Host Cape Fear Christian Academy advanced to the boys and girls championship games of the Senior Classic basketball tournament with a pair of wins on Friday night.

In the girls game, Cape Fear Christian rallied in the second half, taking a 51-49 win over visiting Wayne Christian School on a game-winning 3-pointer from junior Zykia Matthews with five seconds left.

“I think the change (in the second half) was when we came out in a 1-3-1 defense, where we just picked up our intensity,” said Cape Fear Christian girls coach Bobby Lamb. “That second quarter where we didn’t score any points, the girls went on a shooting slump. But they made up for it in the third and fourth quarter with their defense.”

Matthews had 14 points, eighth-grader Aubree Bass had 13 points and freshman Meredith Taylor had 10 points to lead the homestanding Eagles (1-0).

Talisha McNeill had six points for CFCA. Meghan Taylor and Kristen Bass had four points apiece.

For Wayne, sophomore Brittany Butts had 17 points. Senior Abi Harrelson and sophomore Brianna Verme had nine points apiece to lead the visiting Eagles (0-2).

CFCA held a 13-11 lead at the end of the first quarter, but did not score in the second quarter, as Wayne went on a 15-0 run to lead 26-13 at halftime.

After outscoring Wayne 16-9 in the third quarter to cut the lead to 35-29, CFCA opened the fourth quarter on an 11-3 run, taking the lead on a score from Matthews midway through the final period.

Late in the fourth, CFCA held a 48-47 lead when Butts drew a foul and made a pair of free throws to put Wayne back in front. But with five seconds left, Matthews hit from three to give the lead back to CFCA. She turned and shot from several feet beyond the arc.

“(Matthews) told me when we went into the locker room, she had been practicing that shot,” Lamb said.

After a timeout, CFCA’s defense did not allow Wayne a clean look at a potential game-tying shot and the last attempt went wide.

In the boys semifinal, Cape Fear Christian routed visiting Brown Leadership Academy 76-22.

“We started out kind of slow,” said Cape Fear Christian boys coach Kalen Eddings. “They jumped out on us in a 1-3-1 (defense) and we haven’t really seen that yet. So, it took a minute for us to kind of get going. But the guys played hard.

“In the second quarter I think we didn’t give up a bucket, which is beautiful. We’ve been working hard guarding the ball and staying in front of our man. We’re going to play man defense, so I think the guys did a good job executing that tonight, for sure.”

A pair of seniors led the Eagles (2-0), as Austin Locklear had 21 points and Greg Moneymaker had 12 points.

“(Locklear) has always been able to fill it up, offensively,” Eddings said. “One of biggest things with him is just being better defensively. He’s a three-level scorer. He’s athletic. He’s bouncy. He shoots it from mid-range well and he shoots it from three really, really well. He’s a special, special kid.”

DeShawn Woods had eight points. Jeremyah McWilliams, Jamael Carter and Silla Tako had six points apiece. Milos Prodanovic had four points. Eli O’Brien, Barrett Raynor and Paul Tako had three points apiece. Alijah Miles and Zeke Brock had two points apiece.

Every active player on the Eagles’ roster saw significant playing time during the game.

“That’s huge for our guys,” Eddings said. “All of our guys work hard from the varsity to the JV level. Our coaches demand a lot from them. So, getting out there and seeing everybody getting a bucket or getting a rebound, getting something in the stat sheet, is awesome. That’s every coach’s dream.”

Mykell McKoy had six points and Mykyle Daniels had five points to lead the Bulldogs.

The Eagles outscored the Bulldogs 26-8 in the first quarter, 31-0 in the second and 9-3 in the third. The Bulldogs outscored the Eagles 11-10 in the fourth quarter. The clock ran continuously in the second half.

In the other two games on Friday, Wilson Prep took a pair of wins over Bethel Christian, with the girls winning 47-18 and the boys winning 76-25.

On Saturday, Bethel Christian will meet Wayne Christian in the girls consolation game at 11 a.m., followed by the boys consolation game between Bethel Christian and Brown Leadership Academy at 12:30 p.m. The girls championship between Cape Fear Christian and Wilson Prep will follow at 2 p.m., followed by the boys championship between Cape Fear Christian and Wilson Prep at 3:30.

“We watched Wilson Prep play,” Eddings said. “They’re scrappy. They’re going to get after it. I read an article where their coach said they work on defense a lot and that was pretty evident. We’re going to have to be smart tomorrow. We’re going to have to make good decisions with the ball. If not, they’re going to force a lot of turnovers.”