Lake Norman High is doing what it can to accommodate those interested in seeing its boys basketball team play for the 4A state championship Saturday at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh.
The school has pre-sale tickets available in its main office for $9 — tickets at the door will be $10 — and they can be purchased from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Friday.
Lake Norman is also planning to take a charter fan bus to and from the game. Bus fare is an additional $20. The reserved spaces can be purchased at the school's main office. The bus will depart from the school at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
The Lake Norman boys and girls basketball teams used chartered buses for their trips last week to Greensboro to compete in the Western Regionals.
Wildcats supporters filled the stands at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center last Saturday to see the boys team capture its first regional title in the program's eight-year history with an 83-72 overtime victory over West Charlotte.
"We've had good support from our fans all year," Lake Norman guard Brian Whalen said.
The boys team will ride a chartered bus to Raleigh.
Administrative staff at the school liked the idea of trying to assist its loyal fans, too, for the biggest game of the year.
"You've been down here and seen our 'Distraction' group," Lake Norman athletic director Steve Rankin said, referring to the raucous game-attending student cheering section. "There are a lot of kids that are not of driving age that would want to go to the game but whose parents may have no desire to go. So if we provide transportation and chaperones down there and back that gives them a free night, and the kids can support our kids.
"Obviously, we want as many people, or more, that we normally have at a boys basketball game to be in Raleigh supporting the boys there as well."
Those not able to travel have an alternative. Time Warner Cable (Channel 14) will broadcast live the championship game between Lake Norman (25-3) and Fayetteville Terry Sanford (31-0). Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Rankin admitted television coverage could put a dent in the number of people making the trip, but he feels confident there will be another big crowd rooting on the Wildcats inside N.C. State's famed venue.
"School spirit, I think, is at an all-time high," Rankin said of Lake Norman, which, in 2009, added state titles in baseball, boys swimming and boys tennis to the back-to-back championships the boys soccer team captured in 2006-07. "People are bubbling, and phones are ringing off the hook."
Those in attendance Saturday could witness history. Iredell County has never produced a N.C. High School Athletic Association state-championship-winning boys basketball team. Statesville High came close in 1985, but lost in the title game.
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