CHAPEL HILL — Kinston and Waxhaw Cuthbertson played in last year’s state 2A finals, then clashed again in one of the nation’s premier Christmas tournaments. On Saturday the state’s two top-ranked 2A teams went at each other again with yet another state championship on the line.
For the second year in a row, the Vikings left no doubt which team is the best.
Game MVP Denzel Keyes had 18 points and 10 rebounds and Josh Dawson had 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists to help Kinston top the Cavaliers, 56-53, at the Dean E. Smith Center for its second straight NCHSAA state 2A boys basketball championship and its fourth in the last six years.
“For them to go back-to-back is pretty remarkable and I’m thankful,” Vikings coach Perry Tyndall said. “These guys deserve everything that happened out there. I just was the facilitator and got a chance to enjoy the ride with them.”
And what a ride it was.
The win, Kinston’s 19th in a row since losing to Cuthbertson, 50-47, in the HighSchoolOT.com Holiday Invitational, came down to the final possession and for the third time the final outcome was decided by three points.
Ahead by three and with a chance to ice it, Keyes missed a pair of free throws in the double bonus with 14 seconds left and gave Cuthbertson the opportunity to force overtime.
Cavaliers senior guard Emmitt Afam dribbled the ball near the right wing, and with a second left he sent it flying towards the rim.
Off came the rebound and the Kinston celebration began — nearly three hours after its girls won their first title in school history for a 2A championship sweep.
“Those games where you’re winning big, they’re no fun,” Cuthbertson coach Mike Helms said. “The games that you enjoy are these kind of games. They hurt to lose but those are the games that you want to be in and those are the games that you want to compete in.”
This one had the same feel as the previous two. Neither team could gain control until one big run proved to be the difference.
Last March that team was Kinston. In December it was Cuthbertson.
On Saturday, for what could be the last meeting for a while between the two 2A powerhouses, it was the Vikings (28-2).
The Cavaliers (29-4) led 42-36 with 36 seconds left in the third quarter following a floater by Shelton Mitchell, who finished with a game-high 22 points. Twenty seconds later Dawson drained a 3 from the left wing, which sparked the game-deciding 13-2 run.
Dawson, named the East Region’s Most Outstanding Player, was involved in all but one play in the run, including scoring seven points and having two assists.
The win was the senior’s third victory in a state championship game, making him the school’s most decorated athlete in its history.
“I wanted it more than anything, but mostly I wanted it for my teammates,” Dawson said. “I was just playing for my teammates and my coach. Most of all I still give glory to God because God put me in this situation.”
Even with the big run that decided the outcome, the Cavs didn’t go quietly.
Mitchell had a pair of layups then Lucius McMillon hit a jumper with 3:58 to play that made it 51-48 in Kinston’s favor.
After the Vikings answered with a big offensive rebound by sophomore Brandon Ingram, who had 12 points, on a missed free throw that led to a layup by Keyes, a 3 by Justin Austin cut their lead to three once more at 54-51 with 2:10 left.
Dawson missed a pair of free throws, and McMillon came down and hit a turnaround jumper to pull the Cavs within one.
But a putback by Ingram with 56 seconds left were the last points scored, giving Kinston its fourth title in school history and its ninth overall, including five won at Grainger High from 1950-65.
“None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for these three guys and the other 12 in that locker room. Because when I stepped into this position and followed (former coach) Wells (Gulledge) — and Wells was remarkable and what he did at Kinston High was pretty daggone amazing — I had guys that never questioned what we wanted to do. Never questioned hard work,” Tyndall said
“I’m just thankful for them, that they’ve allowed me to take them on this journey.”
Ryan Herman can be reached at 252-559-1073 or Ryan.Herman@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter: @KFPSports.