NC State's DJ Horne latest in line of Fayetteville players to make noise in March Madness

NC State's run through March Madness and into the Final Four for the first time since the Jim Valvano era in 1983 has given us a thrilling stretch of win-or-go-home basketball despite the Wolfpack toting the lowest seed and most losses ever into the national semifinals.

It's the kind of gutty, underdog performance fans love to see and it makes March Madness one of the greatest sporting spectacles there is. And the Wolfpack's magical postseason wouldn't be happening without the contributions of Trinity Christian alum DJ Horne.

Add Horne to the list of players who have come out of Fayetteville to make noise in the NCAA Tournament. Here's a look at others who are remembered for big moments in March.

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Robert Brickey, Duke (E.E. Smith)

Brickey, a Duke and E.E. Smith alum, is the only Cumberland County graduate to have played in four straight NCAA Tournaments (1987-90), and in three of those postseasons the Blue Devils went to the Final Four as he averaged double-figure scoring. In 1990, Brickey was a team captain as Duke reached coach Mike Krzyzewski's second-ever national championship game and first since 1986, falling to UNLV but setting the stage for the Blue Devils' back-to-back titles. In the second round of the the '90 tournament, Brickey shot 7-for-13 from the field and 8-for-12 from the line for a game-high 22 points to go with nine boards, keeping Duke's season alive with a win over St. John's.

Jeff Capel III, Duke (South View)

Capel came to Duke after the Blue Devils had won back-to-back national championships, taking over at point guard from Bobby Hurley as a freshman in 1993 on a team that wound up going all the way to the title game, but falling to Arkansas. Capel had a 19-point, seven-assist game to beat Purdue and send Duke to the Final Four that season, making all three of his 3-point attempts and threading a behind-the-back pass to Antonio Lang in a highlight play. As head coach at Oklahoma, Capel orchestrated the Sooners' Elite Eight run behind Blake Griffin, where they would fall to UNC.

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Franklin "Rusty" Clark, UNC (Fayetteville-Terry Sanford)

Clark started in three straight Final Fours for the Tar Heels, and he was named East Regional MVP in 1968 after a 22-point, 17-rebound performance against Davidson in the regional final. That was one of six straight double-doubles Clark posted in the '68 postseason. The Tar Heels' finishes in those Final Fours from 1967-69 — the first of coach Dean Smith's career — were semifinalist, runner-up, semifinalist, respectively.

DJ Horne, NC State (Trinity Christian)

Horne has averaged 16.5 points per NCAA Tournament game during the Wolfpack's captivating run this postseason, knocking down big buckets in almost every one of NC State's nine straight wins over 19 days. In a team-high 19-point performance in the Wolfpack's Sweet 16 win over Marquette, Horne made his 100th 3-pointer to join Scott Wood and Rodney Monroe as the only players in the program to hit that mark. Horne also led the Pack with 18 points in their Elite Eight win over Duke to send coach Kevin Keatts to his first Final Four.

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Eric Maynor, VCU (Westover)

Maynor's game-winner that knocked Duke out of the first round of the tournament in 2007 is one of the all-time March memories. A sophomore for 11th-seeded VCU, Maynor capped a 22-point, eight-assist evening with a 16-foot jumper over Jon Scheyer with 1.8 seconds remaining in the game to break a 77-all tie and send Duke to its earliest exit since the 1995-96 season. The win also snapped a 21-year drought in NCAA Tournament wins for the Rams.

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Marcus Melvin, NC State (Douglas Byrd)

A hefty 6-foot-8, 240-pounder out of Byrd, Melvin's long-range shooting touch gave us his most memorable moments in March when he sank 3-of-5 3-pointers in a 22-point, nine-rebound game against Louisiana to help NC State get the first-round win in 2004.

Shea Ralph, UConn (Terry Sanford)

After a national freshman of the year season, Ralph's first NCAA Tournament appearance was ended by a torn ACL suffered in the first round in 1997. As a junior, her Huskies ran to the national title game where Ralph made 7-of-8 shots for 15 points to go with six steals and seven assists in a loss to Tennessee. But Ralph would win the rematch. She was named Most Outstanding Player with 15 points as UConn beat the Lady Vols to win the 2000 national championship — the second all-time for a program that owns a record 11 national titles today and just made its 23rd Final Four. Ralph served on UConn coach Geno Auriemma's bench for 13 seasons and six national titles.

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LaToya Pringle Sanders, UNC (Seventy-First)

Pringle anchored back-to-back Final Four squads for the Tar Heels as one of the best shot-blockers in the country, and she still ranks No. 1 in all-time Tar Heels history. Her first collegiate double-double came in a second-round win over Notre Dame as a soph in 2006 and she followed up with another one, dropping 16 points and 14 boards against George Washington in the regional semifinal.

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Jarod Stevenson, Richmond (Seventy-First)

This former Falcon was the Spiders' top player in their 1998 NCAA Tournament moment with 24 points, five rebounds and the decisive free throws in a first-round upset of No. 3-seeded South Carolina. He stayed hot with 21 points in 11th-seeded Richmond's second-round loss to Washington.

Vann Williford, NC State (Fayetteville-Terry Sanford)

A senior in 1970, Williford had a remarkable 35 points and 12 rebounds in a Sweet 16 loss to St. Bonaventure. That wasn't the Wolfpack's last game of the '70 postseason since consolation games were held in those days, and Williford put up 36 points and 11 rebounds in a win over Niagara to make the all-region squad.

CJ Williams, NC State (Jack Britt)

Williams was a big contributor to a Wolfpack squad that fought its way to the Sweet 16 as an 11 seed. NC State earned an at-large bid in the 2012 NCAA Tournament and upset No. 6 San Diego State and No. 3 Georgetown on the way to a surprise Sweet 16 berth, where they'd fall to national runner-up Kansas. Williams notched 14 points with a pair of 3-pointers in the win over the Hoyas.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Best NCAA Tournament players from Fayetteville NC DJ Horne