NCHSAA 4A Playoffs Region Finals Preview

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A pair of scrappy backcourts will collide on Thursday night when No. 1 New Hanover and No. 2 Richmond County square off in the East Region Finals! The New Hanover Wildcats enter into the game unbeaten on the year at 31-0 following their 63-61 victory over Panther Creek in the semifinals. Rodmik Allen Rodmik Allen 5'10" | PG New Hanover | 2025 State NC played the unsung hero in the games final seconds after the Catamounts tied things up at 61. Allen drove the length of the floor and scored the game-winning layup and then proceeded to steal the ball as the buzzer sounded on the defensive end to seal the victory. The Wildcats have overcome a ton of adversity with Allen leading the charge. They overcame an early 13-point deficit that saw them trail 19-9 after one quarter to get a comeback victory in the end. He's a 2025 floor general who's stock continues to rise as the Wildcats remain unbeaten and look to top things off with a state title. He finished with 15 points while unsigned sharpshooter Parker Crittenden Parker Crittenden 6'3" | SG New Hanover | 2024 State NC finished with 15 points as well on three made 3-pointers. Freshman Kamerin Witherspoon Kamerin Witherspoon 6'5" | PF New Hanover | 2027 State NC stepped up in the biggest way with 16 points and seven rebounds on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor. They're a well-coached bunch who can get after defensively and create offense in a hurry.

Richmond County comes into the East Region Finals riding a winning streak of their own as they've won 18 games in a row. They rode a second half run against Green Level that saw them outscore the Gators 46-32 in route to a 75-57 victory. NC State bound sharpshooter Paul McNeil Paul McNeil 6'6" | SG Richmond County | 2024 State #172 Nation NC will look to lead the charge for the Raiders as he comes into the game producing 31.6 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 5.0 APG, 2.7 SPG and 1.2 BPG on 55/40 shooting splits from the field and behind the arc. Unsigned senior backcourt duo Jamarion Wall Jamarion Wall 5'11" | PG Richmond County Senior | 2024 State NC and Javian Drake Javian Drake 5'10" | PG Richmond Senior | 2024 State NC have proven to be formidable on both ends of the hardwood as well. Drake is averaging 16.6 PPG, 4.7 APG, 4.3 RPG and 2.6 SPG while Wall is producing 13.7 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 2.2 APG and 2.0 SPG. They're two scrappy guard prospects for Division II programs to get eyes on this Thursday. 2025 guard Ahavier McDonald Ahavier McDonald 6'2" | CG Richmond County | 2025 State NC is an athletic prospect to keep an eye on as well. Teams have seemingly kept things close with the Raiders in the first half but they always seem to hit another gear in the second half that opponents have been unable to keep pace with.

No. 2 Lake Norman High and No. 5 North Mecklenburg High will square off in the West Region Finals as both look to go out with a bang. Lake Norman comes in as the higher-seeded favorite with 2025s Trent Steinour Trent Steinour 6'10" | C Lake Norman | 2025 State #140 Nation NC , Tre McKinnon Tre McKinnon 6'5" | SG Lake Norman High | 2025 State NC , Josh Yates Josh Yates 6'0" | PG Lake Norman | 2025 State NC and unsigned senior guard Santana Lynch Santana Lynch 6'4" | SG Lake Norman | 2024 State NC . Lynch has proven to be a solid addition as he's put up 14.1 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 3.5 APG and 1.8 SPG in 2023-24. He filled up the stat sheet with 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists in their 82-61 victory over JL Chambers. McKinnon led the charge with 21 points while Steinour continued to terrorize opponents in the paint with 19 points, eight rebounds and four blocks. 2025 Josh Yates Josh Yates 6'0" | PG Lake Norman | 2025 State NC has also been a factor this season. He put up 14 points on three made 3-pointers and five rebounds against JL Chambers. 2026 PG Nick Arnold Nick Arnold 6'0" | PG Davidson Day | 2026 State NC has been their table-setter at point guard with a team-high 3.9 APG coming into their meeting with North Mecklenburg as well.

After knocking off No. 1 Myers Park behind 48 points from Duke-bound wing Isaiah Evans Isaiah Evans 6'6" | SG North Mecklenburg | 2024 State #17 Nation NC , North Mecklenburg will look to keep things going as Evans will step on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons floor on Thursday. Evans has been stellar this season and nothing could take our eyes away from his performance in the semifinals as he reeled off 21-straight points in the third quarter and the deficit continue to grow for the Mustangs. He's got a bright future ahead of him as he potentially sealed off winning the Gatorade Player of the Year with this past Friday night's performance. He's got help with him as well though with Chadlyn Traylor Chadlyn Traylor 6'3" | PG North Mecklenburg | 2025 State #384 Nation NC running the show and Ashton Pierce Ashton Pierce 6'3" | SG North Mecklenburg | 2026 State NC still waiting patiently in the wings to go off. Lake Norman will have their hands full on Thursday night but they should be up for it as head coach Grant Hodges should have them fully prepared.