NCISAA Roundup: State Champions are Crowned

<p>The NCISAA Season has finally wrapped up and the state champions have been crowned. Here’s a look at all the champions and top performers from the games.</p> <h4>1A: Victory Christian Center</h4> <p>Victory Christian Center Kings overcame a ton of adversity in 2020-21 to get to this year’s 1A NCISAA State Title game. In just their second season, they played on the road in every playoff contest and didn’t waiver, winning 65-51 over United Faith Christian Academy. Balance was the name of the game as the Kings ran away with things in the fourth quarter. [player_tooltip player_id="1105093" first="Randi" last="Ovalle"] (10 pts), [player_tooltip player_id="1013056" first="Takai" last="Simpkins"] (12 pts), [player_tooltip player_id="1013055" first="Tajuan" last="Simpkins"] (12 pts), [player_tooltip player_id="1103910" first="Lewis" last="Duarte"] (12 pts) and [player_tooltip player_id="1140963" first="Deiman" last="Reyes"] (9 pts) continue to be growing names in the NCISAA 1A level as they showed off their ability to be a presence on both ends en route to the NCISAA 1A State title. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="932129" first="Xavier" last="McKelvy"] led the way for United Faith with 15 points.</p> <h4>2A: The Burlington School</h4> <p>The Burlington School Spartans won big in the NCISAA 2A State Title game 72-52 over Northwood Temple Academy. [player_tooltip player_id="838021" first="Jamarii" last="Thomas"] (<strong>UNC-W Commit</strong>) led the way with 26 points along with four assists and two steals. Unsigned senior [player_tooltip player_id="838020" first="Kuluel" last="Mading"] was a force in the paint, finishing with 15 points, seven rebounds and four blocks while 2024 prospect [player_tooltip player_id="854890" first="Kobe" last="George"] finished with 13 points. They’re a deep squad that’s peaked at the right time in 2020-21 and it’s shown in the final result with a big statement win in the championship game. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1105922" first="Julian" last="Williams"] led Northwood Temple with 15 points.</p> <h4>3A: Asheville Christian Academy</h4> <p>Asheville Christian was full of surprises in this year’s NCISAA 3A State Playoffs, upsetting Concord Academy 52-51 in the first round then defeating High Point Christian Academy a few days later 51-44 to face off against another Cinderella opponent in Gaston Christian. Led by senior guard [player_tooltip player_id="838071" first="Collin" last="Mills"]’ 25 points, the Lions pulled off the final victory to complete their run to the 3A State Title game. Highly touted big man [player_tooltip player_id="848059" first="DeAnte" last="Green"] finished with 18 points and freshman guard [player_tooltip player_id="1082599" first="Christian" last="Andrews"] had 13 points as well. </p> <p>Gaston Christian was led by [player_tooltip player_id="1120787" first="Will" last="Kelly"] who had 22 points; Kelly is a name that’s grown in the 2022 class and with good reason given their run to the 3A State Title game. </p> <h4>4A: Cannon School</h4> <p>The Cannon School Cougars pulled off an upset in the 4A NCISAA State Title game with an 94-85 victory over Carmel Christian to repeat as state champions. It’s quite the wrapup for the Cougars who finished the season 27-5. Things turned around for them in a big way following a first round loss in the Beach Ball Classic back on Dec. 28. Since then, they’ve gone 16-1 en route to yet another state crown after handing Carmel Christian just their second loss of the season. They were paced by [player_tooltip player_id="577868" first="DJ" last="Nix"] (20 points), who’s raised his stock a ton at the guard/wing position in the state. [player_tooltip player_id="721036" first="Elijah" last="Ormiston"] (<strong>Concordia U Commit</strong>) chipped in with 14 points and [player_tooltip player_id="932457" first="Jarvis" last="Moss"] (<strong>Stanford Commit</strong>) was on his heels with 14 points. [player_tooltip player_id="577877" first="Christian" last="Reeves"] also finished with 12 points.</p> <p>Carmel Christian was paced by [player_tooltip player_id="1008879" first="Cade" last="Tyson"]’s 28 points and [player_tooltip player_id="574430" first="Justin" last="Taylor"]’s 23 points. </p>