If Dick Vitale were watching North Carolina High School Basketball Friday Night, he'd probably be just as loud and obnoxious as he is during college basketball games. But he's not, so I'll take over for him.

The Sectional Finals feature some very impressive match ups, some of which are promised to be instant classics. We'll find out who the real PTPers are Friday Night as we learn who will advance to Greenville next week.

Green Hope @ Hoggard
Let me take you back to January 19th when the Hoggard Vikings traveled to Cary to take on the Green Hope Falcons. The Falcons were struggling for a win, and Hoggard was coming off a victory over No. 1 New Hanover and was ranked No. 8 themselves. It was an incredible game. In fact, four quarters wasn't enough to decide it, so they played two more. That's right, Double Overtime between these two teams. Green Hope pulled out the upset, 80-72. Green Hope has been red hot the past two games. On Monday, the Falcons traveled to Fayetteville where they defeated the Terry Sanford Bulldogs, then made the drive to Wilmington to beat Laney. The Falcons had been to the State Tournament five times, but had never won a playoff game. Steven Edwards has come up big for the Falcons as of late, and J.D. Pelham has stepped up to take Daniel Watts' place after Watts suffered an ankle injury in the conference tournament. Edwards put up 13 last time against the Vikings, but the leading scorer was T.C. Anderson with 22-points. I think Green Hope has a real shot at winning the game and moving on to Regionals, but they're going to have to play smart. The Falcons need to make sure they don't commit unforced turnovers, they need to make sure that they don't dribble the air out of the ball, and they need to make sure they take good shots. Green Hope will want to control the tempo from the beginning to the end, and I think they will.
Nick's Pick: Green Hope

JH Rose @ New Hanover
Wilmington teams seem to be pretty good, huh? Well, New Hanover is probably the best one out of the Mideastern Conference. Sports Illustrated ranked New Hanover the overall No. 1 team in the state, and guess what, they looked like it in the first two rounds. Ask Douglas Byrd how tough New Hanover is. Byrd had to go to New Hanover in the first round of the tournament, and they went home with a loss, 73-55. New Hanover is capable of beating you in more ways than one. They can go inside or outside, they can go left or right, they can basically do whatever they want. Don't get me wrong, Rose is a very good team, but I just don't think they are good enough. New Hanover will be making the trip to Greenville next week.
Nick's Pick: New Hanover

Wakefield @ Apex
How 'bout them Wolverines? At one point, they weren't even in a position to make the tournament, now, they're playing for a spot in Regionals. This isn't unfamiliar territory for Wakefield. Don't forget, they have won two of the last three state championships. Apex is one of the best teams in the area, and they have one of the best players in the state in Yorel Hawkins. It will be an interesting scoring battle between Hawkins and Darius Johnson-Odom, two of the leading scorers in the Triangle. Which ever team can hold the other team's star to as few points as possible will win. My main concern for Apex is the loss of Andrew Fiedler, but we've talked about this since last week and it doesn't seem to make things much harder on the Cougars.
Nick's Pick: Apex

Middle Creek @ Riverside
Middle Creek won the Tri-Eight Conference Championship game last Friday night, and I think they will win this one too. Riverside is a good team, but Middle Creek has more talent. The Mustangs have a great floor general in Kip Kelley, one of the top seniors in Marcus Kitts, and the best sophomore in the area in Garrius Adams. Adams is the team's leading scorer, and I fully expect him to drop several points Friday Night. The big match up will be between Marcus Kitts and Weslye Saunders. Saunders is going to South Carolina to play football, Kitts is going to William & Mary to play basketball. The winner of this match up will probably win the ball game.
Nick's Pick: Middle Creek

It should be an exciting Sectional Championship night! Remember, if you have a score, please let us know. Send your score to us via e-mail to ncsportsreport@aol.com or call it in to (919) 272-431.

Good luck to all teams, and we'll break down each game and look ahead to Greenville on Saturday.