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GASTON – There’s only eight teams remaining in the Eastern Class 1A bracket of the NCHSAA State Basketball Tournament. Two of them hail from the Roanoke-Chowan area.

Bertie High School travels to Northampton County High School on Tuesday (March 4) for the third round (region semifinals) of the statewide tourney. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. in Gaston.

The two teams met in a non-conference game back on Dec. 21 with Bertie winning 75-57.

Since Feb. 1, Bertie has won 9-of-11 games and improved to 15-11 overall.

Northampton is the Tar-Roanoke Conference champions. Since the Christmas holiday break, the Jaguars have won 14-of-16 games and currently stand at 20-6 overall.

Both teams advanced to Tuesday’s matchup thanks to second round wins this past Friday night.

Bertie, seeded #14 in the Eastern bracket, upset #3 Lakewood High School, 52-42, on Friday. No individual stats were available from that game.

Northampton, the #6 seed in the East, withstood a late rally by Tarboro to collect a 63-56 victory at home on Friday. In that win, the Jaguars placed three in double figures: Torrey Harris (18), Jiyoun Williams (14), and Gmarcus Faison (10).

Also on Friday, Gates County High School’s girls team was eliminated from the state playoffs with a loss at #6 North Duplin, 58-45.

The Lady Barons, seeded #11 in the Eastern Class 1A bracket, end an outstanding season at 23-3 overall.