3A Championship: Central Cabarrus vs. Seventy-First

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Last, but certainly not least, on Friday's championship docket at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum on the campus of Wake Forest was the 3A boys championship game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The victors from last season, Central Cabarrus, were looking to repeat their 2022-23 feat. Victories over Pisgah, Hunter Huss, A.C. Reynolds, Ben L. Smith and Hickory got this year's Vikings to this point. As for the Falcons of Seventy-First, Richlands, Jacksonville, South Central, Swansboro and Westover were all vanquished on their path to Winston-Salem.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Central Cabarrus' repeat (and undefeated) effort was once again success as the Vikings prevailed by a final score of 90-62 over Seventy-First.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Quarter-By-Quarter</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Central Cabarrus resembled defending 3A champions in the first quarter as they raced out to a 10-0 run. Seventy-First responded only to be answered by another Vikings run. With one complete, the Vikings built a 28-11 advantage over the Falcons.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Seventy-First put forth a spirited effort – but they simply were failing to match the offensive firepower posed by the Vikings. At the half, Central had established a commanding 50-24 cushion.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the third quarter, the Falcons actually outscored the Vikings by a margin of 21-17. Seventy-First needed much more to trim the gap with Central Cabarrus. Through three, the Vikings had a repeat in the palms of their hands.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The last time that the Vikings were in the loss column was in the 2021-22 3A championship game against West Charlotte. This year's rendition of Central Cabarrus made sure that was still the case as the Vikings would add another state championship to its trophy case.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Primetime Performers</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2378235,"width":"441px","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_6284-crop-2449x1608-1710565960.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/IMG_6284-crop-2449x1608-1710565960.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-2378235" style="width:441px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All four leading scorers for the Vikings were seniors. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2213545' first='Joshua' last='Dalton']</strong>'s final time in a Central Cabarrus uniform turned out to be a memorable one. The 6-foot-9 forward concluded his high school career with a 22-point performance. Dalton plays at the wing as well as at forward. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2378231,"width":"444px","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_6195-2-crop-2236x1469-1710565624.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/IMG_6195-2-crop-2236x1469-1710565624.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-2378231" style="width:444px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1743939' first='Desmond' last='Kent Jr']</strong> added 20 points to the Vikings output. Kent is another senior and displays his versatility by playing either in the backcourt as a shooting guard or in the frontcourt as a small forward. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2378228,"width":"441px","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_6230.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/IMG_6230.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2378228" style="width:441px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another senior, fittingly, was a key part of the Central Cabarrus winning formula. That senior was <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1154633' first='Chase' last='Daniel']</strong>, who contributed 14 points to the Vikings cause. Daniel particularly had plenty of success going to the free throw line. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2378233,"width":"443px","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_6233-crop-2236x1469-1710565799.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/IMG_6233-crop-2236x1469-1710565799.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-2378233" style="width:443px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As for <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158774' first='Carson' last='Daniel']</strong>, he tallied 12 points to conclude his evening. Daniel not only another of the Vikings' seniors, but he is also one of three team captains. He also made two of the four Central Cabarrus 3-pointers. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2378237,"width":"448px","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_6312-crop-2236x1469-1710566238.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/IMG_6312-crop-2236x1469-1710566238.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-2378237" style="width:448px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Leading the scoring for Seventy-First was junior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2375873' first='Jacquez' last='Foster']</strong>. He finished with 15 points. The Falcons made five 3-pointers as a team. Three of those departed from Foster's hands. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2378242,"width":"449px","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_6254-crop-2236x1469-1710566642.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/IMG_6254-crop-2236x1469-1710566642.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2378242" style="width:449px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2316265' first='Mylon' last='Campbell'] </strong>added 14 points to Seventy-First's efforts in what was his final time sporting the Falcons' signature red uniform. The senior guard is listed at 5-foot-11 on the Seventy-First roster. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2378244,"width":"447px","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_6212-crop-2236x1469-1710566783.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/IMG_6212-crop-2236x1469-1710566783.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-2378244" style="width:447px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DeAndre Nance</strong> added 12 points. Nance managed to draw plenty of contact and get to the free throw line. He also displays his versatility by playing at either of the guard positions in the backcourt or in the frontcourt as a three forward. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Records</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Central Cabarrus' season concludes with a perfect 33-0 – including the 17-0 record the Vikings built in the South Piedmont Conference. Seventy-First concluded with a record of 28-3 plus a 15-0 showing in the United 8 Conference.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>So Long, Seniors</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1154633' first='Chase' last='Daniel'], Josh Dalton, Noah Edmisten, [player_tooltip player_id='1158774' first='Carson' last='Daniel'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1743939' first='Desmond' last='Kent Jr']. are the five seniors that will soon depart from Central. As for Seventy-First, it will graduate Tyrek Perez, [player_tooltip player_id='2316265' first='Mylon' last='Campbell'] and Micah Dowdy-Isom.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->