For more than two weeks, Green Level boys basketball coach John Green felt like his season was being decided by someone else’s scoreboard.
After a first-round loss to Willow Spring in the Quad City Seven Conference tournament, the Gators were in a holding pattern — sitting on the bubble in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 8A state playoffs, watching other results roll in.
At one point, Green said, Green Level dropped out of the playoffs. Then they’d go back in. Every game played could make just enough difference to change the outcome for Green Level’s playoff hopes.
“Friday night at probably 7:45 to 8:30, a team lost that we needed to lose, and I mean we squeaked in,” Green said. “So we’ve been in limbo for about two and a half weeks.”
That late-night break has turned into one of the state’s most surprising playoff runs.
Since entering as the No. 12 seed, Green Level has won two straight road games over conference opponents to reach the third round. First, a 75-58 win over Willow Spring on Feb. 24 — the same team that knocked the Gators out of the conference tournament; then a 59-58 overtime win at Panther Creek.
Green said the uncertainty of the wait tested his team in a way no opponent could. With their fate out of their hands, he tried to keep practices light.
“We were just going to practice for an hour, get up and down, and have a little bit of fun,” Green said.
Then came Seeding Saturday. The Gators were in. The pressure eased.
“We’re kind of dealing with house money,” Green said. “A lot of people didn’t think we would even get in, so coming in as the underdog, there’s not really a lot of pressure on us.”
That freedom has shown up in big moments. None bigger than at Panther Creek.
Green Level didn’t score more than 37 points against Panther Creek in either of the two meetings during the regular season.
“You’re not gonna be able to beat many people scoring mid-thirties in a game,” Green said.
This time was different. Green Level and Panther Creek were tied 54-54 after regulation; the Catamounts’ defense had held Green Level to just two points in the overtime period.
Green Level had the ball down by two points with just over 30 seconds left. The Gators had used their final timeout to try to get Andrew Schall open off a double screen. But as the play developed, it dissolved into chaos.
“It didn’t work. And without any timeouts, you go into scramble mode,” said Green. “I was thinking, gotta get a shot off.”
Panther Creek’s defensive pressure was suffocating. The ball pressure was intense on the last possession, and the Catamounts were able to bring the defense without fouling.
But Schall still found a window.
He buried a three-point jumper with a hand in his face as time expired. Green Level fans rushed the opposing team’s court.
“That’s an incredible shot, and he deserves all the credit, because that has nothing to do with what we did as coaches,” Green said. “That’s a basketball player making a play.”
Green Level will need more plays. Now comes the biggest test yet: a third-round trip to the No. 1 seed Hoggard in Wilmington on Saturday night.
Green, familiar with the environment at Hoggard from past postseason trips, expects a hostile gym and a disciplined opponent. But the formula for the road warriors of the 8A East hasn’t changed — it’s about defense.
“The one thing that I preach is that defense travels,” Green said. “We’ve gotta make sure that we go defend for 32 minutes to give ourselves a chance down the stretch.”
And if the game is close late, Green believes the Gators have already learned how to make plays in big moments.
“If we can just give ourselves a chance, where it’s a possession-or-two game, then at that point, it’s anybody’s game,” he said.
Green Level will take on Hoggard at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday in Wilmington.
