WINSTON-SALEM – The West Bladen Knights stellar season ends in the 2A Eastern Regional Final to the Northwood Chargers in a 57-38 defeat last Thursday evening. Northwood guard Cam Fowler led the Chargers past the Knights with a 19-point outing as they became the newly crowned 2A East Regional champs. The Knights finished their season with an overall record of 27-2 and they claimed the SAC 6 Conference Regular-Season title a month prior. Northwood moved on to their sixth state championship appearance in school history where they faced defending champions Reidsville. The Reidsville Rams ultimately defeated the Chargers for a 71-54 victory on the following Saturday to secure yet another 2A State title in the trophy case.
Reidsville concluded their season with a perfect 31-0 record and they were led by junior guard Dionte Neal. Neal averaged 22.8 ppg and he ranked first in the state for assists with 9.3 apg this season. The number-one seed out of the West averaged 74 ppg this postseason and they held their opponents to 39.3 ppg throughout their journey to the title. Northwood finished their season with an overall record of 30-3 as their season ends on the receiving end of a loss.
West Bladen senior center Chase Williams led the Knights in scoring with 16 points and senior guard Hezekiah Adams added another 10 points in the loss last Thursday. Adams and Williams are the only seniors on the team to play their all four years on varsity. The Knights had an overall record of 81-26 since the duo enrolled and they’ve been a part of a team that has only lost four in the past two seasons.
West Bladen head coach Travis Pait has led this group through two straight seasons with 20 plus wins and they nearly went the distance with their deepest playoff run since the 2014/15 season. The Knights earned the number-four seed in the 2A East Region and they took down the number-one and number-five teams in the bracket en route to their match up with Northwood. Williams stood out for the Knights this season with a team-high of 20.8 ppg and he averaged 22.8 ppg during his teams postseason run. The Knights star center will represent his school at the NC/SC All-Star Game on March, 22nd in Wilmington. Junior guard Jackson Pait was the Knights second leading scorer this postseason with 11.8 ppg.
West Bladen turned their home floor into a fortress as they went undefeated in 17 home games this season and they went 9-1 on the road. They defeated the number-one seeded Farmville Central Jaguars twice this season, once in the regular-season and once in the playoffs. The Knights established their dominance throughout the season as one of the top teams in the entire Southeast Region of the State for all classifications.
Their SAC 6 Conference opponents barely laid a glove on them as they defeated their foes by a combined score of 622-255 in 10 games. West Bladen claimed their third straight SAC 6 Conference Regular-Season Title this season and they’ll move onto next season with more experience than the last. Junior forward Tylik McCall elevated his game by becoming a big shot maker for the Knights this season and he will be an important cornerstone for his team next season. Jackson Pait went from 10.8 ppg the year prior to 12.7 ppg this season to display his improvements on the court.
WEST BLADEN ROSTER 24/25:
Hezekiah Adams SR.
Ty’Leak Ballard SR.
Demarion Bryant JR.
Hunter Hester SR.
Keonta Hill JR.
Kendall Lesane SO.
Tylik McCall JR.
Conner Monroe SR.
Jackson Pait JR.
Jamari Adams-Peterson JR.
Justin Spaulding JR.
Chase Williams SR.
NC STATE CHAMPIONSHIP(BOYS):
(1A) #2 Southern Wake(29-5) 55, #5 Corvian(25-7) 58
(4A) #1 New Hanover(30-3) 56, #3 North Mecklenburg(30-3) 59
(3A) #2 SSES(30-3) 62, #11 Ben L. Smith(29-3) 64