Christ School wins fifth straight NCISAA title in North Carolina basketball

McDonald's All-America center Marshall Plumlee finished his high school career in style, winning his fourth title in as many years as No. 1 Christ School (Arden) defeated No. 2 Charlotte Christian 59-57 in the 3A North Carolina Independent School Athletic Association championship game.

The Duke-bound 7-footer had 13 points and 10 rebounds and junior Corban Collins had 16 points and five steals for the Greenies. College of Charleston signee Trevonte Dixon (12 points and seven rebounds) scored Christ's final five points and BYU-bound Damarcus Harrison (11 points) made three 3-pointers in the first half.

It was the fifth straight title overall for Christ School (32-5), which beat Charlotte Christian 78-59 in last year's final.

"I can't put into words what I'm feeling; it's just the greatest feeling in the world," Plumlee told the Asheville Citizen-Times. "It's been such a blessing to be part of this and have so many great teammates and coaches."

The Knights had 12 seconds to set up the winning play, but had to settle for a long-distance shot at the buzzer from Trent Walker, who was being defended by Plumlee. Anthony Gill, who is headed to South Carolina, had 24 points and nine rebounds to lead the Knights (27-6).

WESTCHESTER COUNTRY DAY WINS IN 2A
Midway through the season, Westchester Country Day (High Point) was 10-9 and had lost Baylor-bound Quincy Miller, one of the top recruits in the country, to a season-ending knee injury. But the second-seeded Wildcats (29-10) turned their season around from there, capping it off with a 65-58 win over No. 1 Northside Christian (Charlotte) in the 2A championship game.

Cleveland State signee Ike Nwamu scored 20 points and Baylor-bound Deuce Bello added 19 for Westchester Country Day, which lost in the quarterfinals the past two years and won its first title in seven years.

"I've been waiting since I was a freshman to get this," Bello told the Greensboro News-Record.

Griffin Pittman had 18 points and Dionte Adams had 17 for Northside (28-3), which was making its first finals appearance.

1A TRINITY CHRISTIAN UPSETS UNITED FAITH
One quarter away from a third straight 1A title, No. 3 United Faith Christian Academy (Charlotte) was outscored by 15 points in the fourth quarter and lost 57-49 to fifth-seeded Trinity Christian (Fayetteville).

Jeremy Hemingway scored 15 points for Trinity Christian (23-9), who lost to United Faith 98-60 just 18 days before the final. Paris Roberts-Campbell scored 43 points for United Faith in that game, but was held scoreless in the rematch while dealing with an ankle injury.

The Crusaders made 11 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter to seal the win, according to the Fayetteville Observer. Braxton Ogbueze, who just made a verbal commitment to Florida, had 20 points to lead the Falcons.
Trinity Christian had beaten top-seeded Word of God (Raleigh) 88-77 in the semifinals.

NATIONALLY-RANKED BUTLER LOSES
There were 16 boys and girls teams playing for NCHSAA basketball state championships on Saturday, but one notable absence was the state's only nationally ranked public school team.

Defending 4A champion Butler (Matthews) had won 42 straight games until it was upset by Mallard Creek (Charlotte) 50-45 in the state quarterfinals.

Mallard Creek coach Clarence Johnson told the Charlotte Observer that it was the biggest upset in the area since the West Charlotte boys upset a Jerry Stackhouse-led Kinston team in the state finals 20 years ago.

Butler star Cierra Burdick — the only player in the state who was invited to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association High School All-America Game next month in Indianapolis — had 28 points, 19 rebounds and four blocks despite having strep throat. Her three-point play tied the game with 51.2 seconds left, but Nicole Graham made two free throws on the next possession to give the Mavericks the lead and Butler turned the ball over on the next three possessions.

"We knew we could do it," Mallard Creek guard Amber Neely told the Observer. "We've got a better team. They only have one key player. All of our players are key players."

Butler finished the season 30-1, having outscored its opponents by an average score of 73-32. But the Matthews-Mint Hill Weekly reports that the team had a different look in the postseason, and not just because Burdick was sick.

Aliyah Kilpatrick, the team's second-leading scorer, was suspended for taking part in a fight with a school resource officer after a game, and starter Jadda Atkinson was out after tearing an ACL in her knee.

Harold Gutmann covers the state of North Carolina for MaxPreps.com. He lives in Durham and can be reached at haroldgutmann@gmail.com.