingham (14-12), and Webb (6-14) lost 70-42 to Northern Guilford (23-4).

A short list of priority points to keep in mind for Wednesday's North Carolina at N.C. State basketball game (9 p.m.) in the RBC Center.

Carolina, 20-6 overall, 10-2 ACC after Saturday's 48-46 win over Boston College, won the first meeting of the season, 84-64 on Jan. 29 in Chapel Hill.

The Wolfpack (14-12, 4-8) is coming off an 87-80 loss at Maryland on Sunday.

East Chapel Hill defeated Riverside 58-38 Thursday night to advance to tonight’s championship final of the Piedmont Athletic Conference basketball tournament. The second-seeded Wildcats will host No. 1-seeded Jordan at 8 p.m. at East.
East also hosts the girls’ final, which features No. 1 Northern Durham against No. 2 Hillside at 6 p.m.

Those are just two of the six championship finals tonight in Orange County.
In the Carolina-10, Northwood's boys and girls teams both reached tonight’s finals at Cedar Ridge High School. The Northwood girls play River Mill Academy at 6 p.m. and the Charger boys take on Carrboro at approximately 7:30 p.m.

Carrboro’s boys defeated tournament host Cedar Ridge 68-43 Thursday to advance. Northwood topped Granville Central 69-50 Wednesday in the tournament’s first semifinal.

The CHHS girls’ and boys’ teams won their semifinal games this week in the Carolina-Six Conference basketball tournament and will play tonight at Carrboro High for their respective championship finals. (The CHHS gyms were booked in advance for the NCHSAA 3-A Mid-East wrestling regionals.)

The CHHS girls play top-seeded Cardinal Gibbons at 6 p.m. Friday, and the boys follow 20 minutes after that first game ends, at approximately 7:45 p.m.

For all the scores tonight, see www.newsobserver.com/sports or check out the up-to-the-minute Preps Now blog.
 

Rejuvenated N.C. State takes a two-game ACC winning streak to Maryland on Sunday (5:30 p.m., FSN).

The downside for the Wolfpack is errant shooting, starting with freshman guards Ryan Harrow and Lorenzo Brown.

The Chapel Hill High School basketball teams both won their semifinal games this week to earn spots in the Carolina-Six Conference tournament finals on Friday.
Because the NCHSAA 3-A wrestling regionals were scheduled in advance for the CHHS gyms, the basketball tournament will conclude Friday at Carrboro High School.
The CHHS girls edged Orange, 45-42, Wednesday night in Hillsborough. They’ll play No. 1 seed Cardinal Gibbons at 6 p.m. in Carrboro.
The Chapel Hill boys blew by Northern Vance, 70-58, in Wednesday’s semifinals and will play Southern Vance on Friday. The boys’ final will tip-off at 7:30 p.m., or approximately 20 minutes after the girls’ final finishes.

The CHHS girls won their first-round game in the Carolina-Six Conference basketball tournament and will play at Orange tonight at 7 p.m. in a semifinal game.
Chapel Hill’s girls had a big fourth quarter Monday, including an 18-6 run, to down Northern Vance, 59-51, in the Carolina-Six’s first round. Ninth-graders Jamella Smith and Catherine Romaine both recorded double-doubles. Smith had game highs of 18 points and 22 rebounds, while Romaine had 12 points and 21 rebounds.
The CHHS boys’ team hosts Northern Vance at 7 p.m. tonight in their tournament’s semifinals. Orange plays at Southern Vance in the boys’ other semifinal.
In the Carolina-10, River Mill's girls play Cedar Ridge at 6 p.m. tonight, followed by a boys semifinal between Northwood and Granville Central at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Northwood's girls play Granville Central at 6 p.m., followed by the boys’ semifinal between Carrboro and Cedar Ridge at 7:30 p.m.
East Chapel Hill is hosting the semifinals and finals of the PAC-6. The Wildcat boys play Riverside at 8 p.m. Thursday. The chanpionship finals are Friday, with games at 6 p.m. (girls) and 8 p.m. (boys).
For all the scores, see the News & Observer or check out Preps Now.

The news that UNC men's soccer head coach Elmar Bolowich will resign to take over at Creighton University has surprised many in the Chapel Hill community.
"The most common question I've gotten to this announcement is ' why would you want to leave Carolina to go to Omaha, Nebraska?' My answer is that I'm ready for a new challenge in my life and Creighton has committed itself to making their men's soccer team a national powerhouse. I'd like to help take them there as I have done at Carolina," Bolowich said.
Bolowich didn’t just take the Tar Heels to multiple College Cup appearances and the the 2001 National Championship; he was a major figure in youth soccer in the Triangle. He took youth teams to their national championship tournament “Final Four” three years in a row, and his son Alex was a top player for Chapel Hill High School.
Bolowich, the 2010 ACC Coach of the Year, mentored 22 All-America selections, 28 First Team All-ACC honorees and nine MLS SuperDraft First Round picks from UNC. Seven former Tar Heels who played under Bolowich have gone on to represent their country as part of the U.S. Men's National Team.
"My UNC players, both past and present, know that they are special to me and I will carry good memories of my coaching them at Carolina. However, it is now time to move on and the current UNC team will be left in the capable hands of assistant coach Carlos Somoano until the department officially announces my successor," Bolowich said.
North Carolina Director of Athletics Dick Baddour announced Wednesday that Bolowich will officially leave his position as UNC's head coach on Feb. 28.
"Elmar has guided the men's soccer program with class and dignity for 22 years," Director of Athletics Dick Baddour said. "I have the utmost respect for Elmar and wish him and his family the very best. He will always be a Tar Heel."
Bolowich earned 280 victories for Carolina, advancing the Tar Heels to three consecutive NCAA College Cups.  They've earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament in 11 of the last 12 seasons.
"I am proud of the work that I've done at UNC and thank the University for what they were able to provide," Bolowich said. "The hardest part about resigning from this fine institution will be leaving my players. I recruited every single one of them. Several I've coached since they were 14 years old. I have already spoken with the team collectively about this transition."

Looking at the results from the highly-competitive PAC-6 championship meet, nobody would have ever guessed Wednesday night that East Chapel Hill was missing several swimmers due to illness. The Wildcats easily won both the boys' and girls' titles at the competition in Hillsborough's Triangle Sportsplex.
In typical fashion, East Chapel Hill ran away with the competition early on, and with 743 points, the lady Wildcats beat second place Jordan High by 224 points. Riverside High came in third with 388 points, and Northern finished with 306 points.
On the boys’ side, the Wildcats took home a substantial victory, scoring 712 points compared to second-place Jordan’s 559. Riverside and Northern brought up the rear with 354 and 219 points respectively.
See correspondent Kelly Parson's story in Sunday's Chapel Hill News for more.
 

Endurance Magazine will host an unofficial training run Saturday morning up Laurel Hill in preparation for the Wachovia Tar Heel 10 Miler and Fleet Feet Sports 4+ Mile Runs.

The hosts expect upwards of 150 people to meet at 8:30 a.m. on what is expected to be sunny Saturday morning (1/29) outside the UNC General Administration Building on Raleigh Road. They’ll run either a 2.2 or 3.2 mile loop.

Endurance hosts these training sessions periodically to ease people's anxiety about the hill -- a feature of Chapel Hill’s biggest road race --  and to help get runners ready for the big run on April 9.
Many of the runners Saturday will be part of Fleet Feet's No Boundaries and Next Steppers Training Programs, but anyone can join Saturday's run for free.

Originally scheduled as a Blue-White intrasquad affair, the Carolina men's lacrosse scrimmage at Ravenscroft now will feature the Tar Heels playing Limestone College in a preseason game. They'll play at noon on Saturday, Jan. 29, at Stefanou Field in the Raleigh school's football stadium. Admission is free.

Prior to the scrimmage, UNC coaches and players will hold a free clinic from 10 a.m. to noon for boys in grades 1 through 8. No prior lacrosse experience is necessary and no pre-registration is required, but full lacrosse gear is requested.

Following the scrimmage, players will be available for autographs.

The Ravenscroft lacrosse team will also be collecting canned and dry goods for animals at the Wake County SPCA.

Questions regarding the clinic or scrimmage may be directed to Sandy Kapatos at 919-861-2110, ext. 2635. Ravenscroft is located at 7409 Falls of Neuse Rd. in Raleigh. Directions and a campus map are located at www.ravenscroft.org/directions.