No. 21
Reidsville took down
Northwood (Pittsboro) 71-54 on Saturday to capture its second consecutive Class 2A state championship in North Carolina, extending one of the nation's longest win streaks to 60 games in the process.
In the opening minutes of the contest, the Reidsville faithful held their breath after star guard
Dionte Neal went down with what appeared to be a hyper-extended knee. Although the 5-foot-9 junior began to walk toward the locker room after the play, he quickly changed course and immediately entered back into the game before playing the remainder of the contest.
Despite the injury, Neal piled up 24 points while four-star Oregon signee
Kendre Harrison contributed 16 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks along with numerous highlight plays in the win.
Junior guard Dionte Neal finished with team-high 24 points in Reidsville's state championship game victory Saturday. (FILE PHOTO: Jerrell Jordan)
After a closely-contested first half saw Reidsville hold a 23-20 advantage at the intermission, the Rams used a 7-0 run to open the second half to push ahead 30-20 just over one minute into the third period.
Reidsville rode that momentum through the end of the quarter as a putback layup from senior
Kristian Scales stretched the margin to 44-30 entering the fourth quarter.
Coming into the title game, Reidsville (31-0) had outscored opponents by 30.8 points per contest this season while seeing just four
games decided by single-digits.
If Reidsville were able to match its win total from this season without a loss in 2025-26, the Rams would equal the state record for the longest win streak set by Beaufort (now East Carteret) from 1960-1962.
The two-time defending Class 2A state champions are expected to have another strong roster next season with Neal (22.8 points, 9.3 assists and 7.2 steals) and Harrison (15.7 points, 13.2 rebounds and 3.4 blocks) leading the charge. That duo has led the program to three consecutive title game appearances with a record of 86-1 over that span.
Despite McDonald's All-American Drake Powell graduating to play at the University of North Carolina this season, Northwood (30-3) was able to reach the state championship game for the second time in the past three seasons.
Junior
Cam Fowler had 27 points and eight rebounds in the loss. The 6-4 guard averaged 20.5 points and 6.9 rebounds on the season.
