By DAN BISER

It will be a big night of high school basketball Friday at the Whiteville High School gym as host the Wolfpack will be entertaining the East Columbus Gators in key Waccamaw 1A-2A Conference boys and girls basketball games.

Coach Mark Bridgers’ East Columbus boys team leads the conference with a 6-0 record, including a 50-45 win over Whiteville in the conference opener. A win by the Gators would give them a big boost toward the schools’ first-ever regular season championship in boys basketball.

A win by Whiteville, now with a 3-2 league record, would put Coach Glenn McKoy’s Wolfpack right back in thick of the league race along with South Columbus and Trask. South Columbus is also 3-2 in the conference while Trask is 4-2.

East Columbus, with an 11-5 season record, has relied on the strong backcourt play of junior sharpshooter Jerry Moore and senior playmaker Odell Hampton. Cameron Spears and B.J. Patrick provide plenty of versatility at forward positions while Jim Freeman, Derrick Baldwin, Jermaine Waddell and Lamaris Davis rotate at the post positions.

Whiteville, with a 7-6 season mark, has battled inconsistency so far, but some recent line-up changes may have helped eliminate some of the problems. Senior Marcel Williams has outstanding range beyond the 3-point arc while Nur Abdullah and Akebulon “Keke” Reeves give strong inside play. Guard Chris Grant has recently been moved into a starting slot and freshman Sprandon Mahoney has been called up from the junior varsity to give more support. In its most recent outing last Friday, the Wolfpack ran to a 79-49 road win over North Brunswick.

In Friday’s Whiteville-East Columbus girls game, the Lady Wolfpack will be out to keep its first place in the conference race as well as its No. 1 spot in the state 2A ranks (see related story) against an East Columbus team that has advanced at a rapid rate this season.

Coach Keith Jordan’s Lady Wolfpack is 13-0 for the season, including 5-0 in the conference, following last Friday’s 65-49 win over North Brunswick. Senior Shannon McCallum and sophomore Paige McCallum are leading the way along with junior guard Talena Faison. Portia Baldwin provides plenty of inside strength. In its first meeting with East Columbus, the Lady Wolfpack took a 74-59 win.

The East Columbus girls have a 4-2 conference record and a 12-4 season record, Their other conference loss came at the hands of Pender. Coach Karlyn Stephens’ Lady Gators have been paced by senior forward Candra Powell and freshman guard T.T. Bennett. Angelica Moore, Jessica Webb and Jasmine Young have also provided strong play.

The South Columbus boys team will go after its second conference win over North Brunswick when it travels to Leland to take on the Scorpions.

Coach Nathan Faulk’s Stallions dropped a 60-56 heart-breaker to Trask last Friday to snap a two-game conference winning streak. The Stallions, who finished 1-21 last season, are now 6-5, including their 3-2 conference mark.

Sam Fipps, Derrick Clay, Brandon Keel, Banks Batton and Bryant Edwards have emerged to bring the Stallions back to respectability on the hardcourt this season as has the recent emergence of Daryl Vereen. The SCHS girls team will try to extend its conference winning streak to three at North Brunswick as Coach Brett Burroughs’ Lady Stallions have relied on players like Lisa Holden, Web Graham and freshman post player Amanda Dowe.

Waccamaw Conference basketball dates have the girls junior varsity game beginning at 4:30, followed by the boys junior varsity, varsity girls and varsity boys.