The holiday season marked a lengthy layoff for Beaufort County basketball. Northside hosted Washington and Southside, among others, in an invitational that wrapped up prior to Christmas. Terra Ceia also traveled to Wilson to take part in a tournament.

Since then, boys’ and girls’ teams in the area have been working hard on the practice court. They got the chance to look internally, analyzing what needs to be polished and worked on to take their games to the next level.

Playing at a higher level is the key to success now that the conference stretch of the season is here. Washington already showed a glimpse of the hard work put in at practice on Tuesday. The Pam Pack rallied by scoring 29 points in the fourth quarter to steal a win at Southwest Edgecombe and start the conference slate at 1-0.

This is the time of the year to come out and watch some exciting hoops action. The rivalry between Northside and Southside will be played out twice in the coming weeks — once on each team’s court.

One cannot forget the classic that will be Terra Ceia vs. Pungo. Both teams have proven they will be a force to be reckoned with in the NCISAA Tarheel Conference. The two have combined for 22 wins thus far. The Jan. 12 and regular-season finale on Feb. 5 between the Raiders and Knights have already been games circled on the calendar.

Plenty of strong teams will also stop by Washington. The 2-A Eastern Plains Conference is chock full of formidable squads. The Pam Pack will host Farmville Central on Friday. The Jaguars made it to last year’s regional final and took eventual champion Brandon Ingram and Kinston to the limit. Washington will also host North Pitt and Beddingfield. Both foes dominated the non-conference portion of their respective campaigns.

More so than watching entertaining high school basketball in the area, be sure to simply get out and show support for the boys and girls who have been working so hard. Full gymnasiums will make these matchups even more entertaining. A lively crowd makes it much more exciting for everyone in attendance. More importantly, it makes the players on the court know that their hard work is appreciated.