Weddington rallies late, beats Chambers, keeps The Streak alive
Weddington had victory within its sights. But the Warriors blinked.
Then it was Chambers’ turn. But the Cougars blinked.
In the end, a couple of Weddington seniors took things in their own hands and led their team to a 58-56 victory Tuesday night over visiting Chambers in the boys’ basketball 4A state quarterfinals.
The Warriors (29-0), who are defending 3A champions and have won 47 straight games, will face North Mecklenburg on Saturday in the 4A Western Regional finals.
Chase Lowe, a Weddington wing who turned the ball over himself twice earlier in the fourth quarter, made a key steal and converted into a layup with 47 seconds to go.
Then Kyle Frazier connected on a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left for the game’s final points. And with eight seconds left, Lowe again tipped away a Chambers pass for a steal.
Add in two more Chambers turnovers in the final minute, and it explains how Weddington, which led by 11 points at the start of the fourth quarter, rallied from a five-point deficit with 1:04 to play.
“Sometimes, players are afraid to lose,” Weddington coach Gary Ellington said of the fourth-quarter mistakes – eight by his team, six by Chambers. “Players try to be too careful, and mistakes happen.”
Ellington’s team made five such errors in the opening 2½ minutes of the fourth quarter, enabling Chambers to rally from a 48-37 deficit and close to within 48-46.
Weddington built its lead back to 51-46, but Chambers made another charge. The Cougars (22-7) took a 52-51 lead with 2:09 to play on a Nicholas Dorn 3-pointer.
Another Weddington turnover resulted in a Daniel Sandford dunk, and then Maurio Hanson made two free throws with 1:04 left, giving Chambers a 56-51 lead.
“We felt confident that we could come back,” Frazier said. “We have faced some good teams in some pressure situations. We knew what we had to do.”
Lowe started the comeback with a pair of free throws with 58 seconds to play, and then his steal and layup cut the Chambers lead to 56-55 with 47 seconds left.
Then the Cougars turned the ball over on a traveling call, followed by Frazier’s 3-pointer.
“It felt good from the moment I shot it,” Frazier said.
That put the Warriors up 58-56, but the next 24 seconds saw a Chambers pass go out of bounds, a Weddington turnover on an inbounds play, and then Lowe’s steal.
Even then, Chambers got a final chance. Weddington missed the front half of a one-and-one free-throw situation with 4.8 seconds left, and the Cougars got time for a final shot. Sanford’s 22-footer from the left side bounced off the rim and rolled out.
“I’ve been around a lot of basketball teams, and I’ve never seen a team with the fire that this team has,” Ellington said. “That team (Chambers) is a great team, with some great players. We knew they would push us to the end. But our team is tougher than any other team I’ve seen. They simply won’t quit.”
THREE WHO MATTERED
Evan Morton, Weddington: A 6-1 junior guard, Morton scored 14 points, including eight in the second quarter. With Chambers concentrating on stopping Weddington’s outside game, Morton drove inside for most of his points.
Daniel Sandford, Chambers: A 6-8 senior who is headed to South Carolina in the fall, Sanford finished his high school career with 17 points, including three 3-pointers.
Kyle Frazier, Weddington: He scored 10 points – none bigger than those he got on a 3-pointer with less than a minute to play.
WORTH MENTIONING
▪ The game was a sellout, and the overflow crowd was directed to the Weddington cafeteria, where the contest was live-streamed. Inside the gym, both fan bases cheered loudly. Anyone who left the gym was hearing ringing in their ears for a while Tuesday night.
▪ Weddington has won 47 straight games. The Warriors’ last loss was 67-64 at Freedom, on March 3, 2020, in the state quarterfinals. That was a week before COVID-19 shut down the high school basketball season. Weddington then went 18-0 last year in its 3A state title run and has added 29 victories this season.
▪ Despite being smaller, Weddington won the rebound battle 27-21. The Warriors also had a better shooting night, hitting 20-of-42 for 48 percent. Chambers connected on 18-of-44 for 41 percent.
▪ Chambers’ defense did a solid job of stopping Weddington from making 3-pointers in the second half. The Warriors, who use the long-range game as a key weapon, made only two shots from 3-point range after halftime.
▪ Tuesday’s victory gave Weddington a bit of revenge against the Cougars. Last November, Chambers eliminated the Warriors from the 4A football playoffs in the state quarterfinals.
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle
---------------------------
Chambers 13 13 11 19 – 56
Weddington 16 15 17 10 – 58
CHAMBERS: Jaylen Curry 10; Antoine Piper 10; Smith 2; Hanson 2; Daniel Sanford 17; Nicholas Dorn 15; Ashemore 0.
WEDDINGTON: Chase Lowe 18; Evan Morton 14; Cook 3; Tah 3; Kyle Frazier 10; Brosterhous 6; Ellyson 0; Werdann 0; Abrams 2; Hamilton 2.
This story was originally published March 1, 2022 at 8:01 PM.
