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The regular season in public school high school basketball ended on Thursday. Meanwhile, Pungo Christian Academy began state playoff play and Terra Ceia Christian School began conference tournament play.

Northside’s girls wrapped up a perfect season in the Coastal Plains Conference and will be the top seed in next week’s league tournament. The Panthers (22-1, 9-0 CPC) beat Pamlico County, 56-53, on Tuesday in a rematch for the regular-season title. Northside then beat East Carteret, 60-37, on Thursday.

Northside’s boys (19-4, 9-1 CPC) also won against Pamlico County and East Carteret and finished in a tie for the league title with Lejeune (13-6, 9-1 CPC). A tie-breaker was to be executed to determine where the conference tournament finals will be held.

Southside’s boys (8-14, 5-5 CPC) finished tied for third with Pamlico County (6-14, 5-5 CPC) and split during the regular season. Both teams lost twice to Northside and Lejeune.

Southside’s girls (14-8, 5-5 CPC) finished tied for third with East Carteret (5-14, 5-5 CPC). Both squads won once against each other and lost twice to Northside and Lejeune.

Washington’s boys are now 18-6, 10-2 in the Eastern Plains Conference after their two wins this week. Washington’s girls are winless on the season.

Terra Ceia’s boys and girls were the top seeds in the Mid-Atlantic Christian Athletic Association. The conference tournament started Thursday with both teams in Friday’s semifinals. The Terra Ceia boys were 19-2 overall, 11-1 in the MACAA after the regular season. Terra Ceia’s girls were 11-4 overall, 9-1. 

Pungo drops first-round playoff games

By Logan Van Staalduinen

PCA Athletic Director

Tuesday marked the end of the 2024–2025 basketball season for Pungo Christian Academy as both the boys’ and girls’ teams were knocked out of the NCISAA Class 1A state tournament in the first round.

Pungo’s boys fell to Friendship Christian, 55-46, to finish the season 7-16. Pungo’s girls fell to Southeast Christian Academy, 52-39, to finish the season 8-17.

It was a rebuilding season for both teams as the girls returned just two players from last year and the boys returned only three. It was a rough start for the Lady Raiders, losing seven of their first eight games to start the season before senior Allison Sawyer returned to the lineup from a knee injury suffered in January 2024.

Sawyer’s return resulted in PCA winning four of its next six games before Christmas break. However, the Lady Raiders could not keep their momentum going after the break, dropping eight of their last 11 to finish the season.

Sawyer repeated on the Tarheel Independent Conference’s all-conference team, posting a career high 20.1 points per game while grabbing 12.7 rebounds per game. Fellow senior Julia Rouse also had career highs in points and rebounds with 9.3 and 7.1 per game.

The boys’ season started off strong with the Raiders winning three of their first four games to open the year. Pungo would drop five of their next six and could never get back in rhythm the rest of the season.

Despite a losing record, PCA placed three players on the TIC all-conference team: Evan Woolard (senior), Michael Cripe (junior) and Marshall Ricks (sophomore). Ricks led the team in scoring and rebounding with 16 and 8.5 per game. Woolard was the go-to man in the post, scoring 12.6 points and grabbing 7.2 boards per contest. Cripe was the Raiders’ top perimeter threat, scoring 9.6 points and dishing out 3.2 assists a game.

Raiders Coach Logan Van Staalduinen was named TIC Coach of the Year for the fourth consecutive season.