Welcome to WRAL.com's live coverage of the 2007 Men's Basketball Championship, live from the Dean E. Smith Center on the UNC-Chapel Hill Campus. After a great day of ACC Tournament action, why not wrap it up with some live coverage of a great championship game?

We'll be taking questions and comments from viewers the entire game, so send them to us at blog@ncsportsreport.com or just leave a comment! Stay with WRAL.com for prep sports coverage you can count on.

FINAL
New Hanover - 39
Zebulon Vance - 35

9:02 PM: Thanks for staying with WRAL High School Hoops throughout this basketball season. WRAL is your source for the best prep sports coverage in North Carolina. I'm Nick Stevens, and continue to stay with me and WRAL for great prep sports coverage!

9:00 PM: Congratulations to the 2007 State Champions.... NEW HANOVER! This is their first state championship since 1968. The final score, 39-35.

8:59 PM: The three pointer didn't fall and New Hanover got the rebound. The player was immediately fouled and will shoot the one and one with 1.6 seconds left.

8:58 PM: Vance calls another timeout after getting the ball across the midcourt line. It took them 7 seconds to get across halfcourt. Not much more time left if they don't hit their first shot.

8:57 PM: ... and the back end.

8:57 PM: Cedric Baker made the front end.

8:55 PM: New Hanover fouled prior to the inbounds pass. That is the seventh team foul and will send New Hanover to the line to shot the 1 and 1. Cedric Baker is at the line. Vance calls a full timeout. This is a big timeout for Vance, so they can talk over every possible situation. The timeout will also help to ice the free throw shooter. Stay with us, this is a GREAT championship game!

8:53 PM: New Hanover got a jump shot from No. 10 with 40 seconds left. Then they rebounded the miss by Vance. New Hanover has the ball with 20 seconds left up one point.

8:52 PM: That inbounds play was poor communication.

8:52 PM: Vance just picked up their fifth team foul, but that won't send New Hanover to the line. New Hanover tried to inbound the pass, and it didn't go to a player, it rolled out of bounds. Ball goes to Vance.

8:51 PM: New Hanover takes a timeout with 1:16 left. They need a quality shot on this possession.

8:49 PM: Vance just took the lead for the first time this half on a beautiful drive to the hoop. The New Hanover defense didn't rotate over, and they paid for it. New Hanover is down one with 1:30 left!

8:47 PM: Nothing going for Vance on offense, and they decide to take a timeout to talk it over. Wise timeout by Vance. They don't need to rush the shot, there's no shot clock and they're only down one. There's a lot of time left, and we're in for a heck of a finish!

8:45 PM: After the techincal foul shots were converted by Vance, they trail by one and have the ball. 3:00 left!

8:43 PM: Alright, we're getting down to cruch time, so we're going to start giving up score updates at the top of  this blog.

8:41 PM: Montray Sales went to the line for Vance and made one of two shots to bring Vance within 8 points. The second shot was missed, rebounded by New Hanover, then they lost control of it out of bounds. It's not over there... One of the Vance players (No. 34) drove to basket, got fouled, and made the lay up. They made the foul shot, and now Vance has cut the lead to 5. 32-27, New Hanover with 4:25 left in the ball game.

8:37 PM: New Hanover's defense continues to just dominate the inside. They are going to spread the court now and start running down the clock. 6 minutes left and New Hanover is enjoying a 9 point lead.

8:34 PM: New Hanover owned the third quarter. 30-21, New Hanover at the end of the third quarter. New Hanover went on a 11-4 run during the third quarter.

8:30 PM: The transition defense by New Hanover is outstanding. Vance keeps trying to get a transition game going, but New Hanover won't allow it. I think my prediction was correct, New Hanover will win the championship!

8:27 PM: James Beatty just went to line and hit three free throws to put New Hanover up by 3 with 4:00 to go in the third quarter. If Vance is going to win this game, they are going to have to play a lot smarter than they have in the last few possessions.

8:26 PM: Walker (NH) is having a very nice game. By my count, he's already got 4 blocks.

8:25 PM: Nicholas Becton just laid in a nice bucket and got the and-one for the old fashion three-point play. New Hanover leads 22-17 with 6:15 to go in the third quarter.

8:23 PM: Alright, play is underway.

8:21 PM: We'll be here live from Chapel Hill with coverage of the second half right here on WRAL.com in a few minutes. Stay with WRAL.com High School Hoops for championship coverage you can count on!

8:20 PM: Ok... New Hanover is 9/20 from the field, 0 of 2 from 3-point range, and made 1 of 3 free throws. New Hanover is actually being outrebounded 13-16 and they have 6 turnovers. Vance is 7 of 24 from the field, 1 of 4 from three-point range, and has 5 turnovers.

8:17 PM: So, they didn't bring me box scores, so we'll hopefully be able to get our hands on some.

8:15 PM: John in Cary asks: "Nick - Do you think any Wake County teams could compete with these two teams?"

Thanks for sending in your question John. Yes. I think there are a few teams that would matchup very nicely with these two teams, but I do think these are the two best teams in the state.

8:12 PM: New Hanover, although winning by just two points, is the better team on the court tonight. I am very impressed with the way they have played defense. New Hanover has to avoid the turnovers, because that is what allowed Vance back into the game after New Hanover jumped out to their big lead in the beginning. New Hanover has several blocks already, and are rebounding very nicely. We'll have some halftime stats coming up here in just a moment when the box score is given to us.

8:06 PM: How about playing Dean Smith's offense on Dean Smith's court? New Hanover ran out the last minute of the game on offensive running the four corners offense. They couldn't complete the two point shot, but New Hanover leads 19-17 at the half.

8:03 PM: Cedric Baker (NH) just got away with a walk on the last play. The referee bailed him out with a foul, and he made one of two shots. 19-17 New Hanover with 1:57 left in the half.

7:59 PM: Vance just called a timeout after New Hanover started the second quarter on a 6-0 run. New Hanover leads 15-10 with 4:22 remaining in the 2nd quarter.

7:58 PM: New Hanover looked a little bit frustrated inside on their last offensive possession. They need to realize that they can pass the ball outside as well - that all comes with spacing. When you have a bunch of people under the basket, it would be easy for a guard to get lost on the perimeter and find himself open for a three pointer.

7:57 PM: New Hanover's defense is smothering!

7:57 PM: Even though New Hanover is up just 1 point with 6:00 left in the 2nd, I think New Hanover is the best high school team I have seen in North Carolina.

7:52 PM: End of the 1st quarter and Vance leads New Hanover, 10-7. We are in for a great three quarters (and maybe more here) so stay with WRAL.com for championship coverage you can count on! I'm Nick Stevens.

7:49 PM: Vance is getting their game in rhythm now. They have attacked New Hanover on defense, forced steals, scored, and gotten rebounds. With 1:09 left in the 1st quarter, Vance leads 10-7.

7:45 PM: Back to back turnovers by New Hanover, and slammed home by Vance. 5-4 Vance, 3:53 left in the first quarter.

7:44 PM: New Hanover is overpowering Vance. They are killing them on defense and on the boards.

7:43 PM: New Hanover's already got 2 blocks, less than 2 minutes into the game.

7:39 PM: We're announcing players right now, so as soon as they're done, we'll get to the action. Just incase you are wondering, I'm picking New Hanover to win the state championship. SI picked New Hanover as the No. 1 team in the state in the pre-season, and they can prove that tonight with a victory over Vance.

7:34 PM: Welcome to WRAL's live coverage of the state championship game, I'm Nick Stevens. We want you to interact with us all night long, so please send in your questions and comments. Tip off is just around the corner.