Central Cabarrus caps second straight unbeaten season, blitzes Seventy-First in 3A final
Central Cabarrus put itself in rare company Friday night.
The Vikings (33-0), ranked No. 3 in The Observer’s Sweet 16 poll and ranked as high as No. 15 nationally, beat Fayetteville 71st 90-62 in the N.C. 3A state championship at the Joel Coliseum. Central, which won its 65th straight game, finished its second straight season unbeaten.
And the championship was never in doubt: The Vikings led 10-0 to start the game, 28-11 after the first quarter, 50-24 at halftime and 67-45 after three.
“So proud of my kids,” Central Cabarrus coach Jim Baker said. “The expression I continue to use is a slang: ‘They’re some dogs now.’ They love to compete. They love to play. If I fed them right now, they would go play again. I guess one day when I’m sitting in the nursing home, looking back on it, at the run they’ve had and the type of kids they are ... it’s pretty special.”
Coming into the state final, Central Cabarrus was winning by an average of 45 points per game and the Vikings had won their five playoff games by an average of 42 points. Other than this week’s 87-78 win over Hickory in the N.C. 3A Western Regional final, Central Cabarrus wasn’t challenged in the postseason much more than during regular-season play.
Seventy-First couldn’t change that Friday.
The Falcons (28-3), in the final for the second time in three years, had a 17-game win streak snapped. Seventy-First also lost, 83-75, to West Charlotte in the 2022 state final.
Central Cabarrus, which is 95-1 in the past three years, became the first N.C. 3A public school to win back-to-back titles since Cox Mill, another Cabarrus County team, won the championship in 2017 and 2018.
Other recent teams to win back-to-back 3A titles include Greensboro’s Dudley High (2005-06) and West Rowan (2002-03).
Another Charlotte-area team, Weddington, finished as an unbeaten 3A champion in 2021 and was an unbeaten 4A champion in 2022. Those Warriors teams won 49 games in a row.
Senior guard Carson Daniel said the key to the Vikings’ success — this year and in the past two — was simple.
He said Central Cabarrus’ teams were like a band of brothers. They reached three straight regional championship games and two straight championship games, plus the two state titles. Those two sets of rings will stack nicely beside the 2000 state title the school also won.
“It doesn’t feel real with how close we’ve all gotten,” Carson Daniel said.
His twin brother, Chase, told a story about how Coach Baker lost his mother and some members of the team attended the service. Two additional pallbearers were needed and the Daniels brothers volunteered.
“We were all there for him,” Chase Daniel said, “and for (Baker) to be out here and get the job done means the world and shows what type of man he is and shows his influence over all of us. ... It’s a big family over here.”
THREE WHO MATTERED
D.J. Kent, Central Cabarrus: The championship MVP had 20 points, nine rebounds, five steals, two assists and two blocks.
Josh Dalton, Central Cabarrus: The 6-9 transfer from Virginia finished with a game-high 22 points on 10-of-19 shooting. He had four rebounds.
Carson Daniel, Central Cabarrus: The senior guard made 5 of 7 shots and finished with 13 points, seven assists and three rebounds.
NOTES
▪ Central Cabarrus’ D.J. Kent was named the game’s most valuable player. Seventy-First’s Mylon Campbell was Eastern most outstanding player, and Central’s Josh Dalton was most outstanding for the West.
▪ Baker said Carson Daniel got hit in the semifinals and hadn’t practiced in two days because of some back pain.
“He couldn’t walk yesterday,” Baker said. “I texted him (Friday) morning and said, ‘Carson, how you feel?’ He goes, ‘Coach, I’m good. Don’t worry. We got this.’ And that was it.”
▪ Central Cabarrus forced 24 turnovers and scored 24 points off them. The Vikings, who had 15 steals, also outscored Seventy-First 24-16 on fast-break points.
THEY SAID IT
“Coach Baker told us to don’t let it bite us in the butt. He said, ‘Don’t smell yourself,’ meaning don’t take it for granted. For us to be able to do that is unbelievable. I’m more than grateful” — Central’s D.J. Kent, talking about his team’s 65-game win streak
SUMMARY
Seventy-First 11 13 21 17 — 62
Central Cabarrus 28 22 17 23 — 90
SEVENTY-FIRST 62 — Jaquez Foster 15, McBryde 6, Mylon Campbell 14, DeAndre Nance 12, Dowdy-Isom 1, Diggs 5, Dunn 2, Perez 7
CENTRAL CABARRUS 90 — Chase Daniel 14, Josh Dalton 22, Edmisten 3, Carson Daniel 13, DJ Kent 20, Bakker 3, Russell 8, Smith 3, Lowry 2, Ezeigbo 2
PHOTOS: Central Cabarrus vs. Seventy-First
This story was originally published March 15, 2024 at 9:59 PM.
