3-A State Champs: Cox Mill HS (10 Best)
The Chargers of Cox Mill High School beat Eastern Guilford HS on Saturday night to claim the Charlotte area school with it’s first state basketball championship. 70-66 was the final score from the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
MVP: Wendell Moore-The sensational sophomore pumped in 29 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for Cox Mill HS en route to earning MVP of the state championship game.
Eastern Guilford MVP:Jaylen Alston-The Mid-State 3A Conference Player of the Year scored 25 points for EG in the loss to Cox Mill HS. Alston was voted East MVP.
Overcoming Turnovers-Eastern Guilford HS had 12 turnovers and Cox Mill HS had 24 turnovers in the game.
Like Father Like Son-Caleb Stone-Carrawell, the son of former Duke star Chris Carrawell had 14 points and 7 rebounds for Cox Mill HS in the win. He was voted West MVP.
Outrebounded-Cox Mill HS had 40 rebounds compared to 23 rebounds by Eastern Guilford HS. Wendell Moore had 14 of the 40 rebounds for Cox Mill HS.
Play of the Game: With the game down to 3 points with under minute remaining, Eastern Guilford HS could not convert and sent Wendell Moore to the free-throw line where he knocked down both shots. Another scary moment came when Francis Sio, was called for a charge late in the 4th quarter for his fifth foul.
Quote of the Game: Jody Barbee-“Really happy for this group of kids and this group of seniors. Their hard work in the off-season has paid off. I thought we had some kids step up in the big moment and make some big-time plays. Caleb Stone-Carawell, Wendell Moore Jr. Tyzhaun Claude and Jacari Johnson. The last month and a half they bought into playing defense until it hurt. That was the difference tonight.”
Wendell Moore Quote: On being winning this game and being selected MVP,“It really hasn’t hit me yet,” said Moore Jr. “There’s never going to be a feeling like this.”
Happy Trails- Cox Mill HS never trailed in the game leading from start to finish.
The Future: Cox Mill HS has a bright future with two of it’s leading scorers from tonight only being sophomores. Wendell Moore and Caleb Stone-Carrawell are only in the second season of high school basketball.