RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK — Last season, Waxhaw Cuthbertson was a 3-year-old school playing in the state 2A boys basketball championship for the first time.
The Cavaliers are back this year and they plan on enjoying it a little more this time around.
Cuthbertson (29-3) and Kinston (27-2) will tip off for the NCHSAA state 2A championship at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill.
The teams met in last year’s finals with the Vikings winning 58-55. On Cuthbertson’s team last year was one senior who didn’t get to play in the title game.
This year the Cavs are a little more seasoned.
“Last year was a blur. It was the first time getting here, with a new school, and this year I’m hoping that it will all slow down and enjoy this thing a little bit more than we did (last year),” said Cuthbertson coach Mike Helms at Monday’s state championship press conference.
Cuthbertson, which finished second behind Kinston in the season’s final statewide 2A media poll put out by NCPreps.com and defeated the Vikings 50-47 over the Christmas break, returns all five starters from a team that led Kinston until the final minutes in last year’s state finals.
Junior guard Shelton Mitchell, who has verbally committed to Wake Forest, leads the team in scoring at 21.1 points per game according to notes handed out by the NCHSAA on Monday. Senior guard Emmitt Afam averages 9.1 points and 4.5 assists and senior forward Isiah Cureton adds 13.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per contest.
Before Cuthbertson rallied from 13 down in the third quarter to beat Kinston in the HighSchoolOT.com Holiday Invitational in December, they rallied the night before to force overtime against Hampton (Va.) in the same event.
This year Helms planned a much tougher schedule to prepare his team for a possible return trip to the state championship.
“Those kinds of games you use to grow and to get ready for a game like this,” he said.
Of the three losses the Cavs have suffered the year, including the loss to Hampton, two came against Rocky River 2A Conference opponent Monroe.
Last season they entered the state finals with only one loss. This year the Cavs have three, and it was planned that way.
“If you look at (Monroe’s) scores they’re all low-scoring games. They play a tough match-up zone and it’s almost frustrating to attack — it’s hard to get on a run,” Helms said.
“We said at the beginning of the year that there’s probably no way we’d have the same record as we did a year ago. The big thing is to get here; it’s not to have record.”
Ryan Herman can be reached at 252-559-1073 or Ryan.Herman@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter: @KFPSports.
Meet Kinston’s opponent
School: Cuthbertson High School
Mascot: Cavaliers
Location: Waxhaw
Conference: Rocky River 2A Conference
Head coach: Mike Helms
Record: 29-3
Last finals appearance: 2012
Players to watch: Shelton Mitchell, Emmitt Afam, Lucius McMillon, Isiah Cureton
Of note: The Cavs lost to Kinston, 58-55, in last season’s state 2A title game. They defeated the Vikings, 50-47, in the HighSchoolOT.com Holiday Invitational in December. Cuthbertson was ranked second behind Kinston in the season’s final statewide media poll put out by NCPreps.com. Junior guard Shelton Mitchell has verbally committed to Wake Forest.