Saturday’s Rewind: Central Cabarrus’ magical run ends in The Throne national final

Central Cabarrus’ magical run at The Throne national high school basketball tournament came to an end Saturday in Atlanta, and the Vikings very nearly won an improbable national title.

Central Cabarrus led throughout most of the game, but seemed to tire late in the fourth quarter against Miami’s Christopher Columbus High, falling 65-57.

Sophomore Cameron Boozer, the Gatorade national basketball player of the year, made a tough reverse layup with 91 seconds left to give Columbus a seven-point lead. That basket seemed to seal it.

Columbus is a two-time Florida 7A state champion.

Just getting to the final was a big accomplishment for the N.C. team. Central Cabarrus played heavy minutes with mostly 6-foot guards against some of the nation’s best teams, who often towered over Central Cabarrus. That lack of size didn’t deter the Vikings, who won the N.C. 3A state title this season, going 32-0.

In the past two seasons, Central Cabarrus was 62-1 in high school play. In Saturday’s final, Jaiden Thompson led the Vikings with 16 points, three rebounds. Chase Daniel and Gavin Bullock had eight points each. Cayden Boozer had 22 points, six rebounds for Columbus and his brother Cameron had 12 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.

And the Vikings definitely earned their respect, playing against the national teams.

“This team is here for a reason,” Andrew Morgan, the acting Columbus High coach said of Central Cabarrus. “You saw them beat tough teams this whole tournament. They’re great players. They do a great job. They share the ball. It’s a great team.”

Central Cabarrus’ memorable week saw the Vikings beat S.C. state champion Dorman, Virginia state champion John Marshall — the No. 1 team in MaxPreps’ national ranking — as well as legendary Chicago power Simeon High.

Thursday’s Rewind: Central Cabarrus advances to The Throne national championship game

HS Rewind: Central Cabarrus upsets No. 1 seed, heads to The Throne high school national semis

HS Rewind: Central Cabarrus moving on at The Throne High School national tournament

Most of Central’s games this week aired nationally on cable via NBA TV. Saturday, the Vikings were on Fox TV over the air.

Due to national high school rules, the teams are competing in the Throne as club teams without their head coaches. Central Cabarrus, wearing powder blue uniforms — and not their traditional green and gold — were called the N.C. Vikings. They were seeded ninth.

Columbus was called the Explorers and were seeded third. The Florida team featured the sons of former Duke star Carlos Boozer — Cameron Boozer and his twin brother, Cayden, is a top 25 prospect in the sophomore class. The Boozer brothers have offers from schools like Duke, Florida State and Miami.

Central Cabarrus was coached by team parent Bronwyn Glover.

Her son, Desmond Kent, was MVP of the N.C. 3A state championship game and was named Charlotte Observer sixth man of the year. Bronwyn Glover was recently inducted into the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (GA) Hall of Fame.

Lacrosse at Memorial Stadium

Some of the Carolinas’ top high school lacrosse teams were in action Saturday at the annual Stick With Us Champions Challenge at Memorial Stadium.

The schedule:

9:45 a.m.: Ardrey Kell vs. Christ the King; 11:30 a.m.: Weddington vs. Providence Day; 1:15 p.m.: Broughton vs. Hough.

3 p.m.: Green Level vs. Christ School; 4:45 p.m.: Hoggard vs. Nation Ford; 6:30 p.m.: Cardinal Gibbons vs. Charlotte Catholic; 8:15 p.m.: Middle Creek vs. Cannon School.

The 6:30 and 8:15 p.m. matches will be carried streaming by Bahakel Sports and are available on tape-delay following.

Friday’s #BIG5 Top Performers

Taylor Barlow, South Mecklenburg softball: tossed her second no-hitter of the week, striking out 11 in a 10-0 win over Palisades.

Dalton Hazlett, Northwest Cabarrus baseball: struck out 14 and allowed three hits in a 7-0 win over Concord.

Noah McGovern, Lake Norman Charter boys lacrosse: goalie stopped 18 of 23 shots in an 8-5 win over Greensboro Page.

Brian Ramirez, North Mecklenburg baseball: three RBIs in a 13-11 win over West Mecklenburg.

Jakob Vanderhave, Charlotte Country Day baseball: allowed one hit in six innings and struck out 11 in a 2-1 win over Providence Day. James Lowe got save.

Baseball

QUEEN CITY 3A-4A

Hopewell 11, Chambers 2

North Mecklenburg 13, West Mecklenburg 11: North’s Brian Ramirez drove in three runs, while Isaac Garcia had four hits for West Meck.

SOMECK 4A

Ardrey Kell 4, South Mecklenburg 1

Myers Park 17, Palisades 7

Olympic 17, Berry Academy 1: The Trojans improved to 6-0 in conference play and are tied for first place with Ardrey Kell.

SOUTHWESTERN 4A

Butler 15, Rocky River 1

CISAA

Charlotte County Day 2, Providence Day 1: The Buccaneers won this pitchers’ duel, as starter Jakob Vanderhave allowed just one hit over six innings and struck out 11. James Lowe got the save in relief, with one no-hit inning. Providence Day’s Case Gibbs was the hard-luck loser, firing a two-hitter and striking out 10.

Covenant Day 5, Charlotte Latin 1: Luke Murray had two hits and two RBI for Covenant Day.

GREATER METRO 4 4A

A.L. Brown 4, Mooresville 2: The Wonders got their first conference victory in six tries.

West Cabarrus 14, South Iredell 4: Caden Parks went 4-for-4, including a home run, in leading the Wolverines.

SOUTHERN CAROLINA 4A

Cuthbertson 9, Porter Ridge 3

Sun Valley 11, Marvin Ridge 0

Weddington 10, Piedmont 0: The Warriors’ Cooper Hyatt pitched a complete-game shutout.

BIG SOUTH 3A

Crest 8, Stuart Cramer 1: Owen Swan got the Storm’s only hit.

Forestview 5, Ashbrook 4: Isaac Aycock was the winning pitcher and got three hits at the plate.

Kings Mountain 5, North Gaston 0

South Point 24, Hunter Huss 0

SOUTH PIEDMONT 3A

Northwest Cabarrus 7, Concord 0: Winning pitcher Dalton Hazlett worked six three-hit innings, striking out 14.

West Rowan 4, Central Cabarrus 0

WESTERN FOOTHILLS 3A

North Iredell 6, East Lincoln 4: Dan Loyd homered and drove in three runs for North Iredell.

North Lincoln 3, West Iredell 2: Jack Wuerdeman drove in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning.

ROCKY RIVER 2A-3A

Parkwood 6, Forest Hills 1

West Stanly 7, Central Academy 1: CATA’s Caleb Ernst got his team’s only RBI.

CATAWBA VALLEY 2A

Bandys 8, West Lincoln 2

Lincolnton 4, Bunker Hill 1: Karson Cloninger pitched a complete-game victory, allowing four hits. Caden Smith and Garett Hedgepeth each had three hits for the Wolves.

CATAWBA SHORES 1A-2A

Community School of Davidson 5, Christ the King 4: Brock Miller slammed two doubles for Christ the King, but the Crusaders saw their seven-game winning streak snapped. Each team is now 5-1 in conference play, trailing 5-0 Lincoln Charter.

Lincoln Charter 5, Pine Lake Prep 1: Brady Swadley drove in two runs, as the Eagles moved into first place.

SOUTHWESTERN 1A-2A

Burns 4, Cherryville 3: The Bulldogs moved into a first-place tie with Cherryville. Each team is 5-1.

Highland Tech 4, East Gaston 3: Kendell Hale doubled and drove in two Highland Tech runs.

YADKIN VALLEY 1A-2A

Jay M. Robinson 4, Gray Stone Day 1: Wade Turner had two hits for the victors.

Union Academy 9, South Stanly 3: Jeremiah Shine went 3-for-4, including a home run, and drove in three Union Academy runs.

METRO 8 1A

Queens Grant Charter 22, Carolina International 6: Christian Bernash had three hits and drove in four runs for Queens Grant.

NONCONFERENCE

Charlotte Stampede 6, Carolina Royals 5

Durham Academy 5, Carmel Christian 2

East Mecklenburg 10, Mallard Creek 0: Liam Parsons and Jacob Addison each drove in four runs, and James Rantala struck out 11 in tossing a shutout.

Softball

SOMECK 4A

Myers Park 16, Berry Academy 0: The Mustangs improved to 4-1 in conference play, behind 7-0 South Mecklenburg.

South Mecklenburg 10, Palisades 0: The league-leading Sabres got three hits, including a home run, from Tia Montgomery. She drove in three runs. Pitcher Taylor Barlow tossed her second no-hitter this week, striking out 11.

SOUTHWESTERN 4A

Butler 24, Garinger 0

Providence 15, Charlotte Catholic 5: The Panthers’ Olivia Mora had two hits and three RBI,.

CISAA

Charlotte Christian 14, Charlotte Latin 2: Anna Hinde and Hailey Conde each drove in four runs for the Eagles.

GREATER METRO 4 4A

Hickory Ridge 13, A.L. Brown 0: Kristyn Embler and Grace Bechtol combined to throw a no-hitter.

Mooresville 16, Cox Mill 4

South Iredell 8, West Cabarrus 4

SOUTHERN CAROLINA 4A

Cuthbertson 14, Sun Valley 3: Kylie Nerell drove in three runs, and Lily Rush slammed two doubles for the Cavaliers.

Marvin Ridge 6, Piedmont 4: The visiting Mavericks rallied from a 4-3 deficit with three runs in the seventh. They took sole possession of first place with a 4-0 record. Piedmont fell to 3-1.

Porter Ridge 6, Weddington 1: Kayla Purdy had three hits for Porter Ridge.

METROLINA ATHLETIC

Concord Academy 10, Gaston Christian 3: Piper Gibson had four hits for the victors.

BIG SOUTH 3A

Crest 7, Forestview 0

Kings Mountain 11, Stuart Cramer 3: Stuart Cramer’s Payton Conroy had two doubles.

South Point 17, Ashbrook 4

SOUTH PIEDMONT 3A

Jesse Carson 3, Central Cabarrus 2: Winning pitcher Lonna Addison struck out 15, and Jesse Carson (6-1) remained in second, behind 6-0 East Rowan, which beat South Rowan 8-7.

Northwest Cabarrus 7, Lake Norman Charter 4: Tatum Krolak doubled and tripled for Northwest Cabarrus.

West Rowan 15, Concord 0

WESTERN FOOTHILLS 3A

East Lincoln 10, North Iredell 0: Kaitlyn Gust doubled and homered for the Mustangs.

North Lincoln 15, West Iredell 0

St. Stephens 21, Statesville 1

CATAWBA VALLEY 2A

Bandys 8, West Lincoln 3

Bunker Hill 16, Lincolnton 11

CATAWBA SHORES 1A-2A

Mountain Island Charter 19, Langtree charter 1: The Pride’s Bella Bereman slammed two triples.

SOUTHERN PIEDMONT 1A-2A

Burns 4, Cherryville 1

Highland Tech 6, East Gaston 5: East Gaston’s Jordan McCorkle homered.

YADKIN VALLEY 1A-2A

Gray Stone Day 4, Jay M. Robinson 3

South Stanly 4, Union Academy 2: Defending 1A state champion South Stanly scored its second 4-2 victory this week over the Cardinals, who dropped to 4-2 in league play.

NONCONFERENCE

Covenant Day 20, Forest Hills 0: Freshman R.J. Llaneza tossed a no-hitter and struck out 10 with no walks.

East Mecklenburg 18, Bradford Prep 5: Oyuky Lozado Alanis homered for East Mecklenburg.

Queens Grant Charter 20, Chambers 7: Freshman-heavy Queens Grant improved to 11-3, as Melissa Detweiler smacked a grand slam home run.

Wayne Christian 3, Cannon School 2: Cannon’s Maddie Sturgill had two hits and an RBI.

Girls’ soccer

SOMECK 4A

Myers Park 8, Berry Academy 0: Eight played scored for the Mustangs, including Charlotte Simas, who upped her team-leading goal total to 12.

South Mecklenburg 9, Palisades 0: Kandis Calvin (three goals, two assists) and Mary Liese Grier (two goals) led the Sabres.

GREATER METRO 4 4A

Mooresville 2, Hickory Ridge 2 (OT): Ave Trzebiatowski had a goal and an assist for Hickory Ridge.

BIG SOUTH 3A

Crest 3, Forestview 2

North Gaston 2, Hunter Huss 2 (OT): The two teams played to a 1-1 tie in regulation, then each scored a goal in the second overtime period.

South Point 9, Ashbrook 0: Grace Smith and Karsyn Lowman each scored three goals.

Stuart Cramer 5, Kings Mountain 0

SOUTH PIEDMONT 3A

Central Cabarrus 9, Jesse Carson 1: Leslie Rodriguez scored three goals and Jayden Hicks added two for the Vikings.

Lake Norman Charter 9, Northwest Cabarrus 2: Rylie Cook scored three times, and the Knights outshot Northwest Cabarrus 17-4.

West Rowan 7, Concord 0

WESTERN FOOTHILLS 3A

East Lincoln 4, North Iredell 1

North Lincoln 5, West Iredell 3

St. Stephens 9, Statesville 0

NONCONFERENCE

Ardrey Kell 4, Hoggard 0: The Knights traveled to Wilmington and scored a big victory, behind two goals from Elie Newman. Carolina McSweeney was in goal during the first half and made five saves. Waleska Rugel Gonzalez played in the second half, completing the shutout with three saves.

Providence Day 3, North Raleigh Christian 0: The Chargers’ Cameryn Sicard scored two goals, and Blaine McElroy added a goal and an assist in their road victory.

Sun Valley 7, Richmond Senior 1: Senior Bella Kaplan scored five goals, and her sister, junior Jolie Kaplan, added three assists, as the Spartans improved to 9-1.

Boys’ lacrosse

HEROES CLASSIC

(at Memorial Stadium)

Lake Norman 8, Holly Springs 7

Lake Norman Charter 8, Page 5: Tyler Price scored four goals, and Noah McGovern stopped 18 of 23 Page shots.

Myers Park 15, Northern Guilford 13: Andrew Luff and Fletcher Curtis led the Mustangs with four goals apiece.

OTHER GAMES

Cuthbertson 18, Sun Valley 11

Hickory 15, South Iredell 2

Marvin Ridge 15, Weddington 7: The Mavericks’ Braden Houlihan scored four goals in the victory.

North Lincoln 11, Mountain Island Charter 7

Porter Ridge 21, Parkwood 2

Ravenscroft 7, Charlotte Christian 5

Girls’ lacrosse

Charlotte Country Day 16, Myers Park 13

Lake Norman 23, Ardrey Kell 10

Providence Day 12, Clover 4: Alex Emery and Lucy Dyer each had three goals and an assist in the Chargers’ victory.

South Mecklenburg 17, Nation Ford 13: The Sabres built a 10-5 halftime lead and held on.

Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle