So the move up to 4A was going to be too much for Lake Norman's boys basketball team to handle, huh?
Wrong.
Lake Norman is heading to Raleigh next week to play for the state championship in its first season as 4A member.
The Wildcats rallied from a 15-point second-half deficit to force overtime, then dominated the extra session en route to an 83-72 victory over I-Meck Conference rival West Charlotte in the 4A Western Regional final. It was their first-ever regional tournament appearance.
"People told us we did a good job in 3A but 4A is a whole different animal," said Lake Norman coach Brandon Jolly, whose team lost in the 3A sectional finals last season. "We never questioned ourselves … and here we are with a chance to play for it all."
Lake Norman (25-3) advanced to next Saturday's 4A state championship game where it will take on the Eastern Regional champion at 7:30 p.m. at N.C. State's Reynolds Coliseum.
Lake Norman had a chance to win it in regulation, but after a timeout with 8 seconds left, Reggie Price turned the ball over on his drive, and West Charlotte wasn't able to get off a desperation heave.
But Price redeemed himself in the four-minute overtime. He poured in 13 of his team-high 25 points.
"We tried to give him the ball there at the end of the game to win it," Jolly said. "He sort of lost it. He was pretty bummed coming off the court, 'saying my bad, my bad.' I told him 'You're going to make a play in overtime.' He got a huge steal came down made the layup and the and-one, and then made his free throws at the end. Big-time players make big-time plays in crucial spots."
Price's three-point play gave Lake Norman the lead for good, 71-69.
He was 11-for-11 from the charity stripe in the overtime period.
"We needed them," said Price, the tournament's most valuable player. "I tried to lift my team."
West Charlotte standout J.T. Terrell scored 22 points in the first half as the Lions took a 42-33 lead into the locker room.
But Lake Norman held the Wake Forest-bound guard to three points in the second half and two in overtime. Terrell finished with a game-high 27.
"We wanted to keep a couple players on him at all times," Price said.
Brandon Richardson added 13 points for West Charlotte, which lost twice during the regular season to Lake Norman but defeated the Wildcats in the I-Meck tournament final.
Paul Larsen scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Wildcats.
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