Charlotte, NC – On Tuesday night, we told you the West Charlotte Lions (25-6) were born to flex. On Saturday night, they flexed. For one quarter things were interesting. For the remaining three, they were not. Prior to tonight’s game, the Demons of RJ Reynolds (22-7), defeated three Charlotte area teams in the last three rounds of the NCHSAA state playoffs. With close wins over Butler, North Meck and Myers Park, the Demons were confidant in taking out its fourth Mecklenburg county team in as many games. The Lions had other plans.
West Charlotte, which has not been to a state title game since a 2012 loss to New Hanover High School, were hungry to get back to the Triangle area to compete for a championship. Not only did they accomplish the feat but they made it look easy.
The game opened up as expected. Both teams felt each other out and it appeared the Demons would be able to keep up with the uptempo pace the Lions like to play at. Defensively, Reynolds dropped back into zone coverage. A strategy that is typical of nearly every team the Lions face as it hopes to close out penetration lanes that the Lions so easily attack. The game plan worked for the first eight minutes as the Demons found themselves down by only four, 15-19, after one.
In quarter two, as most opponents start running out of gas, the Lions are just getting warmed up. The team went on a 26-3 run to close out the half, forcing the Demons into an array of turnovers as they sprinted down the floor for easy baskets. The Lions smothering defense and frenzied pace proved to be too much for the Demons to overcome. By the fourth quarter, West Charlotte put on its bi-weekly dunk contest. Patrick Williams, Devontez Walker, Quinton Thomas all took took their usual turns slamming it down, electrifying the capacity crowd with every flush.
West Charlotte was once again led by senior forward Patrick Williams who dominated the the paint. Williams finished with yet another game high total of 23 points on the night. The Lions had three other players finish in double figures with Devontez Walker tallying up 13 points on the night. Quinton Thomas and Cartier Jernigan finished with 19 and 16 respectively. West Charlotte did not allow any Reynolds player to score more than ten points.
The Western Regional Champion Lions will be in Raleigh, NC on the campus of NC State taking on the Eastern Regional Champion South Central Falcons. The Falcons are led by 6’10 junior Day’ron Sharpe who is headed to play for Coach Roy Williams at the University of North Carolina next season. The Falcons have won by an average of 28 points per game during the 4A state playoffs.
