Leaky roof postpones state finals rematch between No. 1 Myers Park, Richmond Senior
The fans were ready well before tip off and the teams went after each other for nearly two full quarters before Mother Nature altered the course of Tuesday’s Richmond County at Myers Park boys high school basketball game.
Tuesday’s heavy rainfall caused a leaky roof that postponed the game with 2:59 left in the second quarter and Myers Park leading 27-21.
“It’s disappointing a little bit,” Myers Park coach Scott Taylor said.
The contest was a rematch of the last year’s N.C. 4A state championship game won by Myers Park, 74-60, at the University of North Carolina’s Smith Center.
That meeting came four months after Myers Park won 78-37 in a regular season game at the Richmond County gymnasium.
Myers Park fans came ready to remind the Raiders of those two defeats as members of the school’s student section held up signs reading “Part 1 78-37” and “Part 2 74-60.”
The visiting Raiders scored the game’s first six points before Myers Park scored 11 of the game’s next 13 points to take the lead for good at 11-8.
The Mustangs led by a game-high nine points (21-12) afer the first quarter and were ahead by nine again at 25-16 with 5:30 left in the opening half.
Richmond County, led by Paul McNeil’s 17 points, cut that lead to 27-21 when game officials discovered moisture on the court in front of the Raiders’ bench. McNeil, a 6-foot-6 senior ranked as the No. 7 N.C. high school senior by 247sports, has signed to play at N.C. State.
After about 10 minutes of discussions and efforts to dry to slick spots on the court, the decision was made not to continue the game.
“We needed to play this game,” said Taylor, whose top ranked Sweet 16 team lost 51-48 to Lincolnton’s nationally ranked Combine in its Nov. 18 season opener. “We’re looking to get some consistency.”
Myers Park, whose 2023 title was its first boys basketball state championship, was led on Tuesday night by Sadiq White’s 10 points. The 6-foot-9 White is the top-ranked N.C. high school junior by 247sports.
Other Mustangs standouts include Notre Dame signee Sir Mohammed (No. 6-ranked senior) and Tennessee signee Bishop Boswell (No. 8-ranked senior).
Mohammed missed his second straight game after suffering a shoulder injury in a Nov. 11 home scrimmage against Columbia, S.C., Ridgeview. Taylor, whose team’s next game is Nov. 28 at Chambers, is uncertain when Mohammed will return to action.
PHOTOS: Richmond Senior at Myers Park
This story was originally published November 21, 2023 at 10:49 PM.
