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GREENSBORO — Tell any basketball coach his team will give up 26 points in the fourth quarter and he'll probably reach for the medicine cabinet. Northern Guilford experienced that Wednesday night and had only to reach for a phone to find out the identity of its next opponent.

The Nighthawks claimed a 70-55 victory over Cameron Union Pines fueled by a matchup zone and a resulting 18-2 run late in the first half that vaulted them into Friday's 3-A East Region sectional final. They'll play host Friday to Fayetteville Westover, a 67-58 overtime winner over North Forsyth on Wednesday.

Jonathan Frye scored 19 of his 27 points in the first half and the Nighthawks cruised thereafter, opening a 54-29 advantage before the Vikings went on an ultimately cosmetic surge.

"When you're playing with a lead like that, it's sometimes tough to keep the pedal down," Northern coach Ryan Freeman said. "I know that when we needed to clamp down and play defense, we did."

The decisive stretch came when the Nighthawks' defensive switch appeared to distract the Vikings and force them into quick and contested shots from the perimeter. The subsequent long rebounds sparked an efficient secondary break for Northern, which went 4-for-4 from 3-point range in a span of five possessions. Frye had one of the long-range shots and assisted another as the Nighthawks turned a 23-20 lead into something more comfortable.

Dylan Berry added 11 points for Northern (24-2), which is 2-0 against the Cape Fear Valley Conference this week and gets a third crack that league Friday.

The next challenge comes from the Wolverines of Westover, who feature Mike Jones, a 6-foot-6, 260-pounder known quite simply and understandably as "Big Mike."

"I have some friends who watch games and who have seen them play," Freeman said. "But I'm sure they'll have us scouted, too. They're all good teams at this point. We'll walk through stuff (today) and get ready to try and survive another one."

Cameron Union Pines 12 12 5 26 — 55
Northern Guilford 19 22 13 16 — 70

Cameron Union Pines (14-13) — Parris Manning 12, JonJon Turner 15, Eric Smith 4, Chris Henderson 16, Justin Brabham 8.

Northern Guilford (24-2) — Jonathan Frye 27, Dylan Berry 11, D.C. Arendas 9, Daniel Downing 8, Patrick Chandler 6, Jon McBeth 3, Jalen Ross 6.