Heritage saw its once 17-point lead widdled down to a single possession in the fourth quarter, but the Huskies were able to hold off Chapel Hill in the first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A boys basketball playoffs on Tuesday night.

The 17-seed Huskies started their road playoff game red hot, but 16-seed Chapel Hill rallied in the second half and got within three points before Heritage secured a 53-46 victory.

A 9-2 run to start the game set the tone for Heritage, which gave up just 10 points in the first half.

Levi Beckwith hit a three-point shot at the halftime buzzer to give the Huskies a 25-10 lead at the break. The 15-point lead was the largest of the game to that point for Heritage.

The lead grew early in the third quarter when Heritage went up by 17 points, but Chapel Hill started a run midway through the quarter. The Tigers got as close as nine points in the third quarter, but trailed 39-28 going into the fourth.

Chapel Hill ramped up the defensive pressure in the fourth quarter, and that led to mistakes by Heritage. Chapel Hill took advantage, cutting the Husky lead to three points with five minutes left.

But the Tigers were never able to get any closer. Heritage responded with a basket to push the lead back to five points, then called a timeout. The timeout helped settle things down for Heritage, which built its lead back to eight points less than a minute after the timeout.

The two teams traded baskets in the final moments, but Chapel Hill couldn’t get enough stops to complete the comeback.

Ryder Strand led Heritage in scoring with 14 points, while Beckwith finished with 12 points.

Jeremiah Mcilwaine led Chapel Hill in scoring with 16 points. Makhai Manning added 12 points for the Tigers.

Heritage will hit the road again in the second round. The Huskies will face 1-seed New Hanover on Friday night. The Wildcats beat 32-seed Rolesville 68-47 in the first round.

Tuesday’s win for Heritage was the first playoff win for the Huskies since the 2019-2020 season when they beat Rolesville in the first round.