Corvian Community came up short in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A boys basketball state championship game last season, but the Cardinals will get another shot this week.

In the first game of the day at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem on Tuesday, Corvian defeated Queen’s Grant 75-44 in the 1A boys basketball western regional championship game.

Corvian — more specifically, R.J. Moore Jr. — started out red hot.

Moore scored the first six points of the contest and 14 of Corvian’s 18 points in the first quarter. Queen’s Grant struggled from the field in the first quarter, connecting on just two field goal attempts, and the Cardinals took an 18-5 lead after one quarter.

That lead grew past 20 points in the second quarter as Moore’s hot hand didn’t cool off. He connected on three more 3-point attmepts and finished the half with 26 points to lead all scorers.

Queen’s Grant shot just 6-of-29 from the field in the first half and trailed 38-15 at the break.

Moore was on pace to come close to the boys basketball western regional championship scoring record, which is 48 points, but his scoring slowed down in the third quarter as he found himself in foul trouble. Other Cardinals players stepped up though, as Corvian took a 54-29 lead into the fourth quarter.

Corvian Community’s lead was never in question in the second half, as the Cardinals rolled to a win.

Moore led Corvian in scoring with 29 points, including 26 in the first half. He finished the game with eight made 3-point attempts. Malachi McCutcheon scored 19 points for the Cardinals.

Geronimo Clark was the leading scorer for Queen’s Grant with 11 points.

Last year’s state runner-up finish was the only time Corvian has played for a boys basketball state championship. The Cardinals will face the winner of Southern Wake Academy and Washington County in the state championship game on Friday.

Queen’s Grant finished the season with a 27-8 overall record. The Stallions made their best run ever in the boys basketball postseason, falling in the semifinals for the first time.