It was only fitting that the Northwood boy’s basketball team advanced into the finals of the inaugural First Bank Charger Classic Tournament held last week in Pittsboro.
The Chargers opened the event with wins over Southern Alamance and Grace Christian on Thursday and Friday respectively, earning a shot at the title in the championship finals on Saturday evening versus Westside High out of Anderson, S.C.
The dream finish for Northwood was doused by the talented Westside squad, however, as the Rams rolled to a 72-53 victory to claim the 2018 First Bank Charger Classic title.
Northwood (5-4) by was paced offensively in the contest by All-Tournament performer Deuce Powell who closed a strong three-day tourney with 16 points.
Aaron Ross, also an All-Tournament selection for the Chargers, chipped in 11 points in the losing effort while Adam Omar just missed double figures on the night with nine.
Westside (9-2) was led by lightning quick Traye Carson, a 5’9 senior guard who struck for 16 points in the finale on the way to All-Tournament honors.
A balanced Rams scoresheet saw Odarius Cade chip in 16 points as well, while Kendarious Fant-Miles added 10, Xavier Thornton and Ty Danzy eight apiece, and Tyson Lewis seven.
To the delight of the large crowd on Saturday evening, the contest was fast-paced with both teams pushing the ball up the court while playing relentless pressure defense on the other side of the ball.
Northwood battled fiercely from the outset and trailed just 16-14 after one period of play. Omar drained a pair of long distance treys, which got the raucous Charger crowd on its feet, while Powell added a pair of field goals, and Jack Johnson a basket off a pull up jumper.
Carson answered Omar with a pair of three-pointers for Westside, while Ty Danzy chipped in four points, and Fant-Miles another trey.
The contest was back and forth in the second frame as well with neither managing more than a four-point bulge. Powell collected four more points for the Chargers in the second while Alex Snively drained a trey from the left corner, and Ross connected on three-of-four foul shots in the stanza.
The Rams managed a 28-26 lead at the intermission behind five points from Tyson Lewis, including a trey.
While the opening 16 minutes were even, the second 16 would not be.
The maroon clad Rams seized the momentum in the third quarter behind a three-point barrage, and never looked back after a 24-13 run in the period which extended the lead to 52-39.
Westside connected on 5-of-8 attempts from behind the thee-point arc in the third quarter, which Carson canning a pair on the way to eight points, and Cade two more. Xavier Thornton added another trey on the way to five points.
Powell tallied four points for Northwood in the third while Omar chipped in his final trey of the night.
The Rams would put an exclamation point on the title in the fourth with a 20-point outburst to cap the 72-53 win. Cade collected seven points in the run while Fant-Miles added five, including a trey from downtown.
Ross had eight points for the Chargers in the fourth while Powell chipped in four more.
Johnson had five points in the contest for Westside and was selected to the All-Tournament squad for the Rams.