By Sonny Jones
Basketball season is red-hot. Take Monday’s East Bladen at West Bladen boys game as an example with the homestanding Knights winning against their county rivals in overtime.
The ACC is heading into the home stretch with Clemson surprisingly on top. North Carolina is lurking, NC State is winning and Duke beat Wake Forest 75-73 on Tuesday in a thriller.
Closer to home, the UNC Pembroke men’s basketball team is 21-1 and the women’s team has gone 15-2 since beginning the season with five losses.
The Carolina Hurricanes rallied from three goals down in the third period Tuesday night to beat the Los Angeles 5-4 in overtime. It was a great game to watch in person.
And we’ve had rain the past several days, the ground is soaked and a cold spell is expected. Which can mean only one thing: spring sports can’t be far behind.
Spring sports practices for high school teams officially can start Feb. 13 and games can be played beginning Feb. 27. Keep the heavy coat handy and get ready.
Here are the scheduled Bladen County openers … need we say, weather permitting.
Monday, Feb. 27
BASEBALL
West Bladen JV at Gray’s Creek JV, 4 p.m.
West Bladen at Gray’s Creek, 7 p.m.
GOLF
SAC-7 at Sandy Ridge Golf Course, 1 p.m.
Tuesday,Feb. 28
BASEBALL
South Columbus JV at East Bladen JV, 4 p.m.
South Columbus at East Bladen, 6:30 p.m.
SOFTBALL
South Columbus at East Bladen, 6 p.m.
West Bladen at Hoke County, 6 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
South Columbus at East Bladen, 5 p.m.
Purnell Swett at West Bladen, 6 p.m.
TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
• 2004 — The New England Patriots win their second Super Bowl in three seasons after Adam Vinatieri kicks a field goal with 4 seconds left to lift his team to a 32-29 victory over the Carolina Panthers.
POTATO PICKS TO WATCH TODAY
• FOOTBALL: Signing Day Special, 2:30 p.m., ESPNU
• FOOTBALL: Signing Day Special, 6 p.m., ACCN
• BASKETBALL: Pittsburgh at North Carolina, 7 p.m., ACCN
• BASKETBALL: East Carolina at South Florida, 7 p.m., ESPNU
• NHL: Carolina at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m., TNT
• NBA: Brooklyn at Boston, 7:45 p.m., ESPN
• BASKETBALL: Florida State at NC State, 9 p.m., ACCN
• NBA: Atlanta at Phoenix, 10:05 p.m., ESPN
Sonny Jones can be reached at wibbyj@gmail.com.
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