Ravenscroft’s boys basketball team was seeded as the No. 7 seed in the ESPNHS National High School Invitational. The Ravens (31-3) will face No. 2-seed Montrose Christian School (Md.) in the quarterfinals March 29 at 4 p.m. on ESPNU.

The tournament is being held at Georgetown Preparatory School’s Hanley Center for Athletic Excellence in Bethesda, Md.

Montrose (20-2) is No. 11 in the latest ESPNHS national rankings, and is the defending tournament champion. The Mustangs feature University of Virginia signee Justin Anderson. 

The winner of the quarterfinal game will play the winner of the three-seeded Montverde (Fla.) vs. No. 6-seed La Porte La Lumiere (Ind.) game Friday, March 30 at 11:30 a.m. on ESPN2.

Ravenscroft claimed the NCISAA 3A State Championship last month.

Millbrook guard Karon Blount knows the Wildcats are a different team from a year ago. As a senior though, Blount is surrounded by many of the same teammates. He still has the same point guard in senior Shi’Chee Moore (pictured left) and veteran coach in Scott McInnes.

Yet Blount feels the Wildcats, who host Wakefield (5-0, 1-0 Cap Eight 4-A) tonight at home, are more mature and better prepared to have a successful season from start to finish.

“We are different,” Blount said. “We play much harder on defense.”

On Friday night against Broughton, the Wildcats (6-1, 1-0) looked like a team that learned its lesson from the previous year.

Last season, the Wildcats reached the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4-A state championship game mainly because of their defense. But Millbrook had to mature over the course of that season. After all, the Wildcats started the year with a 2-6 record.

That’s not the case this season.

Wake Forest-Rolesville has named Mickey Bissette its new boys basketball coach. Deran Coe, the athletic director at WF-R, confirmed the school’s decision Monday morning.

Bissette, who led Green Hope as its athletic director for four years, resigned from the position Tuesday after having several interviews with Coe for the WF-R coaching job. Bissette will now have the responsibility of coaching the Cougars, a young team that is expected to improve with most of its players returning.

“I know he has some strong ideas on what he wants to do with this program,” Coe said. “We’re excited to have him and I know he’ll do a great job.”

Known for being a successful basketball coach, Bissette did not coach the Falcons last season to have more time to commit to his athletic director duties. He was Green Hope’s first boys basketball coach and led the program for 11 seasons. Bissette took the Falcons to seven consecutive playoff appearances from 2003-2009. He became the athletic director in 2006.

“When the [last] season started, I didn't really think it was that bad," Bissette said of not coaching when reached for comment Tuesday. "Then when the games started, it got really tough and it was one of those things where you're like 'I really am missing this.’ ”

During their talks, Bissette expressed to Coe his desire to coach again.

“I think he just missed it,” Coe said. “I think when you’re a coach at heart you want to be with the kids and have that direct impact on them.”

Kristen Gaffney of Green was named to the Associated Press all-state girls basketball team as selected by sports writers throughout the state. South Central Pitt's Danielle Butts and Janesha Ebron also were selected.

Terry Whisnant of Cherryville and Tyler Lewis of Forsyth Country Day lead the boys team.

Thomas Sumpter of Durham Jordan leads the Piedmont Athletic 4-A all-conference boys basketball team. Kim Annas of Jordan and Pam Adams of Northern Durham are the coaches of the year.

Very seldom do we high school reporters get a chance to talk to administrators of the schools we cover. But with the circumstances this week surrounding the importance of Millbrook having both its girls and boys basketball teams playing for a state title tomorrow, I felt Principal Dana King needed to have a voice in our coverage.

I’m really glad I had a chance to meet King, who not only was Wake County’s Principal of the Year in 2010 but she is an avid sports fan. She knows her basketball and she was able to give a good sense of the pulse at Millbrook right now. She’s been at the school for 10 years and has seen the Wildcats only come close to a state championship. Now with both teams playing for the titles for the first time, here’s what King had to say about the school rallying around its basketball teams.

King on Millbrook’s victories in Fayetteville in the Eastern Regional final:

“I was in tears because it was such an emotional day and because we’re the underdogs. And those are our kids. It was high visibility for the school. We were in the stands saying to each other ‘What does this means?’ For our Millbrook Maniacs it meant you run around the gym.”

On what makes both teams refreshing:

“I’ve been here those years when someone was the perceived superstar on the team and the attention is on that person first and everybody might get mention if they have a good game. For some reason both teams have figured out the right combination of playing for each other and doing what the coach tells them. I think this team understands they have to work together to play at this level. It’s fun to see that everybody has a place on this game and that everyone needs to contribute.”

RALEIGH – The reasons behind Broughton’s 46-41 victory over Millbrook in the semifinals of the Cap Eight 4-A Tournament on Thursday night were obvious to Caps coach Jeff Ferrell.

The Caps didn’t hesitate, nor did they get pushed around by the Wildcats. Ferrell’s team did the exact opposite.

In a game that was tied at 37-37 with two minutes remaining, the Caps forced Millbrook into mistakes that led to points in transition. Then when Millbrook needed to foul late, Broughton made its free throws to close the game. The Caps will now play top-seeded Wakefield at 7 p.m. Friday in the championship game.  

“Millbrook just pressures you every time,” Ferrell said. “We didn’t give up and we trusted ourselves.”

RALEIGH – Here’s our rapid reaction after Ravenscroft defeated Middle Creek 59-57 Wednesday night in a nonconference game:

HOW THE GAME WAS WON

Ravenscroft surrendered its lead late in the fourth quarter only to have guard Anton Gill (pictuted left) make a fadeaway three-pointer at the buzzer to win the game. Madison Jones was the difference in the final play as he was able penetrate into the lane to bring Gill’s defender over to cover him. That allowed Gill to be wide open in the corner to make his three-point basket just before the buzzer sounded.

TURNING POINT

This is a tough one to call, but Middle Creek gave Ravenscroft a chance to win the game by going to quickly on its final possession. The Mustangs were trailing by one with less than a minute left and could have held the ball for the final shot. Instead guard Donta Davis was fouled by going to the basket with 17 seconds left. Although Davis made both free throws to give the Mustangs the lead, it also allowed Gill to have time to make his game-winning shot.

STAT OF THE GAME

Gill is a very good shooter from behind the ach as he averages 53 percent from three before tonight’s game. Gill had plenty of chances to make three-pointers, but his one at the buzzer was his only three-pointer of the game.

RALEIGH – Here’s our rapid reaction after Wakefield defeated Broughton 72-60 Thursday night in a Cap Eight 4-A conference game:

HOW THE GAME WAS WON

Wakefield was able to stay calm and collected in the final four minutes, which is something Broughton wasn’t able to do. The Wolverines stayed within their offense and was able to get to the free throw line by driving to the basket. The Wolverines also made their free throws while the Caps settled for quick shots that led to easy transition points for Wakefield. Guard Xavier Saddler-Mee (pictured right) had 22 points and forward Jason Lee had 16 that all came in the second half.

TURNING POINT

Lee was a big factor in Wakefield’s 12-0 run late in the fourth quarter. Lee scored eight points during the stretch when Broughton went to a full-court press to induce turnovers. Lee didn’t play well in the first half, but he really made his presence felt by grabbing rebounds and scoring over smaller defenders.

STAT OF THE GAME

In a short time this year Broughton as become a team that relies too much on the three-point shot. That was their biggest downfall against Wakefield. Although Broughton had a lead early in the first quarter, they Caps shot just 1-for-14 from behind the arc in the second half.

RALEIGH – Here’s our rapid reaction after Millbrook defeated Broughton 70-60 Friday night in a Cap Eight 4-A conference game:

HOW THE GAME WAS WON

The Wildcats were more physical and better conditioned than the Caps in this game. Millbrook coach Scott McInnes used 10 players to execute a style of basketball that forces mistakes based on turnovers. The Wildcats created plenty of turnovers and took advantage by scoring easy baskets in transition.

TURNING POINT

The Wildcats were able to break the Caps mentally with its pressure throughout the game, but the third quarter was Millbrook’s most effective as they used a 10-0 run to extend its lead to double-digits.

STATS OF THE GAME

The key stat with any Millbrook game is turnovers. The Wildcats play a full-court press that is similar to the Missouri Tigers – they want to turn you over on every possession. That almost occurred in the first quarter when Broughton struggled to find any rhythm on offense. The Wildcats forced 20 turnovers in the game.