Wildcats look to win state title, make history

Brandon Jolly and his Lake Norman boys basketball team take the court tonight at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, where the Wildcats will battle Fayetteville Terry Sanford at 7:30 for the 4A state championship.

Jolly was close to getting to this day 12 years ago as a player but came up short.

He was a member of Statesville's boys basketball team in 1998 when the Greyhounds lost to North Stanly in the 2A Western Regional final held in Hickory.

"I was a senior. All of our starters were seniors. Sort of like what we have here," recalled Jolly, noting Lake Norman features four seniors in its starting lineup. "I remember how bad it hurt because we knew we weren't going to have another chance.

"You never know, this may be our one and only chance," he continued. "Hopefully it's not, but it could be."

While this is the first trip to the title game for Lake Norman (25-3), it's a shot at redemption for Terry Sanford.

The Bulldogs (31-0), champions of the Mid-South Conference, fell behind 25-8 early and lost 60-55 to Mt. Tabor in last year's 4A state final.

"They're very disciplined, very methodical about what they do," Jolly said. "It will be a challenge, but we're really good, too. We play in a great league, so I think we're ready for it."

Terry Sanford is led offensively by guard Chris Wilson and forward Robert Carpenter. Wilson, a 6-foot-2 junior, averages a team-best 15.5 points per game, with Carpenter not far behind at 14.4 points.

Carpenter is a strong 3-point shooter. The 6-foot-5, 210-pound senior has connected on 48 shots from behind the arc this season.

Reggie Price leads Lake Norman in scoring at nearly 18 points a game. The senior guard scored 13 of his team's 16 points in overtime of the Western Regional final as the Wildcats rallied past I-Meck Conference rival West Charlotte for an 83-72 victory.

Price, the regional tournament MVP, was a perfect 11-for-11 from the free-throw line in OT.

"He played great in the fourth quarter and in overtime he was sensational," Jolly said. "He gave us that spark he's been giving us all year."

Point guard Kevin Canevari directs the Wildcats' offense, and post player Paul Larsen (6-6, 220) is one of the senior's main passing targets. Larsen, a Mercer University-bound senior, averages 16.9 points a game, along with 8.7 rebounds.

Larsen scored 38 points in two regional games to join Price on the all-tournament team.

Jolly thinks Larsen will be a big factor in determining today's outcome.

"They like to take a lot of charges and try to bait the big kids into fouls," Jolly said. "If Paul stays out of foul trouble, I think he can be dominant. We need him. Obviously, we're a lot better when he's on the floor than when he's over on the bench sitting with me."

Matt Eller adds another 10.4 points per game for the Wildcats, and he shoots 41 percent from behind the 3-point line.

Eller admires the fact Terry Sanford reached the state final unscathed, but he's willing to put Lake Norman's schedule up against anybody's, including the Bulldogs'.

"They're in the state championship game for a reason, but I don't think any team has had to play the kind of teams we've played in our conference," said Eller, pin-pointing Hopewell, Vance and West Charlotte, all of which recorded 18 or more wins this season. "Those three teams are great, and if we can beat them, and play with them, I think any team is definitely beatable."

Lake Norman would become the first Iredell County boys basketball team to capture a N.C. High School Athletic Association state championship if it triumphs today.

Statesville High's boys came close in 1985 but lost in the title game.

"We've been playing together for a while," said Eller, a senior. "It's awesome to play your last high school basketball game in the state championship, at the highest level, 4A, and to go out with a win would just make us ecstatic. I would love that."

So would Jolly, whose squad didn't let the wheels fall off following a major blow at the season's midpoint, when it lost one of its starters to academic ineligibility.

The Wildcats' depth took a hit, but others, including the reserves, increased their contributions to fill that void, and it has helped push the Wildcats to the brink of program, school and county history.

"I love my team," Jolly said. "I wouldn't trade them for anything. I think we can do it."