Panther Creek boys, Millbrook girls among top NC high school basketball playoff winners

RALEIGH — Millbrook junior guard Reychel Douglas has let her basketball playing speak for her all season. Douglas’ greatest delight after Tuesday’s 58-57 N.C. 4A state quarterfinal win over visiting Panther Creek — in which Douglas netted 31 points — might have been the impact of her spoken words.

“I even told my teammates that’s one thing I have to improve,” Douglas said. “I’m really proud of my team, the way they all stepped up.”

Wildcats guard Ivory Galloway gave teammate Douglas a locker room shout-out for her verbal encouragement in preparation for today’s game. Galloway’s steal and subsequent free throw with 8.4 seconds remaining accounted for the difference by which Millbrook (23-3) advanced to Saturday’s regional final against Apex Friendship.

Douglas’ 23 second half points were just two shy of the Catamounts’ collective post-intermission output. Among Douglas’ 12 fourth-quarter points was a 3-pointer that trimmed Panther Creek’s six-point lead to three (57-54) with 41.8 seconds left. The Wildcats’ defense, then, took charge.

Millbrook’s full court pressure forced three consecutive Catamounts turnovers among approximately 30 seconds.

“To be honest, we’ve practiced it in practice, but we hadn’t put it in a game yet,” Millbrook coach Dan Cortright said of his team’s jump pressure. “The kids really, really executed very, very well.”

The second turnover included the basketball never being touched inbounds. The Wildcats, thus, assumed possession underneath their own basket.

This time, Douglas passed to Corrie McLaughlin, whose strong drive and left-handed finish in the paint drew a foul. McLaughlin (10 points) completed a conventional 3-point play for a 57-57 tie with 14.5 seconds remaining. Galloway’s steal and free throw — her lone second-half point — completed Millbrook’s rally from an eight-point (32-24) halftime deficit.

Panther Creek got 19 points from sophomore Taylor Barner, along with 17 and 10 respectively from Madisyn Jordan and Amira Ofunniyin. The Catamounts concluded their best season in school history with a 22-6 record and first berths in the playoffs’ third and fourth rounds.

Panther Creek ousts defending champ Millbrook

Millbrook and Panther Creek met in the boys’ quarterfinals, too, The Catamounts prevailed in that one, 64-61. Panther Creek will meet Cleveland on Saturday with a state final berth at stake.

With the win, Panther Creek’s boys advance to the school’s first regional final. Tuesday’s semifinal was tied at 27 at halftime. The Catamounts led 46-44 at the fourth quarter’s beginning.

“I’m kind of numb,” an overcome Panther Creek coach Shawan Robinson said. “We just made one more play than they did. I’m proud of my guys.”

Panther Creek (22-7) led almost all of the fourth quarter. Millbrook (20-9) scored its first field goal of the period on a layup by CeeJay Jordan (19 points) with 3:47 remaining. The Catamounts missed four free throws in the game’s waning minutes to give the Wildcats hope.

Panther Creek’s Tyler Thompson (18 points) converted a pair of free throws with fewer than five seconds remaining to set the final score. Catamounts teammate Chris Uwayo matched Thompson’s 18.

Millbrook’s Jaylen Bowen (18 points) watched his final three-point attempt fall off the mark as time expired.

Cleveland takes out Richmond

Say it again: Cleveland is more than a football school.

The Rams shot out of the gate Tuesday, led by double digits at the half and cruised to an 83-62 win over No. 1 seed Richmond to reach their first-ever NCHSAA 4A East Region final.

Trey Fields led Cleveland with 22 points. Dylan Wiggins added 20, while Baron Williams and Jayse Barrett chipped in with 12 each in the win.

Richmond’s Dakota Chavis had 12 points and Paul McNeil had a game-high 29. to pace the top-seeded Raiders.

Indya Nivar hits 2,000 points in Apex Friendship win

With at least one more game to play, Apex Friendship star Indya Nivar has eclipsed a rare scoring mark, and she did so while helping her team reach a regional final.

Nivar, the only 2022 McDonald’s All-American playing in North Carolina, surpassed 2,000 points for her career Tuesday, helping Apex Friendship to a 50-33 win over Green Level in the NCHSAA 4A East Region semifinal.

The top seed, Apex Friendship has just two losses on the season, and was facing Green Level, a division rival that it knew quite well.

There was a chance that another division foe might await in the regional final, but Panther Creek’s season ended Tuesday in a road loss at Millbrook.