By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — It may have been seen as a minor play in the overall result, but when Watauga forward Landon Smith received a pass in the left corner and raced down the baseline to deliver a resounding slam dunk with only a couple of minutes left in the game, it put an exclamation point on the Pioneers’ 56-42 win over East Mecklenburg in Round 1 of the 4A state playoffs.
Watauga’s Josiah Railey, Cade Keller and Maddox Greene were playing “keep away” just inside the half-court line, with the desperate Eagles pressing, trying to get the ball back. Suddenly, the ball was passed to an open Smith and the senior punctuated the opportunity made possible by Watauga’s team strategy.
The Sequence
Photographic images by Jared Everett for High Country Sports
Whenever high school teams from urban areas who placed down in their league standings meet even the top teams from some of the more rural conferences in the state playoffs, seeding upsets may occur. That may have been the fear of No. 7-seeded Watauga fans on Feb. 25, but the Pioneers held off the No. 26-seeded Eagles of East Mecklenburg to advance to Round 2 of the NCHSAA 4A West bracket. On Feb. 28, Watauga will host No. 10 Mount Tabor, a 69-55 victor vs. No. 23 Grimsley.
East Meck finished No. 4 in a very strong Charlotte area conference, the 4A Southwestern Conference, behind Independence, Charlotte Catholic and Butler, but finished 15-11 overall and 7-5 in conference.
“East Meck finished well with some of their players out with injuries,” said Watauga head coach Bryson Payne after the game. “So we really didn’t know what team we were going to be facing.”
What Payne and the Pioneers did know is that like a lot of Charlotte area teams they like to run up-tempo, pushing the ball in transition. While Watauga also likes to run, part of the strategy against the Eagles, Payne explained, was to slow things down a bit.
Combined with a strong defensive effort, Watauga hit East Meck from both the inside and outside. Junior forward Jace Blocker and junior guard Cade Keller shared game-high scoring honors with 17 points each. Keller managed it with a lot of Eagles seemingly glued to his every move. As the Pioneers’ leading scorer, it was obvious East Meck came into the game seeking to blanket Keller.
The attention drawn by Keller on the perimeter, though, created some of the opportunities exploited by Blocker in the paint as well as by seniors Josiah Railey (9 points) and Maddox Greene (6).
Watauga only trailed in this game early in the first period, finishing the opening stanza with a tenuous, 13-11 advantage. They built on their lead to 30-24 at intermission, then to 44-33 to begin the final period. But against a talented and athletic East Meck team, no lead seemed “safe” until the final minutes, even seconds.
The Eagles’ offense was centered around guard Ahmari Hicks (16 points) and Jordan Buzzard (8).
SCORING SUMMARY
- WAT – Cade Keller (17 points)
- WAT – Jace Blocker (17)
- WAT – Josiah Railey (9)
- WAT – Maddox Greene (6)
- WAT – Landon Smith (5)
- WAT – Brady Lindenmuth (2)
- EM – Ahmari Hicks (16)
- EM – Jordan Buzzard (8)
- EM – Nixon Wright (6)
- EM – James McIver (6)
- EM – Braylan Caldwell (5)
- EM – Vance Johnson (1)
Round 1, 4A West Bracket Results
BOLD – Seeding Upsets
- No. 1 Lake Norman 89, No. 32 Cuthbertson 74
- No. 17 Hopewell 53, No. 16 Charlotte Catholic 52
- No. 25 Reagan 69, No. 8 Northern Guilford 57
- No. 9 Myers Park 74, No. 24 Butler 65
- No. 5 Independence 54, No. 28 Palisades 34
- No. 12 Mooresville 61, No. 21 Ardrey Kell 50
- No. 13 Chambers 73, No. 20 Hickory Ridge 72
- No. 4 McDowell 64, No. 29 Hough 59
- No. 3 North Mecklenburg 68, No. 30 Mallard Creek 51
- No. 14 Davie 69, No. 19 South Mecklenburg 66
- No. 6 Weddington 68, No. 27 Cox Mill 55
- No. 11 East Forsyth 86, No. 22 Olympic 60
- No. 7 Watauga 56, No. 26 East Mecklenburg 42
- No. 10 Mount Tabor 69, No. 23 Grimsley 55
- No. 18 South Caldwell 77, No. 15 Southwest Guilford 75
- No. 2 West Forsyth 77, No. 31 Marvin Ridge 70
