Apex (14-12) Apex couldn’t find the same magic from last year’s miracle run to the state title game, and fell in the first round of the NCHSAA 4-A playoffs to Enloe by the 67-59 score. The Cougars did have some bright moments this year — like being the only Tri-Eight team to defeat Panther Creek and posting an 11-2 record at home (losing those games by five points combined). The Cougars will be losing three key seniors next season in Houston Hawley, Brandon Carr and Adam Perry. However, Apex should be one of the conference favorites next year as they return a good nucleus with juniors Weston Murphy, Connor Belicic, Kyle Waters, Mike Fogg and sophomore Sunil Ram all coming back.

Athens Drive (22-6) One of the best seasons in recent Athens Drive history came to an end in the first round of the NCHSAA 4-A playoffs when the Jaguars were bounced from the tournament by the 72-45 score. Athens had started the year with a 13-0 and were a game away from hosting a first-round game. The accomplishments of the Jags seniors will be hard to replicate next season. “They’ve been a good group,” coach Robert Clemons said. “One of the better groups that’s been through here in about 10 years.” Clemons will especially miss Josh Davis’ production. The 6-foot-6 senior led the conference with just over 25 points and 10 rebounds per game. In fact, in a conference tournament game against Cary, Davis had 34 points, 18 rebounds, eight assists, five steals and one block. Next year could be a rebuilding one for Athens. The leading returning scorer is Rahim Jenkins, who averaged 3.5 per contest this year.

Cary (4-20) As far as 4-20 teams go, there might not have been a better one in the state than Cary. The Imps lost five times as much as they won, but still managed to upset Green Hope, come within a point of taking down Middle Creek on the road, and lose by single digits to four other playoff-bound teams. Most of the hopes for next year will rest on rising junior Austin Brannen. Brannen earned honorable mention conference honors while averaging 7.4 points per game. Cary will lose a number of contributors from this year’s team, including Kevin Windley, Quan Harris, Parker Stephenson and defensive stopper Kevin Chege.

Cary Academy (18-10) Cary Academy coach Kenny Inge’s first year at the helm was about as good as it could have when playing in the same conference as Ravenscroft and McDonald's All-American Ryan Kelly. The Chargers made it back to the NCISAA 3-A playoffs for the first time since 2001, losing in the first round to Forsyth Country Day 80-56. Cary Academy also finished TISAC runner-up in the regular season and conference tournament. The Chargers are going to miss three senior starters.

Cary Christian (10-17) While a 10-17 mark may not be celebrated at many schools, it was a landmark year at Cary Christian. The Knights won six of their eight conference games, came within a quarter from winning the conference championship game and went to the NCISAA 2-A playoffs for the first time in school history. Cary Christian, two years removed from going 0-for the conference, bowed out of the first round with a 73-55 loss to Gaston Country Day, but coach Danny Thomas can’t help but be excited about the future. “I’m expecting big things out of this team in the future but we have a lot of work to do in the off-season to get there,” Thomas said in an e-mail. The Knights will return rising junior Lindsey Johnson, who was a first team All-EPIC player this year after scoring 13.7 points per game.

Green Hope (9-17) Green Hope lost a heartbreaker to Garner in the first round of the NCHSAA 4-A playoffs, 75-74 and had to say goodbye to seniors Shawn Shaffer and Sam Archer. But if there’s a reason for optimism heading into next year, it could be seen about an hour and a half before the Falcons took the floor this year — the JV team. The JV Falcons were Tri-Eight champions, led by 6-foot-7 Max Povse, who started for the varsity in that Garner game and scored 19 points. The Falcons return rising senior Mo Somadjabi and rising junior Kameron Bryant, and will benefit from the promotion of the conference’s best JV players.

Holly Springs (7-18) The Golden Hawks wrapped up their final year as a member of the Greater Neuse Conference in the first round of the conference tournament with a 90-52 loss to Knightdale. It was a rough year for Holly Springs, which endured an eight-game losing streak from late November into December. Next year Holly Springs will join the Tri-Nine Conference. This year, the Golden Hawks were 2-3 against Tri-Eight members.

Fuquay-Varina (0-24*) It was a trying season for the Bengals, and that was before they self-reported the use of an ineligible player, costing them three wins (hence, the asterisk). But “wait till next year” isn’t an empty promise in Fuquay, where the Bengals are set to return their top four scorers from this year, including rising junior Dominique Byrd.

For final stories/recaps on Middle Creek, just visit the SWakeSports blog. For Panther Creek's, return to carynews.com/sports.