West Charlotte rallies past Wilmington Hoggard for seventh boys’ basketball title
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- West Charlotte rallied from 17 down; Johnson's 0.6s layup won 70-68
- Sophomore Kaharri Coleman created winning play, named overall game MVP
- West Charlotte secured seventh NCHSAA title, coach Jacoby Davis earned second
West Charlotte is a state champion again.
The Lions beat Wilmington’s Hoggard High with a furious fourth-quarter rally, sparked by its defense. West Charlotte won 70-68 after trailing by 17 points early and never leading until sophomore Kaharri Coleman found sophomore Sean Johnson under the basket for a layup with 0.6 seconds left.
West Charlotte (23-6), which started three sophomores, won its seventh NCHSAA state title since 1986 and denied Hoggard (23-7) a first state title. Hoggard was in the finals for the first time in 56 years.
“I’m blessed to have a great group that learned to get better every day,” said West Charlotte’s Jacoby Davis, who just completed his 10th year as head coach and won his second state title. “The way that game went, we could’ve easily given up.
“But we didn’t, and it shows who these young men (are) and what West Charlotte is.”
Hoggard came out hot, jumping out to leads of 17-2 and 20-3, the latter with 2:03 left in the first period.
West Charlotte missed its first eight field goals and seemed uncomfortable in the spacious Wake Forest University court at the Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem.
Hoggard — led by junior guard Hunter McGrath (son of former UNC men’s basketball assistant C.B. McGrath) — led 22-10 after the first quarter, when it shot eight for 13 compared with 3 of 12 for West Charlotte.
The Lions began to settle down and used their defense to get back into the game. The Lions tied the score at 47 with 2:16 left in the third quarter and again at 49 before Hoggard closed out the period with seven straight points.
The Vikings were still ahead 66-58 with 4:38 to play before West Charlotte fought back again, closing to 66-62 with 2:57 left on a pair of Kaharri Coleman baskets before he was fouled while trying a layup attempt for a third bucket.
Sophomore Carter Sullivan subbed in for Coleman, who was briefly injured. Sullivan made both free throws to close the margin to 66-64. McGrath’s driving layup with 2:28 pushed the Hoggard lead to 68-64 but would prove to be the Vikings’ last points.
Chacho Womack hit a 10-footer to close the lead to 68-66 and Sullivan hit two more free throws with 1:25 to play before McGrath was fouled with 1:14 left. After McGrath missed both, West Charlotte held the ball until there were 14 seconds left and Davis called timeout. Coleman then drove to the foul line and hit sophomore Sean Johnson with a pass near the basket. Johnson caught it, and shot it, in one motion for the eventual game winner with 0.6 seconds left.
Lions fans stormed the court after the play as arena officials tried to return them to the stands and game officials tried to determine how much time was left.
Coleman said he initially tried to score but when three Hoggard defenders converged on him, he passed to Johnson near the basket.
After putting 0.6 seconds on the clock, a length-of-court Hoggard pass was defended by Coleman and A.C. Pressley — and the Lions’ official celebration could begin.
“I had confidence he could hit that shot,” Coleman said of his game-winning pass to Johnson. “We fought hard, and it started on defense with No. 11 (Major Cross) and No. 12 (Carter Sullivan).”
Coleman was named overall game MVP, with J’Khai McManus-Wade getting team MVP for West Charlotte and McGrath for Hoggard.
McGrath had a game-high 27 points on 10-of-18 overall shooting (5 of 7 on 3-pointers) while Coleman (17 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists) led a balanced West Charlotte attack. Womack scored 13 points, McManus-Wade and Sullivan had 12 points apiece, Pressley eight and Johnson six.
Game summary
Hoggard 22 14 20 12 — 68
West Charlotte 10 19 20 21 — 70
HOGGARD 68 — Hunter McGrath 27, Morgan 4, Aidan Locklear 18, Seward 7, Nakula O’Connor 10, Batchelor 2
WEST CHARLOTTE 70 — Chacho Womack 13, A. Pressley 8, J’Khai McManus-Wade 12, Cross 2, Carter Sullivan 12, Johnson 6, Kaharri Coleman 17
Records: Hoggard 23-7, West Charlotte 23-6.
Watch: West Charlotte’s postgame media interview
This story was originally published March 11, 2026 at 7:01 PM.
