4A State Championship Recap
Women's 4-A State Championship
Myers Park 61 - Southeast Raleigh 46
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Myers Park came in as the favorite, as they only had one loss so far all season. Southeast Raleigh had a great season and were looking to make a statement against Myers Park early.
In the beginning, it was all Myers Park in the first quarter, showing their size and athletism that took Southeast Raleigh out of their game early, as Myers Park raced out to an 16-4 first quarter lead.
Eventually, Southeast settled down and started to cut into the lead but were never able to get ahold of the size down low, especially Ryedeiah Rogers.
It was mostly the Rogers show throughout the night, as tiem and tiem again Myers worked their offense around her. By the third quarter though, Southeast Raleigh had dug themselves to big of a hole to get out of and struggled to hit their shots late in the game.
What really determined the game was the second chance points, as Myers Park outscored Southeast Raleigh 25-0 on second chance points.
By the end of the third quarter, Myers Park was in complete control and looked to seal the game, hitting timely shots while controlling the clock.
In the end, Myers Park walked away with a 15 point victory and finished the season on top with a state title in the 4-A division.
Rogers for Myers Park finished the night with 25 points and grabbed a tremendous 20 rebounds, naming her the MVP of the game.
This is the first state championship for Myers Park.
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Men's 4-A State Championship
Apex 62 - Lake Norman 59
The two teams were feeling each other out early in the game, as they went back and forth throughout the first quarter with both crowds showing their support throughout.
It was by far the best atmosphere in Reynolds all night, as they packed the arena with fans.
The teams went back and forth, with Lake Norman slowly starting to build confidence with their outside shot, while Apex attacked the paint and scored on turnovers in the first quarter. Lake Norman took a two point lead after the first quarter but saw the lead increase in the second quarter.
Apex struggled hitting their shots in the second quarter, bothered at times by the size of Lake Norman and going 4-of-13, while the Wildcats extended their lead by moving the ball around the floor and hitting the open man.
With the halftime score 33-25 Lake Norman, the Wildcats were able to have an 10-7 advantage with second chance points, while hitting four three pointers in the first half; Apex was 0-of-9 from behind the arc.
Coming out in the third quarter, Apex looked like a different team and it started on the defensive end, creating turnovers and speeding up the play for Lake Norman.
It also was Ian Boyd who brought Apex back, as he started to make his presence known on the court in the third quarter. Eventually, Apex took a three point lead, 39-36, as the two teams went back and forth from there on, as the score was 42-40 heading into the fourth quarter.
Going into the fourth, the points didn't come easy for either team, but at the 3:50 mark, Ian Boyd brought the crowd to a roar with a one handed, open court slam to give Apex a 46-45 lead.
After a big time three and a jumper by Boyd, Apex had a four point lead with 2:10 to go in the game.
Back and forth the teams went, as it looked to be yet another great battle between two teams that refused to lose Saturday night in Raleigh.
Then, with 51 second to go and Apex up by two, T.J. Evans made a fantastic and one play, giving them a five point lead with under a minute to play; by far the most important play and call in the game at that time.
Lake Norman has their chance to tie, down by three with a little over 30 seconds to go, but Boyd stepped up again with a huge block on the baseline, as he secured the ball and was fouled.
Hitting both free throws, he eventually sealed the deal for Apex, as the Cougars who started 2-4 on the season, ended their run with a state title, defeating Lake Norman 62-59.
Boyd finished the game with 25 points for Apex, while Kishawn Pritchett finished with 17 points for Lake Norman.
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