Reagan boys basketball stays No. 1 in North Carolina by slim margins

The top-ranked boys basketball team in Class 4A hasn't exactly been dominant.

There was a two-point game against West Forsyth (Clemmons), three-point games against North Davidson (Lexington) and Davie (Mocksville), a five-point game against North Forsyth (Winston-Salem) and a six-point game against Mount Tabor (Winston-Salem).

But Reagan (Pfafftown) found a way to win each one, and claimed the No. 1 spot in this week's NCPreps.com state media rankings. The Raiders are 16-0 and are one of two remaining unbeatens in the class.

The latest win was 66-63 against Davie this past weekend. Four Raiders scored in double figures, led by Ozzie Otero's 22. He hit a 3-pointer with 1:11 remaining to break a 57-57 tie after Davie came back from 13 down in the second half.

"We had a chance to get rattled and shook," Reagan coach Howard West told the Winston-Salem Journal. "It was a tight ballgame and we had blown a lead. But we got it back. We made some smart plays, knocked down our free throws and got the ball to the right people."

GARNER MAGNET'S ALSO UNBEATEN
The other undefeated Class 4A team is Garner Magnet, which improved to 14-0 with a 101-46 blowout of West Johnston (Benson) on Friday. But there might be trouble on the horizon. Because of various cancellations, the Trojans will have to play back-to-back games twice next month, and will play seven games between Jan. 31 and Feb. 11.

Head coach Eddie Gray said he's never seen a schedule like that in the 34 years he's coached high school athletics, according to the Garner Citizen.

Most of the postponements were unavoidable because of the wintry weather. But Gray is most upset about a game last Friday against Harnett County that was postponed because it fell on the end of an exam week.

According to the Citizen, Harnett County held an emergency meeting Friday morning and reversed its decision to delay the game, but that announcement came too late for the teams to prepare for a game that night.

"These kids have a lot of things going on in their mind, and basketball is supposed to be fun and something that helps them improve as a student athlete," Gray told the paper. "Adults need to sit back and think about their actions and what they're doing before they make these decisions. These things need to be thought out."

So the Trojans ended up with a 10-day layoff between their 83-52 win on Jan. 12 against Fike (Wilson) and their game against West Johnston, but the rest didn't affect the Trojans.

Donald Johnson hit 4 of 7 from behind the arc and had a game-high 23 points, while Gavin Wilson, Larry Richardson and Josh McClain each scored at least 14.

"We just found our stroke today," Johnson told the Raleigh News and Observer. "Everyone was feeling good. In practice, we have been working on our shots and it transferred over to the game tonight."

WEST CHARLOTTE ALSO GETS DELAYED
Of course, every team has had to deal with postponements this season.

West Charlotte, ranked second in the Class 4A poll, didn't play a game between Dec. 17 and Jan. 7 because a holiday tournament appearance was cancelled due to snow. But Lions coach Baronton Terry isn't concerned.

"I don't know how difficult this has been," Terry told the Charlotte Observer. "Because we take each game as it comes. We never got off track. The kids just play the game. The snow zapped everybody and all you can do is practice."

The Lions are 13-1 and have won all 13 games against in-state competitions (the only loss was against St. John's of Washington, D.C.). Every win has been by at least 11 points.

ANOTHER DIVISION I TALENT JOINS QUALITY EDUCATION ACADEMY
The state's top team can now field a starting five of players heading to major conferences next season.
Quality Education Academy (Winston-Salem) has picked up Arizona commitment Josiah Turner, who was dismissed from Sacramento High earlier in the season in California.

Read Mitch Stephens' story on the Josiah Turner transfer

Read Jason Hickman's take on the Josiah Turner transfer

Turner will join Wake Forest-bound point guard Anthony Fields, DePaul-bound shooting guard Charles Mckinney and a pair of players headed to St. John's, Dominique Pointer and Dwight Meikle. That list doesn't even include the team's leading rebounder, 6-foot-11 Lekan Ajayi. According to the Winston-Salem Journal, Ajayi is considering Wake Forest, Florida, Oklahoma, Seton Hall and Loyola-Marymount.

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