Raleigh, NC – Following an impressive run through the NCHSAA state playoffs, the Lions season came to an end Saturday night in front of a capacity crowd at the William Neal Reynolds Coliseum on the campus of N.C. State. The South Central Falcons won its first state title in school history defeating the Lions 72-46, emotionally ending the season for West Charlotte and its fans.
“We played a really good team today”, said third year head coach Jacoby Davis following the defeat. “We worked on some different things that I thought might be good enough to get us through but today it wasn’t.”
From the opening tip-off, the Lions were on the receiving end of South Central’s lighting fast start, finding themselves down 17-6 lead at the end the first quarter. Getting out to a fast start is a strategy that the Falcons have established on every team they have faced this season. “They do a good job of jumping out on teams early”, said Davis. “We knew that, we talked about that and I thought that we could get back in it if we got down but we just weren’t good enough.”
UNC recruit Day’ron Sharpe had a monstrous afternoon for the Falcons finishing with a game high 23 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals. The 6’10 center overwhelmingly dominated the paint, effecting nearly every shot the Lions attempted to take near the basket. As a team that relies on easy buckets down low to get its offense going, West Charlotte was forced to shoot long jumpers around the perimeter that they were not able to knock down.
With a 50-31 lead heading into the fourth period, it became apparent the Falcons would take the coveted state title back home to Winterville, NC and the party was just getting started in the South Central student section. Sharpe finished with a game high 23 points, 13 boards and five assist as the Falcons closed out the season with a 72-46 victory in which it never trailed. West Charlotte center Patrick Williams finished with a team high 18 points. Lions guard Quinten Thomas chipped in with 13. The two combined to score 31 of the team’s 46 points.
In defeat, the Western Region Champion Lions had a season they will never forget. Plowing through controversy and numerous obstacles, the Lions found themselves playing for the most desired prize in the state of North Carolina. Ending the season winning 14 of its last 16 games, West Charlotte’s big three senior combination of Patrick Williams, Quinten Thomas and Cartier Jernigan laid a solid foundation of toughness and brotherhood that is sure to influence the future of the Lion program for years to come.
