4A Championship: North Mecklenburg vs. New Hanover

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Seven down, one to go.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That one to go was the 4A boys championship contest. Last season's champion – Myers Park – was eliminated in the West Regional semifinals by one of this year's participants.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A new champion would be guaranteed. The only question was if that new top team at the top of the 4A food chain would be North Mecklenburg or New Hanover.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Vikings of North Meck's road to the championship game at Winston-Salem saw the team go through T.C. Roberson, South Meck, Mount Tabor, the aforementioned Myers Park and Lake Norman. As for the As for the Wildcats, they earned victories over Northern Durham, Knightdale, Sanderson, Panther Creek and Richmond.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North Mecklenburg would win the final North Carolina High School Athletic Association contest of the season. The Vikings claimed the 4A championship with a 57-47 over the Wildcats.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Remember What Happened Last Time? </em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The last time that North Meck and New Hanover were on the same court occurred during the 2009 season when the Vikings topped the Wildcats by a final of 60-52 in late December.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Quarter-By-Quarter</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Would the final basketball contest of the season be a classic or a dud? The answer was classic if one was going by the first quarter. With one in the books, it would be a 16-14 game in favor of North Meck.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Vikings managed to put a bit of distance between themselves and their Wildcats adversaries – but not too much given it was still a two-possession game at the half. North Meck had a 30-24 lead over New Hanover at the break.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North Meck would increase its lead at one point in the third quarter to double-digits, but the Vikings' advantage over the Wildcats would only be in the single digits at the conclusion of the third quarter. With one frame remaining to determine the eighth and final 2023-24 basketball state champion, it was Vikings 41 and Wildcats 33.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The last time the Vikings brought state championship glory back to North Mecklenburg HS was during the 2019-20 season when the team – also coached by Duane Lewis – finished 30-1. This season's North Meck assembling rewrote history and added 2023-24 to its list of championship years.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Primetime Performers</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2378813,"width":"406px","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_7235-crop-3354x2202-1710687824.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/IMG_7235-crop-3354x2202-1710687824.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-2378813" style="width:406px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1154560' first='Isaiah' last='Evans']</strong> had one more big game in him before he trades in the blue (and red) of North Meck for the blue of Duke. Evans led his team by coming two rebounds shy of a double-double with 23 points and eight rebounds. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2378815,"width":"414px","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_7160-crop-2236x1469-1710687938.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/IMG_7160-crop-2236x1469-1710687938.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-2378815" style="width:414px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1409583' first='Chadlyn' last='Traylor']</strong> contributed 15 points to what was a winning evening for the Vikings. Traylor also was true on six of his seven attempts from the field and led his team in assists with three. Traylor is one of the team's six juniors. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2378817,"width":"420px","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_7083-crop-2852x1872-1710688079.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/IMG_7083-crop-2852x1872-1710688079.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-2378817" style="width:420px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1638784' first='Parker' last='Crittenden']</strong> concluded his 2023-24 season with a 14-point performance to lead all New Hanover point-getters. He spearheaded the team's efforts from deep by draining two of his five tries from behind the 3-point arc. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2378819,"width":"424px","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_7199-crop-4032x2648-1710688190.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/IMG_7199-crop-4032x2648-1710688190.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-2378819" style="width:424px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1220122' first='Rodmik' last='Allen']</strong> was another of the three double-digit scorers the Wildcats had that evening. He tallied 13 and also added a pair of steals to his evening. Allen was one of four New Hanover players who was on the floor for all 32 minutes. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2378821,"width":"427px","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_7216-2-crop-2245x1474-1710688296.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/IMG_7216-2-crop-2245x1474-1710688296.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-2378821" style="width:427px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>New Hanover also benefitted from the 10 points that were placed on the scoreboard courtesy of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2077345' first='Nolan' last='Billings']</strong>. His evening also included grabbing eight rebounds and sending six assists. The Wildcats roster lists Billings at 6-foot-5. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Records</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North Meck's 2023-24 season concludes at 30-3 with its 14-0 showing in the Queen City conference – plus rings to boot. New Hanover finishes its 2023-24 campaign with a 32-1 record plus a 14-0 mark in its Mideastern conference.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>So Long, Seniors</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1154560' first='Isaiah' last='Evans'], [player_tooltip player_id='1076335' first='Trey' last='Maxwell'] and Ezra Jamison are the three seniors that will soon graduate from North Mecklenburg. New Hanover will see [player_tooltip player_id='1638784' first='Parker' last='Crittenden'] and Reece Tushingham soon depart from its doors.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->