No. 3 Central Cabarrus falls behind early, rallies past Carmel Christian at Lakesgiving.
Most high school basketball teams need a few games to round into regular-season form.
Central Cabarrus needed eight minutes.
The Vikings, defending 3A state champions and ranked No. 3 in The Observer’s boys’ Sweet 16, had a rocky start to their 2023-24 season Saturday night.
But in no time at all, coach James Baker’s bunch looked like vintage Central Cabarrus in a 79-58 victory over Carmel Christian in the Phenom Hoops Lakesgiving event at Lake Norman High.
If you are a Central Cabarrus fan, the beginning was … well, rather ugly.
The Vikings threw the ball away and missed open shots several times in the opening quarter. They trailed 19-11 after one period and were down 23-11 in the second quarter.
“Once we got it going — a dunk and a couple of steals — we were back to our old selves again,” Baker said. “I thought we really played well defensively in the second half.”
Central Cabarrus battled back and tied the game at 36-36 on an Emari Russell basket just before the half.
And in the third quarter, the Vikings did what they did so often last season in their 32-0 run to the state championship. Their relentless defense forced turnovers and seemed to tire Carmel Christian. The turnovers, in turn, fueled the Central Cabarrus high-octane offense.
During one stretch of the second half, the Vikings outscored Carmel Christian (2-5) 30-9, building a 40-38 edge to a 70-47 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Central Cabarrus has been a state power for two seasons. The Vikings went 30-1 two years ago, losing only to West Charlotte in the West Regional finals. Then came last season’s 32-0 mark.
But Baker said this year’s team will be different.
“I don’t know if we’re quite as good defensively as last year,” he said. “But we might be stronger, and we’ve got some experience and size.”
One of the new faces is 6-9 senior Josh Dalton. His family moved for business reasons to the Charlotte area, and Dalton, a Virginia private school basketball standout last season, chose Central Cabarrus to attend.
“Josh was a little nervous in the first half, I think,” Baker said. “But boy, did he step it up in the second half.”
Dalton finished with 13 points, and the Vikings’ other big player, 6-6 senior D.J. Kent, had 19 points, 14 rebounds, and two blocks.
Baker said his veteran players have high standards.
“The twins were apologizing to me at halftime for how things were going,” Baker said of seniors Chase and Carson Daniel. “They promised we’d be better in the second half.”
Carson Daniel finished with 17 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Baker said he told his team that the start of the game might be tough.
“Carmel Christian was a pretty tough opponent for an opening game,” he said. “I prepared our kids that we might get rocked a bit at the start.”
The Cougars, private school 4A state runners-up last season, were led by Olympic High transfer Kam Taylor, who scored 29 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Taylor had 23 of his team’s 36 first-half points, but Central Cabarrus did a better job of defending him after halftime.
“We forced 18 turnovers and had 19 assists,” Baker said. “That’s about on par for us. All in all, I think it was a good start.”
Lake Norman wins
In the evening’s finale, host Lake Norman had an impressive 64-49 victory over Davidson Day.
The Wildcats (3-0) got 18 points from 6-10 senior Trent Steinour, who, according to event organizer Rick Lewis, said had staff members from the University of Georgia on hand to watch him.
Tre McKinnon added 14 and Myers Park transfer Santana Lynch scored 10 for Lake Norman.
Davidson Day absorbed its first loss in five games this season. Will Stevens led the Patriots with 15 points, and Isaiah Denis added 10.
Scoring summary
NO. 3 CENTRAL CABARRUS 79, CARMEL CHRISTIAN 58
CENTRAL CABARRUS 79 — Chase Daniel 6, Joshua Dalton 13, Carson Daniel 17, D.J. Kent 19, Russell 6, Smith 3.
CARMEL CHRISTIAN 58 — Kennedy 9, Bryce Slay 13, Kam Taylor 29, Bowman 2, Montgomery 3, Peck 2.
PHOTOS: Charlotte Hoops Challenge, Phenom Lakesgiving
This story was originally published November 25, 2023 at 10:49 PM.
