What do you do when you're on the brink of playing the biggest game of your life?
If you're a member of Lake Norman's boys basketball team, you trade in your sneakers for a pair bowling shoes — at least for a day.
The Wildcats took a breather from the basketball court Tuesday before returning the following day to continue preparing for the 4A state championship game Saturday against Fayetteville Terry Sanford (31-0) at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh.
Lake Norman (25-3) is in the state final for the first time in the program's eight-year history after capturing the 4A West Regional title last weekend in Greensboro. The Wildcats upended West Charlotte 83-72 in overtime to advance.
The two hours spent at George Pappas' Victory Lanes in Mooresville was by design.
"There's a whole week in between games, and you don't want to spend every minute thinking about that the whole time because it can drive you crazy," Lake Norman coach Brandon Jolly said. "It was just to get away, relax and not think about basketball for a little bit.
"I think they really enjoyed it. I think they had fun."
Junior reserve guard Luke Smith even got to brag some.
In a rare trip to bowling alley for him, Smith won a game, knocking over enough pins to score 180.
"First time I've bowled since I was, like, in seventh grade," Smith said with a huge smile. "I had to talk a little junk."
Jolly rolled a 191 when he bowled his first game alongside reserve guards Tyree Caldwell and Joseph Weston.
"It was all down hill from there," Jolly said, laughing. "I don't think I got over 120 the rest of the time."
The competitive juices flowed even though they were out of their comfort zone.
But the players appreciated an evening with their teammates that involved aiming at 10 pins rather than a 10-foot high basketball hoop.
"It's fun to go out there and just have some fun and goof off a little bit," senior sharpshooter Matt Eller said. "Just hang out with the guys you've been spending so much time with on the court this season.
Obviously, it's important to stay focused on Saturday's game, but it's also important to stay loose."
The bowling trip wasn't the only respite this season for the basketball team.
On Jan. 18, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jolly welcomed the players to his house for a cookout.
Food and fellowship, just what the doctor ordered for the stretch run.
"It's nice when you can kick back and have a good time with everybody," Eller said. "It's definitely important to make sure you've got that team unity."
The Wildcats' unified front has led them to uncharted territory.
With that, comes hype, and lots of it.
Lake Norman players and coaches have been immersed with the hoopla surrounding the state championship game since returning to campus Monday following their triumph in the regional title game.
"Everyone in the school has been talking about it," senior guard Kevin Canevari said. "Obviously, this is as far as this school has ever been. People seem real pumped about it, and we're all looking forward to it."
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