The Cowboys hosted the visiting Vikings of conference foe North Forsyth in the opening round of the NCHSAA 3A playoffs. The Cowboys manage to sweep the regular season matchups between these two squads. Both games were tough contests however, and the teams were seeded 16th and 17th so it was going to be another tough battle. The Cowboys came out and jumped ahead 10-1 by the 5:06 mark. A pair of made free-throws by the Vikings stopped the bleeding at 10-3, but a three point play and another 3 pointer made it 16-3 right at the 3:00 mark. The rest of the frame was even as the Vikings matched Southwest on the scoreboard and the quarter closed at 28-15. The Cowboys maintained a slight edge on controlling the tempo as they slowly and methodically pulled the lead out bit by bit. The lead peaked at 49-29 at the 1:20 mark. However, just like the last time these two teams met, the Vikings closed the half strong and got it down to 51-35 headed into the break. A solid 6-2 spurt to open the third quarter got the game back out to 57-37 at the 7:00 mark. The Vikings would not quit and kept fighting and slowly got the lead under 20 and the frame closed at 71-54. The final frame was an intense, physical dogfight. The Vikings refused to go out quietly and forced several turnovers and converted free throws to battle all the way back. The Cowboys seemed destined to shoot themselves in the feet, as they saw their wire-to-wire lead dwindle all the way to 77-74 with 47 seconds to play. Southwest managed to have more turnovers in the final stanza than the entire first half, but managed to wake up out of a fog to convert 3 key steals in a row for dunks and layups that put enough separation in the closing seconds for a 84-75 victory. The Vikings were led by Tyreke McNeil with 20 points. The Cowboys were led by Cam Thompson (17 points), JT Butler (13 points, 7 Assists, and 2 Rebounds), Ty Radford (13 Points, 7 Rebounds), and Jay'Den Turner (12 Points, 8 Rebounds). The Cowboys survive and advance and will hit the road Thursday night to take on the #1 seeded Cox Mill Chargers, the defending 3A State Champions.