1A Championship: Wilson Prep vs. Corvian Community

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When play commenced on Friday for championship weekend at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the 1A boys teams had first dibs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The two combatants for that 1A boys crown were Wilson Prep and Corvian Community. The Tigers' road to the championship game has seen them prevail over Warren County, Northside-Pinetown, North Duplin, Southern Wake Academy and Bertie. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As for the Cardinals, who have only been in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association's (NCSHAA) ranks for a few years, their road to the championship game saw them defeat Queen's Grant, Swain County, Mountain Island Charter, Bishop McGuinness and South Stokes.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Would Wilson Prep repeat or would there be a new champion? The answer was the former as the Tigers earned an entertaining 65-63 win over the Cardinals.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Quarter-By-Quarter</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Through the opening moments of the first quarter, defense took over before both teams found more consistent success placing the ball through the basket. At the conclusion of one frame, it was Corvian Community 15 and Wilson Prep 10.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both teams' fanbases that were on hand had plenty to cheer about in the second quarter as points were anything but a premium. At the half, the Cardinals had established a 34-28 edge on the Tigers.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two things became apparent as the third quarter elapsed – it would be a high-scoring result and it would come down to the wire. With one frame remaining to decide this year's 1A champion, both teams were all square at 50.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both Tigers and Cardinals were knotted up at 62 in the closing moments of the fourth quarter. Corvian Community then went up 63-62 after knocking down one of two at the line. Wilson Prep was fouled attempting a 3-pointer with less than a second to play and all three tries were true. The first of this year's champions would sport navy blue and orange as Wilson Prep pulled off the close win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Primetime Performers</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2378253,"width":"442px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/IMG_5535-crop-2236x1469-1710567527.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/IMG_5535-crop-2236x1469-1710567527.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-2378253" style="width:442px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2232877' first='Ben' last='Ferguson']</strong> did indeed finish his high school career with an exclamation point. The star senior for the Tigers tallied 34 points to lead all scorers. In addition, he also hauled in seven rebounds and played nearly all 32 minutes. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2378255,"width":"450px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/IMG_5525-crop-2236x1469-1710567655.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/IMG_5525-crop-2236x1469-1710567655.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-2378255" style="width:450px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Complimenting the 34 of Ferguson were 14 points that were placed on the scoreboard courtesy of <strong>Leslie Minter</strong>. His three points were the most important of the contest as he sank three free throws late in the fourth quarter to seal the win for Wilson Prep. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2378257,"width":"451px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/IMG_5660-crop-2236x1469-1710567772.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/IMG_5660-crop-2236x1469-1710567772.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-2378257" style="width:451px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Corvian Community finished with three players in double-digits for points. One of those was <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2149164' first='RJ' last='Moore']</strong> who led all Cardinals point-getters with 20. Moore also had three of the team's four triples and collected four steals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2378259,"width":"455px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/IMG_5648_b84570-crop-2236x1469-1710567870.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/IMG_5648_b84570-crop-2236x1469-1710567870.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-2378259" style="width:455px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2374727' first='AJ' last='Jackson Jr']</strong> contributed 14 points to the Cardinals' cause. Jackson had plenty of success drawing contact and getting to the free throw line. The junior guard had 10 attempts from the line and was true on seven of them. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2378270,"width":"455px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/IMG_5659_e236a4-crop-2291x1504-1710568496.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/IMG_5659_e236a4-crop-2291x1504-1710568496.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-2378270" style="width:455px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jack Hudson</strong>'s high school career with Corvian Community finished with a double-double. While he did score 10 points, he led the rebounding efforts for the Cardinals with 17 of the team's 44 boards. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Records</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wilson Prep's 2023-24 season concludes with a 27-5 record along with going 16-0 in its Tar Roanoke Conference. The book closes for Corvian Community with a 27-4 mark and a Catawba Shores conference record of 12-2.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>So Long, Seniors</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2232877' first='Ben' last='Ferguson'], [player_tooltip player_id='2276952' first='Josh' last='Hicks'], [player_tooltip player_id='1104960' first='Brandon' last='Anderson'], Leslie Minter, David Ellis and Khristian Woodard are the seniors graduating from Wilson Prep. The lone senior graduating from Corvian Community is Jack Hudson.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->