RALEIGH — Six high school basketball teams from Robeson County qualified for the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state playoffs, as tournament pairings were released by the league Sunday afternoon. The pairings include an in-county matchup in the first round.
The boys teams from Lumberton, Fairmont and Red Springs, the girls team from Purnell Swett and both teams from St. Pauls are in the playoff field.
Tuesday’s first-round matchups are highlighted by an in-county battle between the St. Pauls and Red Springs boys. The Bulldogs (21-5) are the No. 7 seed in the 2A East regional and will host the No. 26 Red Devils (11-13), the fourth meeting between the teams this season.
The Fairmont boys (13-12) also made the 2A field, as a No. 20 seed, and will travel to No. 13 Whiteville (15-6). It will be the third meeting this season between the Three Rivers Conference foes.
The St. Pauls girls (25-0) earned a No. 5 seed in the 2A East regional and host No. 28 Roanoke Rapids (15-9). The Bulldogs were the TRC’s regular-season champion and advanced to the conference tournament final before the tournament was cancelled last week by inclement weather.
At the 4A level, the Lumberton boys (21-5) are the No. 9 seed in the East regional and will host No. 24 South Central (9-16). The Falcons would have finished at 19-6 as the top playoff seed from the Eastern Carolina Conference, but forfeited 10 wins, including six conference games, last week due to an ineligible player.
In the 4A girls tournament, Purnell Swett (15-9) will be the No. 23 seed in the West regional and will travel to No. 10 Butler (18-9) in the first round.
