How Carmel Christian, Donovan Gregory held on to repeat as NCISAA state basketball champs
Down by one point in the N.C. Independent Schools state championship game, Carmel Christian star Donovan Gregory, playing in his fourth straight state final, drove hard to the basket.
With seconds to play, he wanted the game, the season, in his hands.
But Gregory shot, and Gregory missed. There was a scrum for the rebound. Carmel Christian’s DeAngelo Epps, however briefly, started to panic. If Fayetteville Village Christian (22-13) came up with the rebound, it would also have a massive upset - and a 3A state title probably few people outside of the school would’ve predicted it could win.
“I see five guys around me and everybody is fighting for the same rebound,” Epps said. “But then I see Don find it.”
The ball seemed to get deflected and squirted toward Gregory, like a coin to a magnet. Gregory scooped it up and softly shot the championship-winning layup, kissing it off the backboard with 3.4 seconds left. The next thing you know, Gregory and his teammates were running around, celebrating a 65-64 state championship win at Raleigh Ravenscroft School that looked like it just might slip away.
“I’ve never been in this position in my career,” said Epps, who transferred from Charlotte Country Day last summer. “I got a taste of winning this year, and, man, it’s just great. It’s a great feeling.”
Epps, a 6-foot-6 senior heading to College of Charleston, finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Junior Myles Hunter came off the bench and hit big shots. He finished with 15 points. But the game belonged to Gregory, who scored 22 points to go with five rebounds and, late in the game, asked to guard Village Christian senior guard Travion McCray, who sliced the Cougars up for 28 points.
“I had to step up and take the challenge,” said Gregory, a 6-4 senior heading to Appalachian State. “I felt like I could guard (McCray) and at least slow him down some. This was probably the tightest game we’ve had. And in the end, it came down to who wanted it more.”
There were seven lead changes in the final five minutes, but Carmel first-year coach Joe Badgett said he never doubted his team (31-3), which had been nationally ranked for most of the season.
This was Badgett’s ninth straight state final. His first eight were as an assistant to Byron Dinkins, including seven at Northside Christian in north Charlotte. The duo moved to Carmel Christian last year and won a 2A state title. After that, Dinkins left for a college job at Charlotte, and Badgett moved over a seat and took over a team that returned five starters.
And now Carmel is 3A champion after moving up a class.
“I knew we were good enough to do this,” Badgett said. “I knew we were experienced enough, so I’d be lying if I said that if we didn’t win, I would not have been disappointed. I would have been. I think this group is a championship team. This is a group I expected to go win this game.”
Consider it mission accomplished.
Village Christian 20 18 9 17 - 64
Carmel Christian 13 24 11 17 - 65
VILLAGE CHRISTIAN (22-13) - Travion McCray 28, Jey Tupuola 16, Tompkins 2, Thomas 7, Derrick Quansah 10
CARMEL CHRISTIAN (31-3) - Maide 4, DeAngelo Epps 14, Donovan Gregory 22, Boggs 4, Myles Hunter 13, Gwynn 4
Langston Wertz Jr.: 704-358-5133, @langstonwertzjr
This story was originally published February 23, 2019 at 6:00 PM.
