Ranked No. 15 nationally this week by MaxPreps,
Weddington (Matthews) blew past
Panther Creek (Cary) 75-58 in the NCHSAA Class 4A state title game to capture its second consecutive state championship Saturday night at the Dean Dome on the campus of the University of North Carolina.
Weddington (31-0) extended the nation's second-longest winning streak to 49 games, which includes an 18-0 record last season when it won the Class 3A state title.
After trailing early in the game, Weddington took a 10-9 advantage midway through the first quarter and never looked back, methodically stretching its lead throughout the lopsided win. The Warriors took a 22-14 lead after the first quarter, extended their advantage to 34-23 at halftime and 57-36 after three quarters of play.
Despite multiple attempts to cut into the deficit in the fourth quarter, including an 8-0 run midway through the quarter, Panther Creek (23-7) were unable to cut the lead under 14 points in the final frame.
Weddington shot at one of the highest field goal percentages in state title game history, going 24 of 39 from the field (61.5 percent), 10 of 15 from 3-point range (66.7 percent) and 18 of 22 from the free throw line (81.8 percent).
Although Weddington coasted in the title game, the road to the championship game was anything but easy. The Warriors were taken to overtime in the first round by Olympic (Charlotte) in a 71-62 win before escaping with a pair of improbable victories in state quarterfinals and state semifinals.
In the quarterfinals, they trailed by five points with 58 seconds remaining before storming back to defeat Chambers (Charlotte) 58-56. Similarly, in the semifinals they trailed by six points with 59 seconds remaining before clawing back for the 72-69 victory over North Mecklenburg (Huntersville).
A trio of talented seniors led the way Saturday as
Kyle Frazier finished with a game-high 21 points on 5 of 9 from the field and 8 of 8 from the free throw line,
Chase Lowe chipped in 20 points on 7 of 9 from the field and 6 of 7 from the free-throw line and
A.J. Cook had 17 on 6 of 8 from the field and 5 of 5 from 3-point range. The three have played together since middle school.
An experienced and cohesive group, Weddington saw four players average double figures this figures — Lowe (17.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.5 assists), Frazier (15.0 points, 6.0 rebounds), Cook (12 points, 3.1 assists) and junior
Evan Morton (11.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists).
Chase Lowe (2) leads Weddington to its second consecutive state championship and 49th straight win.
Photo by Tom Masters
