North Laurel more or less won a “play-in” game last night. Their reward is playing Myers Park out Charlotte, considered the top public school this season in the Tar Heel state.
North Laurel hit a pair of early threes to go up 6-0 very quickly. Myers Park finally got on the board with a transition basket from 6’8 sophomore Sadiq White. Another three from North Laurel, this one from UK signee Reed Sheppard, pushed their lead to 9-2 with just under five minutes left in the period. White scored again for Myers Park, but a pair of free throws and a mid-the jumper from 6’4 senior Ryan Davidson gave North Laurel a 13-4 lead. Myers Park gather itself together and finished out the period with a 9-2 run, the last on a transition basket from 6’6 junior Sir Mohammed to draw within two at 15-13.
The second period got off to a slow start for both teams with no one scoring until Davidson connected on a drive for North Laurel. A three from 6’4 junior Bishop Boswell brought Myers Park to within one but Davidson struck again, this time from beyond the arc to make the score 20-16 in favor of North Laurel. The teams traded baskets but a three from Mohammed once again brought Myers Park to within one. A three from North Laurel was offset by a three-point play from Myers Park. Sheppard hit a long two for North Laurel to go up 27-24 with under two minutes to play in the period but a three-point play by 6’8 senior Elijah Strong tied the game at 27-27. Sheppard put North Laurel back on top by two but White responded with a putback to tie the game again. Both teams came up empty on their final possession of the second and at the break the game was tied at 29-29.
Once again, North Laurel opened up a quarter quickly, with Sheppard scoring five straight points to go up 34-29 in less than a minute of playing time. Myers Park finally got on the board with a bucket from Strong. Brody Bock, a 6’1 junior, hit a free throw for North Laurel but Strong hit two free throws of his own to bring Myers Park to within 35-33. North Laurel hit a dry spell and Myers Park took full advantage. Mohammed tied the game on a drive and White put back a miss to give Myers Park the lead. Sheppard tied the game with a steal and score for North Laurel but a three from Boswell and a driving bucket from Mohammed gave Myers Park a 42-37 lead with 2:24 left in the period. A three-point play from Davidson got North Laurel to within two. White scored inside for Myers Park but a three from 6’2 sophomore Colton Rawlings of North Laurel brought them to within one. The teams would each score one more basket in the period to make the score 46-45 in favor of Myers Park going into the final period.
Myers Park got a three from Boswell to open the fourth and then got a bucket inside from White to go up six at 51-45. The teams would trade baskets for a while and Myers Park would maintain that six-point advantage until North Laurel hit a three with three minutes left to draw within three, 55-52. Boswell answered with a three for Myers Park. North Laurel then went dry and as time trickled away they were unable to get good shots. Myers Park added four more points to their lead to advance to the quarter-finals by the score of 62-52.
White led Myers Park with 15 points. Both Boswell and Mohammed each scored 14 points while Strong finished with 13 points.
Sheppard paced North Laurel with 20 points and Davidson tossed in 16 points.