Millbrook (Raleigh) and
South Central (Winterville) will have the chance to pull off an incredible feat on Saturday night — winning both the boys and girls state championships in basketball.
The
Millbrook (Raleigh) boys and girls advanced to the 4A finals at the Smith Center at UNC-Chapel Hill, while the
South Central (Winterville) boys and girls will play for the 3A titles at Reynolds Coliseum at N.C. State.
"The school was live last week, but I can't imagine what it's going to be like (this) week," South Central athletic director and boys basketball coach Chris Cherry said in The Daily Reflector. "This is a great accomplishment. We're proud of our sports, and we have great support from our administration and the community."
MaxPreps North Carolina boys basketball playoff bracketsMillbrook has never reached the state title game in either sport, and boys basketball player RaShawn Vaughan said that both teams pushed each other.
"Seeing [the girls] go that far motivated us," Vaughan told the Raleigh News & Observer. "We're really happy for them."
MaxPreps list of boys basketball state championsMILLBROOK A SURPRISING FINALIST IN 4AMillbrook (Raleigh) (22-9) was just .500 at New Year's but has now won 10 of its last 11 games, including a 73-67 win over 13-time state champion New Hanover (Wilmington) in the state semifinals. Junior Shi-Chee Moore was named MVP after scoring six of his 19 points in the final two minutes and adding four assists and four steals.
New Hanover finished 23-6, with five losses to two teams — three to Hoggard (Wilmington) and two to Millbrook.
Millbrook will now face
West Charlotte (27-2), which lost in the state semifinals last year but took the next step this season.
"We got over the hump," coach Baronton Terry told the Charlotte Observer. "Sometimes it takes (losing in the semifinals last year) to grow, and I thought this team grew. It's been a tremendous weekend, and now I want them to get back and enjoy it a little bit. They worked for it."
North Florida-bound
Jacoby Davis earned MVP honors after recording 16 points and six rebounds as West Charlotte topped 2009 state champ Mount Tabor (Winston-Salem) in the regional final. The Lions, who have won their last four playoff games by 102 points, last won it all in 1999.
HUSS COACH MAKES 3A CHAMPIONSHIP HIS FINAL GAMEThe South Central boys (26-5), who defeated Chapel Hill 67-59 in their regional final behind 19 points from MVP Anthony Hilliard, will now face 28-2
Huss (Gastonia).
Huss, which won state titles in 1977 and 1985, is coached by 42-year veteran Ron Bray, who announced in January that he will be retiring after this season.
"I enjoy the games and I enjoy the practice," Bray told the Gaston Gazette. "I don't enjoy a lot of the peripheral aspects like I have in the past. You just wash uniforms so many times. That's a good example. The whole gamut of things is taxing on you."
Bray certainly enjoyed the regional final as the Huskies beat Hickory 77-62. MVP
Jihad Wright had 23 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals in the win. Statistics from the Hickory Record tell the story: the Huskies outshot Hickory 55 percent to 31 percent and had a 22-0 edge in fast-break points.
Expect Huss to try and run some more in Saturday's final. As Bray put it in the Record: "We're still dumb as bricks on offense."
REGIONAL FINAL NOTEBOOK:*
Northwood (Pittsboro) defeated Kinston 56-43 in a 2A regional final in a reversal of last year, when Kinston beat Northwood in the same round. MVP Tra Chandler made all four 3-point attempts and finished with 20 points as the Chargers outscored Kinston 35-15 in the second half.
*
Pender (Burgaw) had lost the past two regional finals in 1A before beating Red Springs 74-65 this year. MVP Addison Spruill had 24 points, 13 rebounds and four assists. According to the Wilmington Star-News, the game was delayed for a half-hour because Pender forgot to bring its road uniforms, and it had to wait for them to arrive.
* While one 1A regional final had a late start, the other had a late finish:
North Rowan (Spencer) needed double-overtime to beat Winston-Salem Prep 92-85. Sophomore
Timothy Bates was the MVP after scoring 22 points for the Phoenix, who came back from six points down with three minutes left and won their first regional title in 25 years. Interestingly, the Charlotte Observer notes that North Rowan coach Andrew Mitchell, who came from Salisbury, will be going to his third straight state final.
Harold Gutmann covers the state of North Carolina for MaxPreps.com. He lives in Durham and can be reached at haroldgutmann@gmail.com.
