West Charlotte High put its championship pedigree to use against I-Meck 4A rival North Mecklenburg.

The Lions bounced back from a slow start to beat North Meck 54-49 in the second round of the West Region playoffs at West Charlotte to complete a season sweep in the series. West Charlotte (25-5), which won the N.C. High School Athletic Association title last year, advances to the third round against South Mecklenburg Friday.

"Everybody thought we were going to lose," said Lions center Kennedy Meeks, who scored a game-high 22 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. "They don't want to see us win the state again, but it's going to happen. I see it if we keep working hard. Nothing can break us."

North Mecklenburg, which finished the season 22-6, gave I-Meck champion West Charlotte all it could handle for the third time this season, but the Vikings fell short on their final possession when a pair of potential game-tying three-pointers missed the mark.

"It was a good game," North Meck coach Duane Lewis said. "They played hard and we left it out there. I think both teams got after it. We had a shot to tie it up and that's all you can ask for."

Shakir Arnett led North Meck with 12 points, followed by Shivaughn Wiggins with 11 and Rashaun Sifford's 10.

West Charlotte got major contributions from Meeks, who scored 16 points in the second half, and its defense, which limited North Meck's offense to 19 points after the break. Meeks got to the rim at will against the smaller Vikings, who tried double-and-triple teams to disrupt West Charlotte in the paint.

"Everybody was playing physical," Meeks said. "It was like a war. We just had to come out and win the game."

Mark Blackmon added 12 points for West Charlotte and Michael Brown chipped in nine. Backup guard Trey Foster gave the Lions a jolt with nine points in the second quarter to help West Charlotte whittle North Meck's 11-point lead to a 30-27 halftime deficit. West Charlotte seized the initiative in the third, going ahead for good on Brown's basket for a 43-42 edge.

"We came out kind of sluggish, but we knew we had to pick it up because we didn't want to go home," Meeks said. "We had to step up hard on defense and get the win."