The Orange Panthers and Chapel Hill Tigers meet for the third time this season Wednesday night, and this time it’s win or go home.

The Panthers are the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 3A East Regional No. 1 seed and breezed past their first-round opponents, the South Brunswick Cougars, 75-51.

The No. 16-seeded Tigers had a bit of a tougher opening round, taking the 55-53 victory with a make at the buzzer against the No. 17-seeded Western Guilford Hornets.

The Panthers swept the regular season against the Tigers with a 25-point victory in mid-January and a six-point decision in early February. However, those were the only Big Eight Conference losses for Chapel Hill, and Orange dropped back-to-back games to Cardinal Gibbons and Southern for a share of the regular season conference title.

Both teams were supposed to meet in the Big Eight tournament championship game, but No. 3 seed Southern took down Chapel Hill in the semifinals, 52-48, and the next day went on to steal the title away from Orange, 67-53.

Southern advanced to the second round of the state playoffs with a 72-62 win against Southern Nash Monday night. The Spartans are the East Regional No. 13 seed and host the No. 29-seeded McMichael Phoenix after they upset the No. 4 seeded Triton Hawks in the opening round.

If the winning continues, the Spartans could meet Chapel Hill or Orange in the sectional final, which takes place Tuesday, March 4.

Due to the broadcast of the UNC men’s basketball game against N.C. State, WCHL Championship Sports will broadcast the Orange-Chapel Hill game exclusively on Chapelboro.com (click here). Pregame coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. with the tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

2014 NCHSAA State Championships
3A Boys’ Bracket

Click here for a preview of the 3A and 2A girls’ NCHSAA second round.

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