Fuquay-Varina (7-17, 4-12) hit the throttle early and withstood a fourth quarter, Green Hope rally to win 71-64 at home Monday night to advance from the Tri-9 conference tournament play-in game. The ninth-seeded Bengals prevailed against number eight seed, Green Hope with their largest point output (71 points) of the season.

Tarek Behairy led the way for Fuquay with 15 points and Dominique Byrd scored 14. Isaac Daniel hit for 10 points against the Falcons.

The reward for Monday night’s win was a date at top-seeded Apex (19-4, 15-1) on Tuesday night after press time. The Bengals would have to win the Tri-9 tournament, which would require four wins this week, to advance to the 4A state playoffs.

Lady Bengals Basketball

The Fuquay-Varina girls (5-16, 3-13), who finished the regular season in seventh place in the Tri-9, were set to travel to second seed, Athens Drive (20-3, 14-2) on Tuesday night after press time for a first round tournament game.