In his final game, Isaiah Evans, who is a McDonald’s All-American, a Duke recruit, and a 2,000-point scorer, will be ending his career on a victorious note.

On Saturday at Lawrence Joel Memorial Coliseum, North Mecklenburg triumphed over New Hanover, who had been undefeated, with a score of 57-47, earning the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A boys basketball championship.

Evans led the Vikings to victory over the Wildcats with 23 points, shooting 8-of-17 and making 4-of-5 3-pointers. He maintained an average of 31.3 points per game during the playoffs, scoring a total of 188 points over the course of six games. This was his final playoff performance.

This holds immense significance for me. When I first entered as a new student, I heard about all the talented players and it ignited something within me. It motivated me to establish my own reputation. Evans expressed, “Attending a private school in a different country and winning a game that holds no meaning doesn’t really have an impact, in my opinion. This, on the other hand, is truly fulfilling. We invest our actual time, effort and physical exertion into this.”

The team from North Mecklenburg, ranked third in the West, remained undefeated against local opponents this year. This marks the Vikings’ third championship in five attempts, with two coming in the last five.

Chadlyn Traylor, who played for the 3A champion West Charlotte two years ago, scored 15 for North Mecklenburg while making 6 out of 7 shots from the field.

Traylor successfully defended against New Hanover’s junior point guard, Rodmik Allen, who had scored 29 points in the previous round and led his team to victory in the East regional.

According to North Meck coach Duane Lewis, Chadlyn and Ashton (Pierce) are exceptional players known for their strong defensive skills. Chadlyn was specifically assigned the task of guarding (Allen) and the team’s main focus was to prevent him from driving into the paint and force him to take jump shots. Their game plan was executed effectively.

At the end of the first half, the Vikings were ahead with a score of 30-24. Throughout the first two quarters, they were successful in limiting Allen’s shooting to only 2 out of 12 attempts. By the end of the game, Allen had scored 13 points with a shooting percentage of 5 out of 21, earning him the title of Most Outstanding Player for the Wildcats.

The Wildcats received contributions of 14 points from Parker Crittenden and 10 from Noah Billings.

Kirk Angel, coach of New Hanover, stated that our aim was to maintain a score in the 60s, which we accomplished. However, our offense fell short due to the strength and defensive skills of our opponents.

New Hanover, representing the Eastern region as the 1-seed, was participating in their 21st state championship game with the goal of securing their 14th title. They achieved a school record for victories this season and will only say goodbye to two senior players, with only one playing in the championship match on Saturday.

Prior to the game, a representative from each team received an NCHSAA sportsmanship award. The recipients were Traylor from North Meck and Reece Tushingham from New Hanover.

North Mecklenburg: Isaiah Evans 23, Chadlyn Traylor 15, Trey Maxwell 7, Carson Evans 4, Ashton Pierce 4, Exzavier Young 4

In New Hanover’s latest game, Parker Crittenden led the team with 14 points followed by Rodmik Allen with 13 points, Noah Billings with 10 points, Zeus Batts with 8 points, and Kam Witherspoon with 2 points.

Source: highschoolot.com