North Mecklenburg hands New Hanover first loss of season in 4A state championship
In the swan song for Isaiah Evans' decorated career, the McDonald's All-American, Duke recruit, and 2,000-point scorer is going out a champion.
North Mecklenburg defeated previously-undefeated New Hanover 57-47 for the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A boys basketball championship on Saturday at Lawrence Joel Memorial Coliseum.
- Box Score: North Mecklenburg 57, New Hanover 47
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Evans scored 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting (4-of-5 from 3) to help the Vikings (30-3) over the Wildcats (32-1). He ended his final playoff run averaging 31.3 points per game (188 total in six rounds).
"It means everything to me. Coming in as a freshman, you hear about all these other great players and it kind of sparks something in you. It makes you want to make a name for yourself," Evans said. "Going to a private school across the world and winning a meaningless game doesn't really do anything for you, it doesn't fulfill you in my opinion. This is fulfilling. We put in real hours and time and sweat and blood for this."
North Mecklenburg, the 3-seed from the West, did not lose to an in-state team this season. The Vikings now have three state titles in five appearances, and two in the last five.
Chadlyn Traylor, who started for 3A champion West Charlotte two years ago, had 15 for North Mecklenburg on an efficient 6-of-7 from the field.
Traylor was up for the task in defending New Hanover junior point guard Rodmik Allen, who scored 29 in the previous round to win the East regional.
"Chadlyn and Ashton (Pierce) are special players who can really defend," North Meck coach Duane Lewis said. "Chadlyn, we gave him the challenge of guarding (Allen). The one thing we wanted to do was 'Let's keep him in front.' Limit the paint touches, let's make him a jump shooter, and we did a really good job with following the game plan."
The Vikings led 30-24 at halftime and were able to hold Allen to 2-of-12 shooting through the first two quarters. Allen finished with 13 points on 5-of-21 shooting and was named Most Outstanding Player for the Wildcats.
The Wildcats also got 14 points from Parker Crittenden and 10 from Noah Billings.
"Our goal was to keep it in the 60s. We did that. We just didn't get it done on the offensive end like we needed to but that's a credit to their toughness and their defense," New Hanover coach Kirk Angel said.
New Hanover, the 1-seed from the East, was making its 21st appearance in a state title game and hoping to add to its record-14 championships. The Wildcats set a school record for wins and will graduate only two seniors, and only one played in Saturday's title game.
Before the game, one player from each team was given NCHSAA sportsmanship awards. North Meck's Traylor and New Hanover's Reece Tushingham were their teams' respective winners.
Box Score: North Mecklenburg 57, New Hanover 47
North Mecklenburg: Isaiah Evans 23, Chadlyn Traylor 15, Trey Maxwell 7, Carson Evans 4, Ashton Pierce 4, Exzavier Young 4
New Hanover: Parker Crittenden 14, Rodmik Allen 13, Noah Billings 10, Zeus Batts 8, Kam Witherspoon 2
