Wilson Prep rallies past Charlotte’s Corvian Community in 1A state championship game
Wilson Prep won its third N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A state championship in four years in dramatic fashion Friday afternoon at the Joel Coliseum.
The Tigers rallied to beat Charlotte’s Corvian Community 65-63 in a game both teams will remember for a long time.
Wilson Prep will remember the three free throws from Leslie Minter that won the game with less than a second left.
Corvian Community will remember being ahead by a point with less than four seconds left and a foul being called to send Minter to the line as he was about to attempt a three-point shot that didn’t touch anything.
“I knew it was either hit the shot or try to draw a foul,” Minter said. “But when I felt (the Corvian player) behind me, I knew the ref saw him foul me, so I knew I would hit the free throws and finish the game off. We shoot free throws in practice every day, so I thought back to practice and ended the game.”
Corvian Community School (27-4) had won 18 games in a row and was making its first state championship game appearance. Corvian, led by second-year coach Ron Murphy, started the season 1-2.
Wilson Prep (27-5) won its 13th straight game and got another state championship.
“I thought it was an amazing basketball game, I hate how it ended,” Murphy said, fighting back tears. “I just told my team, I apologize. We practice just about every situation known to man. We never practice up one, four seconds left, full court. So that’s on me. I’ve got to eat that. (Wilson Prep) I thought was the best team we played all year. I was proud of our guys for just battling every possession, every place. Just wish I could’ve coached better for four seconds.”
Despite playing without point guard AJ Jackson for the final 3:13, Corvian rallied to get the lead after Minter nailed an NBA-range 3 to give Wilson Prep a 62-60 lead with over just over two minutes to play.
Corvian, however, might have had a bigger lead late, but the Cardinals really struggled at the free-throw line. For the game, Corvian was 16 for 30, compared with 15 of 19 for Wilson Prep.
The Cardinals shot about 60 percent for the season, however.
“There was a stretch in the season where we were shooting 55 percent from the line,” Murphy said. “We practice free throws and we work on it. Two games ago, we were 14 for 14. So I don’t think it was the moment. We just missed. We reverted to the mean. We don’t shoot great. You go look on MaxPrep and that ball hits the rim a lot when we play. Today we just came up short.”
Despite that, Murphy’s Cardinals still had a real chance to win.
After Jack Hudson missed a potential game-winning 3, Corvian got the rebound and called a timeout. Wilson Prep fouled Adrian Scott as he was trying to get free on an inbounds play.
Scott made 1 of 2 free throws to give his team a 63-62 lead with four seconds left.
That led to a Wilson Prep timeout and the play that led to the foul — and Minter’s game-winning free throws.
“We just came up short,” Corvian junior Malachi McCutcheon, a team captain, said, “We played the best we could and we got to the very end, but we just came up short.”
And this may not be the only time Corvian reaches the final round. Of the eight Cardinals players Murphy played Friday, only forward Jack Hudson was a senior.
RJ Moore (20 points, four rebounds, four steals) is a freshman. McCutcheon (five points, six rebounds), Adrian Scott (nine points, nine rebounds), Cam Johnson (five rebounds), DeMarkus Milton (five rebounds) and Jackson (14 points, three rebounds) are juniors.
Corvian was 5-7 four years ago but is 68-21 since, including 47-11 under Murphy the past two seasons.
“It doesn’t matter what anybody says,” said Hudson, who had eight points, 17 rebounds and five assists, “I’m going to live and die on this team I’m on right now being the best team in North Carolina. We’ve been rolling, especially since Coach Murphy came along. Counting this, we’ve only lost four games the whole year. Nobody can discredit us for that. We’re nice. We’re like that. I’ll always love my guys, rock with my guys and I hate it had to end this year, but God had a different plan for us and that’s OK.”
THREE WHO MATTERED
Ben Ferguson, Wilson Prep: Ferguson made 13 of 23 shots and had 32 points to go with seven rebounds. He was named most valuable player of the championship. Teammate Brandon Anderson was Eastern most outstanding player.
Leslie Minter, Wilson Prep: Wilson Prep didn’t make a single 3-point shot until the final minutes of regulation. Minter made both, plus the game-winning free throws. He finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
AJ Jackson Jr., Corvian Community: Junior point guard controlled the game until he fouled out with nearly three minutes to play. Teammate Jack Hudson (eight points, 17 rebounds, five assists, two blocks, two steals) was named Western most outstanding player.
NOTES
▪ Corvian out-rebounded Wilson Prep 44-37, but Wilson Prep played heavy second half minutes without center David Ellis (four points, seven rebounds) who suffered a knee injury.
▪ The 1 p.m. start didn’t affect the crowd or enthusiasm. Both teams had strong crowds and Wilson Prep’s pep band also made the trip.
▪ Corvian was the first Charlotte team to play in a small school state championship game since Matthews School lost to Camp Lejeune in the 1950 state final. It was called the Class B final at the time.
SUMMARY
Wilson Prep 10 18 22 15 — 65
Corvian Community 15 19 16 13 — 63
WILSON PREP 65 — Ben Ferguson 32, Anderson 9, Leslie Minter 14, Ellis 4, Newsome 2
CORVIAN COMMUNITY 63 — RJ Moore Jr. 20, McCutcheon 5, Hudson 8, Scott 9, AJ Jackson Jr., 14, Milton 7
PHOTOS: Corvian vs. Wilson Prep
This story was originally published March 15, 2024 at 12:00 AM.
