With two teams in the top-10 in the state and a third hovering on the outside, the Tri-Eight Conference is arguably the toughest conference in North Carolina this season.

Minus any head-to-head meetings, Panther Creek, Middle Creek and Athens Drive have combined for three losses this season. Even still, each team has had scares against other conference opponents — the latest of these coming Friday night at Middle Creek.

Cary came into that game with as many wins (two) as the Mustangs had losses. But the Imps had the ball with 0.8 seconds left on the clock and down by one.

But Colton Lehman’s 3-point attempt bounced off the front rim, preventing what would’ve been the conference’s and maybe the state’s biggest upset so far.

“Everybody in our league has to come every night. There are no nights off,” Panther Creek coach L.J. Hepp said.

Hepp would know.

Even though Panther Creek (19-1) has been ranked No. 1 in the state since the first statewide poll came out, and even while armed with future Auburn Tiger Earnest Ross and forward Marques Oliver — who has started to pick up interest from Division I schools in recent weeks — the Catamounts eked out a four-point win over 7-13 Green Hope back in December.

“[The conference] was strong last year, but I can’t remember it being this strong. Not since I’ve been here,” Athens coach Robert Clemons said. “Because of the make-up of our team, we have to play every night ... There are no easy nights. You can’t disrespect anybody because of their record. Anything can happen on any given night.”

Part of what makes the conference so tough is the number of marquee players in the league. Even teams like Lee County (6-11) and Green Hope have players like Alex Tucker and Shawn Shaffer who are capable of scoring 20-plus points.

Middle Creek (17-3) has athletic guard/forward Garrius Adams, on his way to Miami next year, as well as sharp-shooting Tom Tankelewicz, who has signed to play for Charleston Southern. The Athens Drive (18-2) team is led by senior center Josh Davis, who is averaging 25.6 points per game.

“The three teams that are at the top of the league returned a lot,” Hepp said. “We returned everybody, Athens returned four starters and Middle Creek returned two guys scoring 20 [points] a game. We felt the Tri-Eight would be one of the best teams in our area.”

With so much strength at the top of the conference, it’s been tough going on the rest of the competitive league.

Apex, which lost in the state title game last year, fell below .500 thanks to a rugged Tri-Eight schedule that has provided no breaks.

Before Tuesday’s game after press time against Panther Creek, the Cougars had lost three straight by an average of four points a game.

“We’ve got to beat somebody. Panther Creek, Middle Creek and Athens have gaudy records and deservingly so, they are very good basketball teams,” Apex coach David Neal said. “But if we could’ve won [versus Athens or Middle Creek] we’d be sitting in a different spot right now in the conference standings.”

With just two weeks left in the regular season, teams are running out of time to jockey for position in the standings. The top five teams in the conference advance to the playoffs, which at press time meant the top three teams plus Apex and Lee County, which owns a tiebreaker with Green Hope.

“In a competitve league, at the end of the day it’s just another win,” Hepp said. “When you’re just trying to chalk up as many wins as you can, they’re all equal.”