Hoggard beats Laney 51-33, reaches state for first time since 1970
GREENVILLE, N.C. (WWAY) — In their fourth matchup this season, top seeded Hoggard bested Carolina Coast Conference champion Laney 51-33 in the Class 8A Regional Championship on Wednesday.
The Bucs won two of the previous three meetings and held the Vikings to just two points in the 1st quarter. However, Hoggard got hot and shook off the nerves as they will play for a state title for the first time in 56 years.
“It is different playing somebody that many times, especially at this point in the year,” Head Coach Brett Queen said. “One of the things you saw was two teams that know each other very well. We changed some things from what we did ten days ago when we played them in the conference tournament championship game. Our guys did a good job of learning from that last game.”
(Photo: Colton Emswiler/WWAY)
“This team is just really special,” senior Will Seward said. “This whole team has been playing with each other for years. I think that we all clicked so well together on the court. Every single one of us has each other’s back.”
Hoggard will face West Charlotte next week in Winston-Salem. The exact date and time will be announced later.
On the other side, Laney’s 11 points in the opening frame would not be matched until their was less than seven minutes left in the game. It was still a great run for Head Coach B.J. Donnell’s group as they went from a six seed to a state semifinalist.
“It was a three point game at the half, but as a coach, there’s certain spots in the game you know your team,” Donnell said. “You know when they look out of sorts. You just try to pull them together and figure out how to get it. In moments, teams make the right plays at the right times and the other team don’t.”
(Photo: Colton Emswiler/WWAY)
“I think we definitely exceeded expectations on the year,” senior Logan Schumacher said. “No one thought we could make this final four run but us. I think that really shows to how much heart we really had and how much guts we played with.”
