Vance Charter School Champions! NCHSAA 1A Boys’ Basketball State Championship!
FINAL SCORE VANCE CHARTER 79 TO 54 over Thomas Jefferson Classical!
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The Knights got the opening tap, then connected on two free throws to make it 2-0. They never looked back.
Gary Wilkins, who was named Most Outstanding Player for the championship game, brought the VCS fans to their feet with a couple of back-to-back dunks with just a few minutes left in the game.
The senior 6’6” center led all scorers with 23 points. He added 14 rebounds, two assists and two blocks to go along with those impressive dunks.
Junior guard Langston Turrentine had 15 points, followed by junior Nick Pentoney and senior Keyan Richardson adding 14 each. James Washington, a sophomore, added 9 coming off the bench and junior Walker Vigus had 1 point. Senior guard Collin Hughes scored 3 points and was credited with an impressive 10 assists for the game.
The Knights led by 7 points at halftime, then took command in the second half with a sizzling 26-point third quarter to lead by 22 with a score of 62-40. The Knights finished the season with a 23-2 record; they were undefeated in conference play.
It was a coming-home of sorts for Knights Head Coach Taron Downey for today’s game, played at Lawrence Joel Veterans Coliseum – Downey played guard on the Wake Forest University Demon Deacons basketball team from 2001-2005.