Staff report

The NCHSAA announced basketball playoff seeding and pairings on Saturday.

First-round games are scheduled for Tuesday. Teams with the better seeds are at home.

Saturday’s seeding brought no major surprises for the Rowan County squads. Three boys teams and five girls teams are in the brackets.

The only Rowan team considered to be on the bubble was the South Rowan girls. The Raiders got in at No. 31 in the 32-team 3A West bracket and will head to the mountains to play No. 2 North Buncombe.

As expected, Carson’s girls and Salisbury’s girls, both riding long winning streaks, received lofty seeds that provide the opportunity to play lots of home games.

Defending 3A champ Carson is No. 1 in the 3A West bracket and has an interesting first-round matchup in No. 32 West Charlotte, the top 3A team in a predominantly 4A conference. The Lions took their lumps in their conference, but they won’t be a normal pushover No. 32.

Seeded second in the 2A West bracket, Salisbury will host No. 31 Surry Central.

West Rowan’s girls got the No. 12 seed in the 3A West and will welcome No. 21 Ledford, which moved up from 2A to 3A this school year. Located between High Point, Winston-Salem and Thomsaville, Ledford has been a rival of Salisbury in 2A.

North Rowan’s girls have eight losses, but five were to Carson and Salisbury. The Cavaliers got the No. 4 seed in the 1A West bracket. They’ll have the home-court advantage against No. 29 Hayesville, which will be traveling to Spencer from the mountains.

Salisbury’s boys are seeded sixth in the 2A West bracket. The Hornets will host No. 28 Reidsville in the first round. Reidsville is only 10-10 this season, but it’s a school that always has great athletes.

North Rowan’s boys are No. 14 in the 1A West bracket. They’ll face No. 19 Queen’s Grant, a charter schools in Mint Hill.

West Rowan’s boys are No. 22 and will be on the road in Denver to play No. 11 East Lincoln (22-5). That will be a tough game. East Lincoln lost a close game Friday against Hickory, one of the best in 3A.

Davie boys are No. 27 in the 4A West bracket. They’ll play at No. 6 East Forsyth, a Central Piedmont Conference rival. The War Eagles lost two tight games to East Forsyth  during the regular season.

Lots of Rowan County basketball fans follow Central Cabarrus’ strong boys, who are coached by North Rowan grad and former Catawba player and coach Jim Baker.

The undefeated Vikings are No. 2 in the 3A West bracket and will host No. 31 North Bumcombe.

Carson’s girls beat third-seeded Northwest Cabarrus 53-47 on Friday for the South Piedmont Conference Tournament championship as top-seeded Carson won its 13th straight game despite committing 21 turnovers and allowing 16 offensive rebounds.

Salisbury’s girls came out making 3-pointers, took a 23-0 lead at the outset and handled North Rowan 59-38 in Friday’s Central Carolina Conference Tournament championship game. The top-seeded Hornets (22-1) got 24 points from Kyla Bryant, including 18 in the first half. They won their third straight CCC tournament title, to go along with four straight regular-season championships.

Salisbury has won 21 games in a row.

Juke Harris scored 25 points, as Salisbury’s boyds ended a 10-year wait for another CCC tournament title. The Hornets beat second-seeded Thomasville 83-68.