TERRA CEIA — The Terra Ceia and Pungo basketball teams will take to the hardwood tomorrow to write another chapter of a half-century old, ageless rivalry.

Deemed the underdogs to their backyard adversary, the Knights derailed the Tarheel Independent Conference Champion Raiders twice last season en route to a TIC Tournament title. But this year, with Pungo having lost seven seniors to graduation and transfers, it’s the young Knights team, boasting an impressive 15-2 record, which enters as the clear-cut favorite. Though, whenever these two teams come together on the same court, nothing is ever written in stone.

“I would look for a battle, it usually is regardless of who might be favored,” said Terra Ceia head coach Roger Klaassen. “I know they’re going to give us all they can handle and we need to be prepared to bring our game to the table.”

Feeding off last season’s success at the jayvee level, Pungo finds itself in the early stages of a rebuilding process with an entirely new starting lineup, centered around junior guards Will Respess and Landon Woolard, the brother of last season’s TIC scoring leader, Cole Austin Woolard.

The Raiders have spent the season setting a foundation for the future, but have had some success while doing so. With an overall record of 5-7 and a 4-2-conference record, Pungo is sitting comfortably in the middle of the table, only behind Terra Ceia and Lawrence, two teams with undefeated conference records.

“I feel like we’re spreading (the workload) out, still trying to find our identity, still trying to find our leader,” said Pungo head coach Jason Adams. “We have a couple guys still showing signs of leadership, but we’re still trying to find that leader. Once we do, hopefully by the end of the year we will be where we want to be.”

Similar to their opponent, Terra Ceia has leaned on the production of a former player’s sibling. Last season, it was Kyle Hendrix who navigated his team on a late-season run. Now, sophomore Tyler Hendrix has not only become Klaassen’s go-to scorer in the paint, but one of the top players in the county and conference as well.

Tyler Hendrix enters is the TIC’s No. 2 in scoring, averaging 20 points, 12.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. The sophomore duo of Quentin Van Essendelft and Austin Roscoe has provided a productive, agile backcourt compliment to Tyler Hendrix and the result has been a high-octane, transition offense that has kept nearly every team struggling to keep pace by the third quarter.

“We have an opportunity for offense from all five of our positions on the floor during all parts of the game,” Klaassen said. “At any point, anyone of them can have a big game. It’s an all-around effort. This group has played together a long time. They know each other, look for each other on the court and that’s what it’s all about, getting the best opportunity.”

Both coaches have spent the week planning for tomorrow’s big game. For the speedy Knights, Klaassen has focused on containing the perimeter via a pressure zone defense in hopes of taking the Raiders’ shooters out of the equation. Adams is stressing patience and transition defense, hoping his team can slow the game down and rebound efficiently.

Whatever the state of the teams or circumstances, the rivalry has traditionally produced competitive, down-to-the-wire exhibitions that draw hundreds to the undersized gymnasiums in Terra Ceia and Belhaven.

“That rivalry across the board, whether it’s on the soccer field or basketball court or baseball field, it’s there,” Klaassen said. “We’re very close in proximity to each other and we love competing against each other … We leave it all on the court and it’s just a good backyard rivalry.”

Adams shares a similar opinion.

“When Terra Ceia and Pungo get together, you can throw the records out the window,” he said. “The fan bases behind each team just takes both teams to the other level. The thing about Roger’s team is that they aren’t going give up, no matter how big the lead is.”

With all four teams in action tomorrow night, the varsity boys game is expected to begin around 8 p.m.