Prep basketball gameday: Teams closing regular season with playoff positioning in mind

The final day of the regular season is here as seedings get finalized for the state postseason tournament that starts on Tuesday. Some teams can still clinch a region title with a win, while others are fighting for better positioning.

Here are Friday’s games to watch for:

(Girls) Indian Land (9-15, 5-4) at Lancaster (6-14, 6-3), 6:15 p.m.

This is a battle for second seed in the region, which means a home playoff game in the first round for the victors. Lancaster simply needs a win to secure its spot at second. However, if Indian Land wins, it opens up a possibility for the Warriors or for Catawba Ridge to snatch away that second seed due to tiebreakers. Lancaster won the previous meeting between these two schools in a 51-45 overtime thriller on Jan. 23.

(Girls) Catawba Ridge (7-17, 5-4) at Northwestern (2-21, 1-8), 6:15 p.m.

As mentioned earlier, Catawba Ridge needs a win over Northwestern to keep itself viable for the second seed in the region and a first-round home playoff game. Northwestern can lock up fifth place with a win or a York loss. That position is huge for Region 3-4A because despite it not carrying an automatic bid for the postseason, the fifth-place team usually plays as an at-large seed in the lower state side of the 4A state tournament.

(Boys) No. 2 Catawba Ridge (21-3, 8-1) at Northwestern (11-14, 2-7), 7:45 p.m.

Thanks to a loss against Indian Land on Tuesday, Catawba Ridge need a win over Northwestern Friday night to secure the top spot in the region. The Copperheads won the first matchup 67-36, with sophomore Lance Barnes leading all scorers with 20 points. Northwestern is locked into fifth place and will likely be an at-large seed in the lower state side of the state tournament.

(Boys) Indian Land (19-6, 7-2) at No. 9 Lancaster (18-7, 7-2), 7:45 p.m.

Indian Land can finish as high as first or as low as third in the region depending on how things shake up Friday night. A win for the Warriors and a loss by Catawba Ridge means that Indian Land would be declared region champions. However, Lancaster still has a lot to play for, as a win for the Bruins means that they would finish second in the region and begin their upper state championship defense at home.

(Boys) C.A. Johnson (12-12, 7-2) at No. 10 Great Falls (13-5, 6-2), 8 p.m.

Great Falls meets up with C.A. Johnson in a game where winner takes region. Great Falls won the first matchup 55-48 on Jan. 23. The Red Devils have been on a tear as of late, winning five of their past six and averaging 67.8 points per game in that stretch.

(Boys) Fort Mill (15-10, 5-4) at Nation Ford (12-12, 5-4), 8 p.m.

This matchup is a battle for second place and a first-round home playoff game. Nation Ford comes into this game winning five of its last seven but lost its previous game against Spring Valley. Meanwhile, Fort Mill has ripped off two wins in a row after losing four of its previous five. Nation Ford won 68-62 in overtime at Fort Mill the past time these two met on Jan. 23. AJ Washington leads Fort Mill with 16.1 points per game and 4.5 rebounds per game, while Nation Ford’s Jackson Burnham is the region’s leading scorer at 21.7 points per game.