Central Cabarrus puts itself in huge hole, then almost battles back at The Throne

Central Cabarrus put itself in a position Wednesday morning where the Vikings couldn’t afford any more mistakes.

Then the Vikings missed most of their free throws in the fourth quarter.

The result was a 69-62 loss to Kell, out of Kennesaw, Georgia, in the opening game of The Throne National Basketball Championship’s boys basketball bracket at the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The loss spoiled an amazing comeback by Central Cabarrus, which had put itself in a 28-7 hole after the first quarter before battling back against the two-time Georgia 5A champion Longhorns.

It marked the second straight year that Central Cabarrus had appeared in the 16-team national championship event. The Vikings reached the championship round last year.

It also marked the end of the ride for this version of the Vikings, which has won 65 straight regular-season and state playoff games and won two consecutive N.C. 3A championships. Most main contributors to this year’s team were seniors.

Due to various state athletic association regulations, the teams were known as the N.C. Vikings and the Georgia Longhorns. And Central Cabarrus coach James Baker was not permitted to coach, instead turning over the reins to Bronwyn Glover, the mother of Viking senior Desmond Kent Jr.

Baker watched the proceedings from two rows behind the bench Wednesday.

Those proceedings went from awful, to great, and then to bad for the Vikings.

The “bad” came in the fourth quarter, after Central Cabarrus had rallied from the large deficit and taken a lead as big as 56-53 with 5:47 left on an Emari Russell layup.

But Russell missed a free throw after that basket, and that was a sign of things to come. Over the final minutes, the Vikings made only 2-of-7 from the foul line, and that wasn’t a recipe for success against a rugged opponent with three Division I commitments.

Kell’s C.J. Brown, a 6-foot-7 inside force who will play next season at South Florida, scored seven of his 16 points in the fourth quarter.

He also struck the dagger. With Kell leading 65-62 and in possession of the ball with 50 seconds left, Brown dribbled out most of the 35-second shot clock in use during the tournament, then drilled a 12-foot jumper. That put the Longhorns up 67-62 with 23 seconds to play, and it effectively decided the contest.

The first quarter couldn’t have gone much worse for the Vikings.

They fell behind 14-0 in the opening 2 and a half minutes, behind four 3-pointers by the Longhorns. By the time the quarter ended, the Vikings were down 28-7. They had shot 3-of-11 from the foul line, turned the ball over seven times and had forced only three Kell turnovers.

Then the Central Cabarrus that North Carolina prep basketball fans know appeared.

The Vikings outscored Kell 43-23 over the middle two quarters, making 19-of-30 shots and holding Kell to 9-of-29 shooting. Carson Daniel scored 10 points in the second quarter.

Central Cabarrus opened the fourth quarter trailing 51-50, then took a 52-51 lead — its first of the game — on a Josh Dalton dunk with 6:44 left. There were four lead changes and two ties in the fourth quarter before the Longhorns finally pulled away at the finish.

Josh Dalton led the Vikings with 16. Lees-McRae commitment Desmond Kent added 15, and Catawba-bound Chase and Carson Daniel each had 13.

Jaylen Colon, an Alabama A&M pledge, led Kell with 17 points. Brown and Chris McLavish each added 16.

Kell shot 13-of-19 from the foul line, to 5-of-13 for the Vikings.

The tournament continues through Saturday.

This story was originally published March 27, 2024 at 12:54 PM.