TCN/SWW Boys' basketball rankings 2/15

Submitted by jmikeblake on 02/15/2009 - 18:27

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.

3. Middle Creek (19-5, 11-3): lost to Athens Drive 57-52, lost to Panther Creek 61-44

This isn't a very deep team. That much is obvious. Once you get past Garrius Adams and Tom Tankelewicz, the rest of the team is a year away from contributing heavily and it shows if you can somehow take one of those two out. Panther Creek has made it a habit of taking both men out of their games, and as a result, Middle Creek is coming off back-to-back losses for the first time in three years.

4. Cary Academy (17-8, 6-2): lost to Forsyth Country Day 78-65, lost to Ravenscroft 88-65

In his first year with the Chargers, Kenny Inge beat every TISAC team not named Ravenscroft. The only problem moving forward is that Ravenscroft will still be going to the conference tournament next week at North Raleigh Christian Academy (unless the bus breaks down, of course).

5. Apex (13-10, 8-6): def. Fuquay 63-52, def. Lee County 63-52

Felt so nice, they had to do it twice. The Cougars notch back-to-back 63-52 wins and will host a first round game with Green Hope in the Tri-Eight Conference Tournament on Tuesday. Apex was 10-2 this season at home, losing those two by a combined five points.

6. Green Hope (9-15, 5-9): def. Lee County 58-53, lost to Athens Drive 67-47

Green Hope won the game it needed to, taking out Lee County in the final minutes to get a five-point win and eventually clinch a playoff berth. The Athens game — well — perhaps Green Hope had invested so much into preparing for Lee that it had nothing left for the Jags.

7. Holly Springs (7-17, 4-10): lost to SE Raleigh 67-59, lost to Garner 72-59

The Golden Hawks forced a three-way tie for the last playoff spot in the Greater Neuse Conference. Unfortunately, the only way to solve that was a draw, and HSHS got the shortest end of the stick. Holly Springs is the seventh seed in the tournament and will play at Knightdale on Tuesday. In most conferences, the seeding doesn't mean HSHS is left out of the playoffs, rather, they must go the farthest in the conference tournament out of the three that tied (which will be hard to do when you're having to play at Knightdale).

8. Cary (4-19, 4-10): lost to Panther Creek 74-55, def. Fuquay 67-55

Cary most likely won't be heading to the playoffs this year, but they were a tough out for most teams nonetheless. The Imps were probably looking forward to another shot at Middle Creek (MC won the last meeting 66-65), but they'll have to face No. 2 Athens instead.

9. Cary Christian (10-14, 6-2): def. Halifax Academy 59-50, def. Rocky Mount Academy 75-57

Cary Christian hadn't been dominant this year, but they are playing great basketball at the right time. The Knights finished second in the EPIC right behind St. David's. That conference tournament will be held Friday & Saturday at Rocky Mount Academy.

10. Fuquay-Varina (0-23*, 0-14*): lost to Apex 63-52, lost to Cary 67-55

In case you were curious, before the Fuquay forfeits were first reported by yours truly last week, the Bengals had just three wins on the year and one in conference. The Bengals will likely close out basketball season on Tuesday when they travel to Panther Creek for the first round of the conf. tourney.