New Hanover has one final game to fulfill their goal of an unbeaten season.

The Wildcats have secured a spot in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A championship game following an exciting comeback win against Richmond in the East regional final on Thursday. Richmond, the current state runner-up, was their opponent.

The Wildcats didn’t take the lead until the final two minutes of the game, but managed to hold on in the last moments to secure a 55-53 victory. Specifically, they were only in the lead for 1 minute and 18 seconds, but it was during the crucial period.

The winner of the Lake Norman vs. North Mecklenburg matchup will face New Hanover in the championship on Saturday at a time to be determined.

In the third quarter, the Wildcats (32-0) were behind by 10 points, but they managed to reduce the deficit to five before the start of the fourth quarter.

The first time the team took the lead was with 1:42 remaining in the game when Zeus Batts made a layup, bringing the score to 53-51. Richmond responded with a Paul McNeil Jr. basket to tie the game, and then Rodmik Allen scored two free throws with 1:10 left, making it 55-53.

In the last minute of the game, Richmond had a single turnover, but they managed to get it back from New Hanover. Despite having multiple opportunities in the remaining 50.7 seconds, none of their shots were successful, including a 3-point attempt from Jayden Hamilton in the closing seconds that could have won them the game.

Paul McNeil Jr., who will attend N.C. State, scored 36 points for Richmond, shooting 12-of-25 from the field and 4-of-10 from the 3-point line. He made all 8 of his free throws and also grabbed 12 rebounds. None of McNeil’s teammates on the Raiders scored in double digits.

Thanks to the speedy performance of junior point guard Rodmik Allen, New Hanover was able to stay competitive. Allen led the team with 23 points, shooting 9 out of 21. No other players from the Wildcats scored in double digits.

The Raiders, with a record of 25-6 and the second seed in the East, held a 31-24 advantage at halftime. McNeil started strong, hitting two 3-pointers, one of which resulted in a four-point play, giving the Raiders an early lead of seven points. But after that, the Raiders struggled, missing their next 11 3-point attempts and allowing New Hanover to stay in the game despite committing eight turnovers in the first half.

At the start of the third quarter, Richmond team had a 10-point advantage, but it was reduced to just one point with 3 minutes and 13 seconds left in the quarter.

This Saturday, New Hanover will compete in their 21st state final in hopes of increasing their number of 14 championships.

Richmond, last year’s 4A runner-up, had wanted to avenge last year’s title loss and make its fifth appearance in the championship.

The final score of the game was New Hanover 55, Richmond 53.

In the New Hanover game, the top scorers were Zeus Batts with 9 points, Rodmik Allen with 23 points, Kam Witherspoon with 6 points, Nolan Billings and Kellum Brown with 2 points each, and Parker Crittenden with 9 points.

Richmond’s team score was led by Paul McNeil Jr. with 36 points, followed by JV Drake with 4 points, Jamarion Wall with 4 points, Keyonta Davis with 2 points, David McNair with 1 point, Jayden Hamilton with 5 points, and Ahavier McDonald with 1 point.

Source: highschoolot.com