For the second straight season, the South Stanly men’s basketball opened the state playoffs at home.

South earned a No. 10 seed in the West as the top 1A seed from the Yadkin Valley Conference and hosted No. 23 Avery County Tuesday night.

The Bulls earned a 70-67 win over the Vikings to advance to the second round of the state playoffs for the second year in a row.

Jayden Woods led three in double figures for South (17-8) with 19 points. Gavyn Miller added 16 and Cohen Whitley had 12, while two other Bulls, Jaxon Valler and Jarrett Hinson, scored nine and eight, respectively.

Landon Line was the top scorer for Avery County (14-12) with 14 points while Landon Harmon added 11 and Mark Johnson scored 10.

The Bulls led after one quarter, 17-13, and built a nine-point lead midway through the second, forcing a Vikings timeout. South led at halftime 32-26.

A Hinson bucket in the lane put South up 41-30 at the 5:24 mark of the third period. The lead for South in the third grew to 13 points, and the hosts led at the end of the third 49-43.

Avery narrowed the gap to one over the first three minutes of the fourth with a 10-4 run, and momentarily took the lead with 1:52 left on the clock on a Weston Woody hook shot in the lane.

Hinson gave the lead seconds later right back to South with a jumper in the lane, and the Bulls hit free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

South Stanly travels to No. 7 Eastern Randolph (17-8) Friday night at 7 for a second-round playoff contest. The Wildcats won Tuesday night at home against No. 26 Mitchell 84-63.