Weddington wins 49th straight game, second NCHSAA state championship
Make it 49 in a row.
Weddington may not look like the best public school basketball team in North Carolina when the Warriors come out to warm up, but they sure play like it.
Undersized, but together, Weddington overwhelmed Panther Creek 76-58 in the N.C. 4A state championship Saturday, winning a title in the state’s largest class to match the 3A crown the Warriors won a year ago.
The Warriors shot 61.5 percent from the floor against Panther Creek and 67 percent from behind the 3-point line. Heroes were everywhere.
Point guard Chase Lowe, named championship MVP for the second straight year, had 19 points, seven rebounds, four steals and two assists. Kyle Frazier made 3-of-7 3-point attempts and had 21 points, three rebounds and three assists. And AJ Cook made 5-of-5 3-point attempts in the game, including 4-of-4 in the third quarter. He finished with 17 points, five assists and three steals.
“The game was a blur, it really was,” Weddington coach Gary Ellington said. “The game kind of went the way we were hoping. We shot the ball really well and that was obviously the difference in the game. I didn’t realize we shot 67 percent from 3. ... That’s really impressive.”
While struggling to stop Weddington on offense, Panther Creek also struggled with Weddington’s unique 1-1-3 zone defense — something that’s been key to the run — and never seemed to get comfortable. The Catamounts had 16 turnovers and shot 27 percent from 3.
“They make you play far away from the basket,” said Panther Creek coach Shawan Robinson, who played in the 2001 4A state championship at Leesville Road and then played four years at Clemson. “I believe there were times where we got comfortable with it, but it does pose some problems. They’re not really guarding you and you’re looking to pass it, and everybody’s guarding someone else. It’s a very good defense and I can see where it gives people problems because it gave us problems all night.”
To get to the final, Weddington (31-0) had to rally in the final minutes to beat Olympic in the first round; and then against N.C. 4A heavyweights Chambers and North Mecklenburg in the regional semifinals and regional championship games, the Warriors were down — and won — in the final 60 seconds.
On Saturday, there was no such drama. Weddington pretty much led from the start and extended the lead to as many as 21 points.
Make no mistake, this was a statement win. Weddington has not lost since March 3, 2020 — 49 games in two calendar years.
So call them champions. Again.
“It was just a flood of emotions for me,” Lowe said, “excitement that we won, but sadness that the journey had come to an end. I’m still trying to process that as we speak, but just playing in the Dean Dome with a huge student section and all my family there. But I knew we had secured that win, it was the best feeling in the world.”
Notes/Observations
▪ The eastern most outstanding player was Panther Creek’s Amari Odom. Odom finished with 19 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals. He’s also a high major recruit in football as a quarterback.
The western most outstanding player was Weddington’s Frazier.
▪ Ellington was asked if he thought he had the best team in North Carolina. He answered in the affirmative.
“We’re not the best team in the state because we’re bigger,” he said. “A lot of teams are bigger than us. A lot of teams are more athletic than us and a lot of teams have a lot of talent. We’re the best team in the state because our teams love each other more than any other team.
“I believe that we prep more than any other team,” he continued. “If teams knew the type of stuff we did throughout the summer and leading up to the season, they would probably would think we were training (to be) Navy SEALS. I think there’s a certain level of toughness that comes out of that. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing, we’re going to feel like we’ve got a chance to win.”
PHOTOS: Weddington vs. Panther Creek
Click here for photos from the game
This story was originally published March 12, 2022 at 9:32 PM.
