Though Pike County, Charles Henderson and Goshen’s basketball teams all have different players, coaches and playing styles, they find themselves in the same position heading in to Friday night.

All three area teams will hit the road for their respective area tournaments. Goshen will travel to Elba to play New Brockton. Pike County heads over to Barbour County to play Montgomery Catholic. Charles Henderson makes the long trip to Headland where they will play Bullock County.

In another coincidence, all three Pike County teams finished 3-3 in area play and split the season series with their first round opponent.

A win in the first round of the area tournament guarantees a team a spot in the sub-regional round of the playoffs, which will be played Feb. 13 or 14.

The home team won both games in the season series when Goshen and New Brockton squared off earlier this year. New Brockton handled Goshen 56-44 in New Brockton. Goshen returned the favor when New Brockton made the return visit. The Eagles are flying high heading in to the tournament, fresh off a win over Providence Christian.

Goshen head coach Johnny Mitchell said the difference between Goshen and New Brockton was as close as could be. “We split with them in the regular season,” Mitchell said. “They had a player out, and we beat them by double digits here. We had a player out and they beat us by double digits there. It doesn’t get any closer than that.”

In Pike County’s first game against Montgomery Catholic, the Bulldogs stole a 35-34 win on the road. The Knights returned the favor when they beat Pike County 49-45 in Brundidge.

The Bulldogs are riding the momentum of two straight wins, 67-60 over Abbeville and 54-40 over Ariton, heading in to the tournament. Head coach Doug Holland said having some momentum heading in to the tournament was crucial for his team. “We picked up a win against Ariton,” Holland said. “It was much needed heading in to the area tournament.”

Charles Henderson followed the same path as the Bulldogs. The Trojans beat Bullock County 64-51 in Union Springs but lost 63-61 in Troy. Charles Henderson will look to pick up their first win in three weeks when they play the Hornets later today. The Trojans have dropped three straight to Smiths Station, Carroll and Abbeville to close the season.

Goshen plays New Brockton at 6 p.m. in Elba.

Pike County plays Montgomery Catholic at 6 p.m. in Clayton.

Charles Henderson plays Bullock County at 5 p.m. in Headland.