PITTSBORO - After going undefeated in league play in the regular season, Carrboro’s boys held off a challenge from Northwood to win 63-55 in the Carolina-12 2A tournament finals Friday.

The girls’ title matchup was even closer as Northwood needed a defensive stop in the closing seconds to top Granville Central and junior Keena Evans, 42-41.

All four teams will advance to the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 2A playoffs, with pairings to be announced Saturday. See www.newsobserver.com for complete pairings.

The Carrboro girls team (15-9) also expected to be included in the NCHSAA playoffs after reaching the semifinals of the Carolina-12 tournament.

Seeded No. 4 in the conference tournament, Carrboro’s girls defeated Durham School of the Arts 52-30 in a first-round game, then gave the top-seeded Chargers a hard time before bowing out with a 53-49 loss Wednesday.

Seeded No. 1 after finishing 16-0 in Carolina-12 boys play, Carrboro earned a first-round bye in the tournament and then topped Cedar Ridge 69-41 in a semifinal game Wednesday.

In the Carolina-12 finals Friday at Northwood, Carrboro (22-3) had to withstand a 14-0 run by the Chargers in the first half that gave No. 2-seeded Northwood a 27-24 halftime lead.

But defense and a balanced offensive attack allowed the Jaguars to retake the lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter and hold on the rest of the game.

“At halftime we had our guards, McLean Phipps and Trai Sharp, in foul trouble, but we were only down three points,” Carrboro coach John Alcox said. “And Northwood was playing hard against us – they always do. We knew we had to play together and play defense.”

Northwood (16-10) got 26 points from senior guard Aumad Walker, and sophomore Ti Pinnix added 11.

“We’re a young team, and we’ve gotten better during the season,” said Northwood first-year coach Donald Williams, who led North Carolina to the NCAA title as a player in 1993. “But we are still a young team, and it shows in stretches. We still need to put 32 minutes together.”

Northwood’s girls (22-4) added the tournament title to their regular-season crown, despite 25 points by the Panthers’ Evans.

Northwood led most of the way, but Evans hit three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, including one with 1:38 to play that put her team ahead 41-40.

“And we played good defense, had a hand in her face on that shot,” Northwood coach Cameron Vernon said. “She is just so good.”

Northwood’s Jasmine Harris hit the game-winner on a short jumper with 54 seconds left.

After that, Granville missed a shot, but got another possession on a Chargers turnover with 7 seconds to play. While Northwood denied Evans the ball, Granville Central got the ball downcourt and missed a short scoring opportunity as the game ended.

Adkins, a freshman, led the winners with 18 and sophomore guard Shontai Totten scored 10.