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The Northside, Southside and Washington girls and boys basketball teams start their conference tournaments next week, with the state tournament just around the corner.

Washington: The boys (16-7, 9-2) wrapped up the Eastern Plains 2A Conference regular season Friday night at home against Ayden-Grifton (12-10, 3-8) and have clinched second place in the league behind Farmville Central (22-1, 11-0). They will host seventh-place North Pitt (3-20, 1-10) in the opening round of the league tournament Tuesday. Sophomore point guard Chaise Smith leads the league with 18.1 points and 6.6 assists per game. Senior post player Gary Payne is the top rebounder at 10.4 and the 10th leading scorer at 13.1. Junior Javon Williams adds 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists per game. The Pack is eighth in the latest MaxPreps 2A East poll and are set up for at least one home game in the state tournament.
The girls are 2-17 overall and were in line for their second league victory over Ayden-Grifton (2-21, 0-11) Friday. Junior Breanna Perry is the league’s second-leading scorer at 23 points a game. A first round conference tournament game at SW Edgecombe is next.

Northside: The girls (18-3, 7-3) take on rival Pamlico County (7-3, 11-12) in the Coastal Plains Conference tournament semi-finals Tuesday at East Carteret. The teams split a pair of regular season games, each winning at home. The winner is in line for the top seed from the conference for the state tournament since first-place East Carteret is 2A.
Senior Mariah Jones leads the Panthers with 15.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, while junior guard Olivia Jane (O.J.) Cahoon is next with 15 points a game.
The boys (16-8, 5-5) hosted Jones (9-15, 2-8) in the conference tournament opener Friday. Their path through the state tournament depends on what happens in the league competition. Sophomore Malachi Moore leads the team with 15.4 points a game, while senior Griffin Johnson adds 15.1 and pulls down a team-high nine rebounds per contest.

Southside: The boys (3-21, 0-10) played at Lejeune (11-11, 5-5) in Friday’s tournament opener. Junior Josh Armstrong leads the injury-riddled Seahawks with 18.4 points and 4.7 rebounds. Southside has played without senior starters Nolan Dixon and Tequon Moore most of the conference season after season-ending injuries.
The girls, (14-9, 4-6) hosted Lejeune (3-15, 2-8) in the league tournament’s first round Friday and are looking at being on the road for the state tournament unless they can pull an upset or two. Junior I’Kiriyah Minor is the leading scorer at 12.7 points a game.
State tournament pairings will be announced Feb. 24 with games starting the 27th.