Lake Norman fans turned out en masse for Saturday's 4A boys basketball state championship game at N.C State's Reynolds Coliseum, and the Wildcats didn't disappoint their faithful who made the long trip.
Senior guard Kevin Canevari jumped in senior guard Matt Eller's arms near midcourt as the final buzzer sounded, and Lake Norman captured its first state title in its first ever appearance, beating previously undefeated Fayetteville Terry Sanford 63-46.
"This is awesome," Lake Norman coach Brandon Jolly said. "The boys deserve this. They just kept plugging."
The Wildcats, who trailed by eight points early in the third quarter, began the fourth quarter on a 10-1 run to erase a 41-40 deficit, and they never looked back. They dominated the fourth period, outscoring last year's state runner-up 23-5.
Lake Norman (27-3) drained 11 of 15 free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.
Paul Larsen collected the game's Most Valuable Player award. The senior was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field in the second half, and he finished with 18 points to go along with seven rebounds.
The Mercer University-bound post player wasn't too concerned with the individual championship hardware, though.
"It feels amazing," Larsen said. "We've been working toward this forever and we got it done."
Reggie Price was named Lake Norman's most outstanding player. He scored 11 of his 20 points in the last period.
Lake Norman became the first Iredell County boys basketball team to ever win a NCHSAA state title.
The Wildcats were just the second county boys to ever reach the final. Statesville lost to West Carteret 66-59 in the 1985 3A title game.
Chris Wilson scored 13 points to lead the Bulldogs, who experienced heartbreak again. Terry Sanford (31-1) lost 60-55 to Mt. Tabor in the 4A state final a year ago.
Lake Norman trailed 31-27 at half and 35-28 early in the third.
But the Wildcats, who rallied from 15 down in the second half to win the Western Regional title last week, fought back to win again.
Reserves Chris Patterson and Joseph Weston combined for 12 points off the bench, and both played key minutes for Lake Norman.
"Chris was awesome. Joseph was awesome," Jolly said. "And Paul, he came through like he always does."
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