North Mecklenburg stops New Hanover, wins third NCHSAA 4A state championship
North Mecklenburg is a state champion again.
The Vikings beat previously unbeaten Wilmington New Hanover, 57-47, Saturday to win the third N.C. High School Athletic Association boys’ basketball state championship in school history.
It was also the third state championship for longtime Vikings coach Duane Lewis, whose team didn’t lose to an N.C. opponent all season.
“It’s tough to beat an undefeated team, because those guys believe,” Lewis said. “And they made it tough on us. But I can’t say enough about these guys. What a great night for us.”
North Mecklenburg (30-3) shared the 2020 N.C. 4A title with Lumberton after the NCHSAA canceled the season after the semifinal round because of the pandemic. The Vikings also won the 2005 state championship.
North Mecklenburg lost in the finals in 1987 and 2006.
New Hanover (32-1) was trying to win its first state title since 2012, when it beat West Charlotte in the final round.
But Saturday was not the Wildcats’ night.
North Meck kept a lead for most of the game as point guard Chadlyn Traylor and McDonald’s All-American Isaiah Evans scored on a variety of layups and jump shots. On defense, North Meck held New Hanover to 39.2 percent shooting and out-rebounded the Wildcats 39-19.
Evans, a McDonald’s All-American signed to Duke, played junior varsity as a freshman, but quickly became one of the nation’s top players after that. He could’ve left North Mecklenburg for a national prep school power at any point over the past three years, but chose to stay home. In each of the past two seasons, he’s won Mr. Basketball, the state’s biggest high school basketball award.
And after the state final, championship medal dangling around his neck, he explained why he hung around Huntersville.
“It means everything to me,” he said. “Coming in as a freshman, you hear about all these other great players. It kind of sparks something in you. It makes you want to make a name for yourself. Going to a private school across the world and winning a meaningless game doesn’t really do anything for you. It doesn’t fulfill you, in my opinion.
“This is fulfilling. We put in real hours and time and sweat and blood for this. This wasn’t something we woke up one day and decided we were going to do.”
Evans, named championship MVP, had 23 points and eight rebounds but faced constant double-teams from a New Hanover team determined to not let him have the type of 48-point performance that sent a Myers Park team, then ranked No. 4 in America, home in the quarterfinals.
But Traylor had 15 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals and played phenomenal defense on New Hanover junior point guard Rodmik Allen, the team’s leading scorer.
Allen came into the game averaging 17.4 points on 45 percent shooting. He scored 13 points, but was 5 for 21 from the floor and had only one assist.
“Hats off to North Meck,” New Hanover coach Kirk Angel said. “The Evans kid is really good. (Traylor) is fantastic. I thought he was the MVP of that game and wasn’t even close. ... Our goal was to keep in the 60s and we did that, but we didn’t get it done on the offensive end like we needed to. But that’s a credit to their toughness and their defense. They earned it the victory.”
North Mecklenburg led 30-24 at halftime, and kept a steady lead. And the Vikings finally began to shake New Hanover in the fourth quarter after a steal and layup from Trey Maxwell with 4:52 to play gave the Vikings a 47-35 lead.
“I told the guys in the locker room, ‘Hey, we get ready to start (for a fourth state title),’” Lewis said. “We work hard. I challenge them. But at the end of the day, they know I love them to death. I’ve got their back and I’m going to be there for them through whatever. So I can’t say enough. They’re really great kids. They’ve earned this and they deserved this.”
Three who mattered
Isaiah Evans, North Mecklenburg: Evans, game MVP, made 8 of 17 shots and 4 of 5 3-point attempts. He finished with 23 points, eight rebounds.
Chadlyn Traylor, North Mecklenburg: Vikings point guard made 6 of 7 field goal attempts and had 15 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Parker Crittenden, New Hanover: Crittenden made 6 of 9 field goals and had a team-high 14 points.
Notes
▪ North Mecklenburg didn’t lose to an N.C. team all season.
▪ North Mecklenburg point guard Chadlyn Traylor won his second state title. Traylor was a freshman on West Charlotte’s 2022 state champion.
“I’m just grateful to be able to go out there and win another state championship,” he said. “I feel like I always prepare for moments like this, and being with these guys made it even better. Any situations I see on the court, I feel like I’m ready for it. Coming down the stretch, I know i can take over the game, control the game.”
▪ North Mecklenburg finishes its season with a 17-game win streak....New Hanover is 82-5 over the past three years.
▪ North Mecklenburg’s Isaiah Evans was championship MVP. Chadlyn Traylor was Western most outstanding player. New Hanover’s Rodmik Allen was Eastern most outstanding player.
They said it
“We’re real big about the history and tradition of North Meck. I probably had over 100 players out there in the stands. I had kids, or grown men now from my first team, they’re all out there. They’re still back supporting us all the time. You can’t get that everywhere. It’s special. We won that thing, but it was special for those guys out there, some who didn’t get the opportunity to. ... It isn’t for everyone, but the kids that buy into the history and tradition of North Meck, they tend to be successful.” — North Meck coach Duane Lewis
Summary
New Hanover 14 10 9 14 — 47
North Mecklenburg 16 14 11 16 — 57
NEW HANOVER 47 — Batts 8, Rodmik Allen 13, Witherspoon 2, Nolan Billings 10, Parker Crittenden 14
NORTH MECKLENBURG 57 — Isaiah Evans 23, Chadlyn Traylor 15, Maxwell 7, Pierce 4, Young 4, Evans 4
