03/29/2024
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By Sonny Jones

Bladen County high school varsity basketball teams have compiled 24 wins and 2 losses on the right side of the standings.

Tonight, in Sampson County, those teams will begin to fill the more important left side of the standings when Southeastern Athletic Conference play opens. East Bladen plays at Midway and West Bladen plays at Clinton. It’s the lone league games this month.

Usually during the few weeks of non-conference play leading up to conference play you can get an idea which teams may contend and which won’t. This season appears different. It’s anyone’s guess what might happen between now and early February in Southeastern play.

Two of the seven boys teams have yet to lose (West Bladen and Red Springs) and two have only one loss (East Bladen and Midway). Perennial power St. Pauls is only 3-3, but has won its lone conference game and figures to be in the hunt.

Meanwhile, none of the seven girls teams have a losing record prior to Friday’s games. East Bladen is 7-0. West Bladen and Clinton each have one loss. St. Pauls, Midway and Fairmont each have two losses. Red Springs is 4-3.

Comparing scores isn’t the best way to compare teams, but let’s do it anyway.

The East Bladen boys beat Whiteville 51-45 and 58-54. Fairmont got its lone win Wednesday in the opening round of the Robeson Shootout by beating the Wolfpack 61-46.

The Heide Trask boys beat East Bladen 56-50 and beat Clinton 74-49 and 91-47.

The West Bladen boys beat East Columbus 48-36 and 61-37. The East Bladen boys beat East Columbus 59-39 and 64-37.

The Lumberton boys beat Fairmont 73-36 and St. Pauls 58-33.

The East Bladen girls beat Whiteville 43-41 and 56-44. Fairmont beat the Wolfpack 51-25 on Wednesday in the opening round of the Robeson Shootout.

The East Bladen girls defeated 55-11. The Clinton girls beat Trask 54-20 and 57-16.

The West Bladen girls lost to East Columbus 59-35, then rallied to beat the Gators 67-66. The East Bladen girls beat East Columbus 61-29 and 58-31.

The Fairmont girls beat Lumberton 53-32 while St. Pauls defeated the Pirates 62-35.

Again, make what you want of those scores. It certainly doesn’t tell you who will win a particular game, but it does tell you this season figures to have some hotly contested boys and girls basketball games and more than a couple of teams in the hunt for the championship.

It should make for a fun January when the numbers on the left side of the standings pile up.

SOUTHEASTERN 2-A
BOYS’ BASKETBALL
CONF.
ALL
W-L
W-L
St. Pauls
1-0
3-3
West Bladen
0-0
6-0
Red Springs
0-0
6-0
East Bladen
0-0
6-1
Midway
0-0
6-1
Clinton
0-0
2-5
Fairmont
0-1
1-6

SOUTHEASTERN 2-A
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
CONF.
ALL
W-L
W-L
St. Pauls
1-0
5-2
East Bladen
0-0
7-0
Clinton
0-0
6-1
West Bladen
0-0
5-1
Midway
0-0
5-2
Red Springs
0-0
4-3
Fairmont
0-1
6-2

TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

• 2003 — New Orleans Saints receiver Joe Horn, who played at Fayetteville’s Douglas Byrd High School, is fined $30,000 by the NFL for making a choreographed cell-phone call in the end zone to celebrate a touchdown during the Saints’ 45-7 rout of the New York Giants on Dec. 14.

POTATO PICKS TO WATCH TODAY

• FOOTBALL: Bahamas Bowl: Miami (Ohio) vs. Alabama-Birmingham, 11:30 a.m., ESPN

• GOLF: PNC Championship, noon, GOLF

• HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Carthage (Texas) vs. Wimberley (Texas), noon, BALLY SOUTH

• FOOTBALL: Cure Bowl: Texas-San Antonio vs. Troy, 3 p.m., ESPN

• HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: China Spring (Texas) vs. Boerne (Texas), 4 p.m., BALLY SOUTH

• FOOTBALL: NCAA FCS Semifinal: Incarnate Word at North Dakota State, 7 p.m., ESPN2

• FOOTBALL: NCAA Division III championship: Mount Union vs. North Central (Ill.), 7 p.m., ESPNU

• NBA: Golden State at Philadelphia, 7:45 p.m., ESPN

• HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Dallas (Texas) South Oak Cliff vs. Port Neches-Groves (Texas), 8 p.m., BALLY SOUTH

• NBA: Denver at L.A. Lakers, 10:05 p.m., ESPN

Sonny Jones can be reached at wibbyj@gmail.com.

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