Central Cabarrus downs Northwood in 3A championship, finishes season undefeated
For the past two seasons, Central Cabarrus boys basketball has been one of the most successful teams in the state. The Vikings now have the hardware to solidify their recent dominance.
Now winners of 62 of its last 63 games, Central Cabarrus completed an undefeated season and brought home the second state championship in program history with a 65-51 victory over Northwood on Saturday at Reynolds Coliseum in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3A championship game. The title is the Vikings' first since winning it all in 2020.
Central Cabarrus (32-0), which used hot shooting from deep early on and strong defense throughout, was led in scoring by center Desmond Kent Jr. and senior shooting guard Adriel Miller, who each had 16. Kent Jr. was named the game’s most valuable player. Eleven of Miller’s points came in the opening quarter.
Northwood (28-3), appearing in its second title game in three seasons, is now 0-5 all-time in championship contests. The Chargers received a strong performance from junior small forward Drake Powell, a North Carolina commit, as he had 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting.
Although Northwood jumped out to an early six-point lead, Central Cabarrus settled in soon after and shot lights out from 3-point range for the remainder of the opening quarter, negating Northwood’s size advantage and giving its traveling fans much to cheer about
Three different Vikings connected from downtown in the first quarter, as Central Cabarrus hit five of its first six 3-pointers, including three from Miller. The Vikings led 24-15 after the first eight minutes.
After going down 6-0, Central Cabarrus went on a 28-9 run and built its lead to as large as 13 points in the second quarter (28-15).
But Northwood answered with a 9-0 run to make it 28-24, with the likes of junior small forward Drake Powell and senior center Kenan Parrish getting involved. Each had eight points in the first half.
The Vikings took a 34-26 lead into the break, as Kent Jr. helped answer Northwood’s run. Kent Jr. had 10 at halftime and Miller’s early barrage of 3s helped give him 11 through the first two quarters.
Despite going cold from 3-point range – Central Cabarrus was 0-of-10 on 3-pointers in the second and third quarters – the Vikings still led by eight through three quarters, 47-39. Central Cabarrus’ active defense continuously affected Northwood, which had 19 turnovers. Central Cabarrus guard Chase Daniel finished with six steals.
A 3-pointer by Powell cut the Chargers’ deficit to six points at 39-33, but Northwood was immediately whistled for a technical foul, seemingly called against Charger coach Matt Brown. The Vikings quickly scored the next four points – including two at the free-throw line from the technical – and built their lead to double digits again.
Later in the fourth quarter, another technical foul cost Northwood. With the Chargers trailing by eight (47-39), Northwood big man Kenan Parrish aggressively spiked the ball in frustration following a foul call on his teammate Max Frazier, leading to the Chargers’ second technical of the second half. Like it did after Northwood’s first technical, Central Cabarrus scored the next four points to put another dent in Northwood’s attempt to get back into the game.
From that point, Northwood struggled to make a meaningful run. Central Cabarrus took care of the ball late and made 17-of-22 free throws, a recipe that allowed it to protect its lead and ultimately celebrate a title.
