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The “second season” is about to begin.

On Sunday, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) finalized their brackets for the 2025 state basketball playoffs.

The playoffs (Classes 1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A) will begin on Tuesday, Feb. 25 and the second round will take place on Friday, Feb. 28 The third and fourth rounds will be the following Tuesday and Friday (March 4 and March 7) and the Regionals and State Championships will take place March 10-15 at Lawrence Joel Veterans Coliseum in Winston-Salem.

In the Eastern Class 1A boys bracket, Northampton County High School, Bertie High School, and Gates County High School earned invitations to the state tournament.

Northampton (18-6 overall and champions of the Tar-Roanoke Conference) is seeded #6 in the 32-team Eastern bracket. The Jaguars will host #27 Neuse Charter (10-11 overall) in the opening round.

Bertie (13-11 overall) is seeded #14 and will host #19 Roxboro Community (11-10 overall) in Tuesday’s first round.

Gates County (7-13 overall) is the #26 seed. The Barons will travel to #7 Chatham Central (21-4 overall) for their opening round game.

Washington County (18-3 overall), who plays in the same conference with Bertie and Gates County, earned the #1 seed in the Eastern 1A boys bracket.

Hertford County High School earned a spot in the Eastern Class 2A boys bracket. The Bears (9-14 overall) are seeded #25 and will travel to #8 Eastern Wayne (20-4 overall) for Tuesday’s state playoff opener.

Farmville Central High School (20-4 overall) is the top seed in the Eastern Class 2A boys bracket.

In the Eastern Class 1A girls bracket, Gates County High School will see its outstanding season continue. The Lady Barons (22-2 overall) are seeded #11 and will host #22 East Wake Academy (12-7 overall) in Tuesday’s opening round action.

Perquimans County High School (24-2 overall) is the top seed in the Eastern Class 1A girls bracket.

Hertford County High School’s girls also gained a post-season berth. The Lady Bears (11-13 overall) are the #23 seed in the Eastern Class 2A bracket and will travel to #10 North Carolina School of Science and Math (11-11 overall) in Durham on Tuesday.

Fairmont High School (21-1 overall) is the #1 seeded girls team in the Eastern Class 2A girls bracket.