Kaharri Coleman’s big dunks spark West Charlotte to win over Cary’s Panther Creek
A big night from sophomore point guard Kaharri Coleman helped West Charlotte slip past Cary’s Panther Creek, 67-65, at the East-West Showcase at Hopewell High School.
The event brought together eastern NC teams to face their western counterparts, a format used for NCHSAA state championship games.
And Panther Creek very nearly spoiled it for West Charlotte, now off to a 6-0 start.
Panther Creek’s Zy’vaun Puckett knocked down a 3-pointer to trim West Charlotte’s lead to three late in the third quarter, giving him 10 points in the frame as momentum swung in his Catamounts’ favor.
But on the next play, the Lions’ Coleman — a top 50 national talent and the state’s top recruit in the class of 2028 — got the ball in the open floor and bolted toward the basket.
A pair of Panther Creek defenders were in the paint, but Coleman didn’t seem to care. He elevated over the top and threw down a thunderous right-handed flush that sent the crowd at Hopewell High School into a frenzy.
Later, Coleman’s third — and best — dunk of the night kickstarted an 8-0 run that gave West Charlotte its largest lead of the game (58-47). The Lions took a nine-point edge into the fourth and hung on to win. Panther Creek made a prayer from well past half court at the buzzer.
Behind 21 showtime points from Coleman, 21 more from Cha Cho Womack and 16 points from Amen Pressley, West Charlotte continued its unbeaten start.
“We watched film this week, and we knew that Panther Creek was really talented, especially [Puckett],” Lions head coach Jacoby Davis said. “They can score the ball and play different ways, so we felt like this was going to be the game that could show us where we really were.
“I thought they did good. We have to be better executing. We’ve been talking about that lately. We’re good in transition, but we’ve got to be better in the half court. If we want to be a state championship contender, we got to definitely be better executing in the half court.”
An action-packed first quarter ended with Panther Creek’s Keondre Dixie knocking down a long ball to give the Catamounts (7-3) a 19-17 lead heading into the second. West Charlotte’s defense dug in and held Panther Creek to only nine points in the frame, which assisted a 13-2 spurt to end the half.
That turned a 26-19 deficit to a 32-28 halftime lead. Coleman slammed home his first dunk of the night early on in the run, energizing his team for the remainder of the first half.
“Some of my teammates had their head down, and when I made that first dunk, it brought up the momentum,” Coleman said. “[After dunks], it’s like, now I gotta carry and do what I gotta do.”
The third quarter featured more terrific shot-making from both teams, and neither team scored consecutive baskets until the 3-minute mark of the frame. The aforementioned 8-0 West Charlotte run gave it 26 total points in the quarter and built its lead to 11.
The Lions slowed their tempo in the fourth and dragged out possessions to use the clock in their favor. Panther Creek cut the lead to two in the final minute, but two clutch free throws from Major Cross put the game on ice as West Charlotte held on to win its first game decided by one possession this season.
“I know we can score the ball, but we’ve been asking guys to be better at the other things, like rebounding, defending, talking and communicating,” Davis said. “We’ve got some talented dudes, and our bench played really well too. But we’ve been talking more and more just about being better at the smaller things. That’s what we did in the third quarter.”
Three who made a difference
Kaharri Coleman, West Charlotte — High-flying jams aside, Coleman controlled the tempo of the game alongside his backcourt mates. He penetrated the lane at will and got to the rim seemingly whenever he wanted. The sophomore already holds six Division I offers, and Saturday’s tilt showed there is certainly more to come for Coleman. His 21 points were tied for a team high.
Cha Cho Womack, West Charlotte — The 3-ball was falling early for Womack, and that opened up several driving lanes as the Panther Creek defense pushed out to stop him from shooting. The sophomore matched Coleman’s 21 points with 21 of his own, displaying his offensive versatility by scoring at all three levels. Nine of his points came in the third quarter alone.
Zy’vaun Puckett, Panther Creek — One thing became clear in the second half: West Charlotte did not have an answer for Puckett. The smooth-scoring lefty put on a clinic, pouring in a game-high 25 points (18 in the second half). Puckett attacked the rim for tough finishes and stepped outside to bury four 3-pointers. The senior guard continues a strong senior season that includes a near-20 points per game scoring average.
They said it
It’s hard to look at West Charlotte’s results this season and say the Lions can be better, but head coach Jacoby Davis says there’s still another gear his Lions team can find. Despite a win of 44 points, a pair of 20-point blowouts and another triumph by 10, West Charlotte has left plenty of plays out on the hardwood, according to Davis.
“For us to be 6-0, we haven’t played even close to the best basketball that we can play,” he said. “So that’s a good thing in a way, but I got to be better, and they got to be better in practice, locking in every day in practice. I think once we do that, we can go to that next level that we have to get to.
Because everybody in our conference is good enough to go win it. We don’t have no nights off. These next four games are going to tell us who we really are.”
Up next
West Charlotte (6-0) looks to continue its undefeated start next Friday night as it hosts Oak Hill Academy, the seventh-ranked team in the state of Virginia, according to MaxPreps. Panther Creek (7-3) next travels to Hillside on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
SCORING SUMMARY
West Charlotte 17 15 26 9 — 67
Panther Creek 19 9 21 13 — 65
WEST CHARLOTTE 67 — K. Coleman 21, C. Womack 21, A. Pressley 16, J. Wade 5, M. Cross 2, S. Johnson 2.
PANTHER CREEK 65 — Z. Puckett 28, S. Mitchell 10, K. Smith 9, C. Hill 8, K. Dixie 3, E. Carpenter 3.
