It was perhaps the biggest game of the season, and Lake Norman rose to the occasion.
Still, the Wildcats lost their halftime lead in the third quarter and could not recover in Wednesday's 66-63 loss to Hopewell.
"We battled all the way to the end," Lake Norman coach Brandon Jolly. "Both teams are really, really good. They just made a few more plays than we did."
Hopewell remained undefeated with the victory and is now 19-0 overall and 8-0 in the I-Meck 4A while Lake Norman dropped to 15-2 overall and 5-2 in league play.
Senior Matt Eller led Lake Norman in scoring for the second consecutive game.
He poured in a game-high 22 points and was key for the Wildcats when post Paul Larsen hit foul trouble.
Eller missed a bit of time after getting injured in a game against Statesville in January, but if Wednesday is any indication, he'll be just fine for Lake Norman's stretch run.
"We've talked about somebody stepping up with (Matt) Denyes going out, and Eller said he's ready to do it," Jolly said. "And he's done it the past few games. He's shooting well, but also taking it to the hole and not settling for the 3-pointer. He really came to play the last few games."
Reggie Price added 19 points for the Wildcats, who led 16-14 after one quarter and 31-29 at halftime.
Larsen finished with eight points but missed much of the second half. He was whistled for his fourth foul in the third quarter and fouled out a minute or two into the fourth.
The Titans shot eight free throws in the fourth quarter while Lake Norman was awarded zero trips to the line.
The Wildcats still have a hold on second place, but it's getting close.
Lake Norman plays resurgent West Charlotte (13-8, 3-5) today and then hosts Vance (13-4, 5-2) on Monday.
A loss in either of those games would send the Wildcats tumbling out of second place.
"We left all we had out there against Hopewell, and I think we played better than we did the first time against them," Jolly said. "But we have to win both of these next two games to keep a hold of second place. There's no rest for the weary, that's for sure."
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