Eagles earn another trip to NCISAA finals after dispatching Cape Fear Academy on the road
WILMINGTON – After some rough going early in the season, state title No. 3 is now in reach for the Concord Academy boys basketball team.
On Tuesday night, the Eagles defeated Wilmington’s Cape Fear Academy on its home floor, 67-53, to advance to the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association 3A championship game.
The title game will be held Saturday at Wingate University, where the Eagles will take on High Point Christian Academy at 3:30 p.m.
Third-seeded Concord Academy (16-16) will be going for its third state championship after having won it all in 2015 and 2020.
The Eagles didn’t have the sterling regular season they enjoyed in 2020, when they won a program-record 35 games. This season, they finished third in their conference and they suffered through a pair of losing streaks of at least four games, including one that lasted seven contests in a row.
But they have come together at the perfect time, as Tuesday’s victory over second-seeded Cape Fear (19-4) was their eighth in their last nine games.
On Tuesday, the Eagles played things steady and earned the right to have one last game for it all. They led by 10 points at halftime (31-21) and survived a cold third quarter (nine points) before erupting for 27 points in the final period to leave no doubt.
Six-foot-9 sophomore forward Kany Tchanda led the charge for the Eagles with 19 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots.
Noah Van Bibber added 14 points, with DJ Cuttino scoring 12. Carson Cooke, the Concord High School transfer who was averaging just over three points per game, had one of his strongest performances as an Eagle – particularly with so much on the line – by producing 10 points.
The Eagles’ other scorers included Jayden Munson with six points and Magnus Swinger with four.
Now Concord Academy moves on to the finals to face fourth-seeded High Point Christian (22-7), which defeated the Eagles by five points in a low-scoring affair earlier this season.
WILMINGTON – After some rough going early in the season, state title No. 3 is now in reach for the Concord Academy boys basketball team.
On Tuesday night, the Eagles defeated Wilmington’s Cape Fear Academy on its home floor, 67-53, to advance to the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association 3A championship game.
The title game will be held Saturday at Wingate University, where the Eagles will take on High Point Christian Academy at 3:30 p.m.
Third-seeded Concord Academy (16-16) will be going for its third state championship after having won it all in 2015 and 2020.
The Eagles didn’t have the sterling regular season they enjoyed in 2020, when they won a program-record 35 games. This season, they finished third in their conference and they suffered through a pair of losing streaks of at least four games, including one that lasted seven contests in a row.
But they have come together at the perfect time, as Tuesday’s victory over second-seeded Cape Fear (19-4) was their eighth in their last nine games.
On Tuesday, the Eagles played things steady and earned the right to have one last game for it all. They led by 10 points at halftime (31-21) and survived a cold third quarter (nine points) before erupting for 27 points in the final period to leave no doubt.
Six-foot-9 sophomore forward Kany Tchanda led the charge for the Eagles with 19 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots.
Noah Van Bibber added 14 points, with DJ Cuttino scoring 12. Carson Cooke, the Concord High School transfer who was averaging just over three points per game, had one of his strongest performances as an Eagle – particularly with so much on the line – by producing 10 points.
The Eagles’ other scorers included Jayden Munson with six points and Magnus Swinger with four.
Now Concord Academy moves on to the finals to face fourth-seeded High Point Christian (22-7), which defeated the Eagles by five points in a low-scoring affair earlier this season.
