Northwood will get a chance to win its first state championship in school history this weekend after beating West Bladen in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 2A eastern regional championship on Thursday afternoon.

The Chargers used a big third quarter to pull ahead by nine points, then went on to win 57-38 at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem.

Neither team was able to create much separation in the first half, but a 5-0 run by Northwood late in the second quarter helped propel it to a 24-21 halftime lead.

The third quarter is when the Chargers found that separation though.

Northwood held West Bladen to just eight points in the third quarter, while the Chargers found some offense. Cam Fowler scored five points in the quarter and Chad Graves added four more. Northwood went into the fourth quarter with its largest lead of the game at 38-29.

Chase Williams kept West Bladen in the game for much of the second half. He had six of the Knights’ eight points in the third quarter, then started the fourth quarter with a quick basket to cut the Northwood lead to seven.

Northwood took its time on offense in the fourth quarter with the lead, forcing West Bladen to extend its zone defense. But when the Chargers took big shots, they hit them. Josiah Brown hit a 3-pointer near the five-minute mark to give Northwood its first double-digit lead of the day at 43-31.

All momentum was with Northwood at that point. Fowler added an exclamation point with an alley oop to extend the lead to 14 points. Fowler finished the game with 21 points to lead all scorers.

Northwood also got 12 points from Isaiah Blair. In all, seven players scored in the game for Northwood.

Williams led West Bladen in scoring with 16 points. Hezekiah Adams finished with 10 points for the Knights.

This will be the sixth appearance in a state championship game, but the Chargers have yet to win a state title. The last appearance for Northwood was in 2023 when it lost to Central Cabarrus in the 3A state championship game.

Northwood will face the winner of Bandy’s and Reidsville in the 2A state championship. Reidsville is the reigning 2A state champion.

West Bladen’s season ends with a 27-2 overall record. The loss is the first defeat for West Bladen since Farmville Central defeated the Knights on Dec. 19. West Bladen beat Farmville Central in the fourth round to advance to the state semifinals.