One of two fantastic matchups on the boy’s side, as No. 1 seed Davidson Day took on a highly-talented Freedom Christian looking to make noise. Davidson Day strut their stuff early on both sides, playing suffocating defense and making every shot for Freedom tough while also playing a balanced game offensively. It helped secure an early double-digit lead (10-0) in the first three minutes of play. Freedom settled down though, as Jayden Doyle got his team on the board.
Freedom Christian started to move the ball better than they did early on, finding the open man and hitting some key shots, cutting the lead to six in the second quarter. In the second quarter, neither offenses were able to knock down shots consistently. Both teams looked to settle down and work each other’s defense. For much of the second quarter, it was a back and forth battle but Adam Brazil hit a buzzer-beating mid-range jumper to give Davidson Day the 28-18 halftime lead.
In the second half though, Davidson Day played excellent basketball on both ends of the floor as Freedom Christian struggled to find any success scoring the basketball. Davidson Day’s lead quickly escalated to 20+ in the third and they simply never looked back. It was a balanced attack and a suffocating one on the defensive end, as they allowed only 6 points in the third and 13 in the fourth.
Final: Davidson Day 61 – Freedom Christian 37
Davidson: Jackson Threadgill 15 points, Adam Brazil 16 points
Freedom: Jayden Doyle 7 points, Bosko Mihailovic 9 points
Northside Christian vs. Wayne Country Day
In the final game of the night at Gaston Day, Northside and Wayne Country Day battled it out and they certainly left it all out on the court. It was a game that wasn’t the prettiest as far as offense but neither team could break away from each other.
Wayne Country Day held a 20-16 halftime lead behind their duo of Mike Best and Jaden Cooper scoring 13 first-half points. Coming out though, in the second half, it was senior Najir Underwood who started to find his outside game, knocking down 5 3-pointers on his way to scoring 19 of his 22 points in the game. Northside held the lead in the third quarter but Wayne Country Day started to create a little havoc on both ends, got out in transition for easy baskets, and the play of Best helped seal the deal in the end. Best scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half.
Northside had a chance in the end down three, but a late turnover and a key free throw sealed the 60-56 victory at Gaston Day, advancing them to the championship game.
Final: Wayne Country Day 60 – Northside Christian 56
Wayne: Mike Best 22 points, Carlos Raven 13 points
Northside: Najir Underwood 22 points, Jaden Seymour 13 points