Holding home court

It came down to a coin flip. The No. 1 seed in the Coastal 3A Conference, between West Craven and South Central, was on the line.

Representatives from the two schools met on Friday at the Golden Corral in New Bern.

The winner of the coin toss was to earn home court advantage throughout the Coastal Conference boys’ basketball tournament. The loser would likely get on a bus and travel for the championship game on Friday.

West Craven coach and athletics director Bryan Goehring won the toss, giving the Eagles (23-1, 13-1) the opportunity to play in front of their faithful fans, as long as they keep winning.

The Eagles will play host to eighth-seed White Oak on Monday at 7:30 p.m. in Vanceboro. The winner will square off with either D.H. Conley or West Carteret on Wednesday.

“Home court advantage, there is a reason people call it that,” Goehring said. “You always want to play at home. It’s a little bit easier for our fans to get out to. Our fans travel really well, as it is, so I am sure they are going to support us this week.”

If West Craven escapes past the first two rounds, a home match-up against No. 2 seed South Central is likely.

South Central handed West Craven its only loss of the season with a 67-59 win in Winterville on Jan. 27. West Craven rolled to a 95-76 victory on Jan. 3 in Vanceboro.

Last season, South Central won both regular-season battles. However, West Craven came back to win a classic, 79-74, game in the conference tournament championship game.

“It’s huge for us to have our fans out,” Goehring said. “The last time we went to South Central, it was a sellout. I’m figuring that’s what it’s going to be like if we meet up with them on Friday night at our place. The guys thrive in that atmosphere.”

Junior Josh Cuthbertson leads the Eagles with a 27.9 scoring averaging and 10.7 rebounds. Junior Demetres Abrams is putting up 12.3 points and 6.4 assists per game, while senior Aaron Tate has tallied 12.5 points and 8.4 boards a night.

“The guys understand, that at this point in the season, it’s win or go home,” Goehring said. “You can’t look ahead, you have to worry about the game you are playing now. On any given night, anyone can get beat.”

The Havelock Rams, the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament, will play host to sixth-seed Washington at 7:30 p.m. on Monday.

It’s Havelock’s highest seeding in head coach Bill Fryczynski’s 12 seasons.

The winner of Havelock-Washington will play either Jacksonville or South Central on Wednesday.

Havelock (12-9, 9-5) split the season series with the Pam Pack. The Rams dominated, 77-50, on Jan. 3, but suffered a 58-52 setback on Jan. 27.

Senior Tyquan Nolan leads Havelock with 17.2 points and 7.3 rebounds a game. Junior Zack Bruns is averaging 16 points a night.

“In my mind, (Havelock) is the most improved team in the conference,” Goehring said. “Coach Fryczynski has got them working hard and playing hard and believing in themselves. The hit some shots on us tonight and got back and played some defense on us and made it tough on us in the first half.”

West Craven girls staying at home

All the West Craven girls did to clinch home court advantage in the conference tournament was win every game they played.

The Eagles (23-0, 14-0), who won the conference for the first time since 1975, secured their perfect season with a 60-44 win over Havelock on Thursday.

West Craven will play host to eighth-seed Jacksonville at 6 p.m. on Monday. The winner will play either Havelock or West Carteret on Wednesday.

“It feels real good for the girls,” said West Craven coach David Fernandez. “They have done a great job of earning the honor of being able to host the whole conference tournament. We are excited about it because the fans have really shown up this year.”

The Eagles were stunned by Jacksonville, 51-47, in the first round of the conference tournament last season.

This season, the Eagles have an improved squad, led by sophomore Jamie Cherry, who leads the team with 26 points per game. Khadijah Bryant is putting up 10 points a game. Nishedra Brown (8.8 points), Destinee McDougle (8.0 points, 8.0 rebounds) and Kaylee Koeperich (7.5 rebounds) are having big seasons.

“We have one of the best players in the country, in Jamie Cherry,” Fernandez said. “And two, everyone has played together. (Jamie) has risen the level of play for all her teammates. We are just clicking together as a team. People are feeding each other the basketball, rebounding as a team and playing defense as a team.”

The Havelock Rams, the No. 4 seed, will host West Carteret at 6 p.m. on Monday.

The Rams (15-7, 9-5) beat the Patriots twice this season by an average of 27.5 points.

Mideastern Conference Tournament

The New Bern boys’ basketball team will open the Mideastern Conference Tournament against Laney in Wilmington at 7:30 p.m. on Monday. The girls will play at New Hanover on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

The New Bern boys (5-14, 1-9), the sixth seed, was swept in two games by Laney. The winner of Monday’s match-up will play Wilmington Hoggard on Wednesday at New Hanover High School.

The New Bern girls (7-16, 2-8), the sixth seed, lost to New Hanover by one point earlier in the season.

The winner of Tuesday’s game will play Thursday.

Coastal 3A Tournament

Boys

Monday

White Oak (8) at West Craven (1), 7:30 p.m.

West Carteret (5) at D.H. Conley (4), 7:30 p.m.

Jacksonville (2) at South Central (2), 7:30 p.m.

Washington (6) at Havelock (3), 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday

White Oak/West Craven vs. West Carteret/D.H. Conley, 7:30 p.m.

Jacksonville/South Central vs. Washington/Havelock, 7:30 p.m.

Friday

Championship game, 7: 30 p.m.

Girls

Monday

Jacksonville (8) at West Craven (1), 6 p.m.

West Carteret (5) at Havelock (4), 6 p.m.

Washington (7) at South Central (2), 6 p.m.

D.H. Conley (3) at White Oak (6), 6 p.m.

Wednesday

Jacksonville/West Craven vs. West Carteret/Havelock, 6 p.m.

Washington/South Central vs. D.H. Conley/White Oak, 6 p.m.

Friday

Championship game, 6 p.m.

Mideastern Conference

Boys

Monday

At Laney

Ashley vs. J.H. Rose, 6 p.m.

New Bern vs. Laney, 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday

At New Hanover

Hoggard vs. Laney/New Bern winner 6 p.m.

New Hanover vs. Rose/Ashley winner 7:30 p.m.

Girls

Tuesday

At New Hanover

Hoggard vs. J.H. Rose, 6 p.m.

New Bern vs. New Hanover, 7:30 p.m.

Thursday

At Ashley

Laney vs. Hoggard/Rose winner, 6 p.m.

Ashley vs. New Bern/New Hanover winner, 7:30 p.m.

Friday

At highest remaining seed

Championship, 6 p.m.

Adam Thompson can be reached at 252-635-5670 or at athompson@freedomenc.com. Follow Adam on Twitter @Adam_matic.