The Southwest Guilford Cowboys hosted the Elite Eight of the NCHSAA State Playoffs tonight. The Cowboys hosted the Cougars of Charlotte Catholic. These two schools met in this same round back in 2016 over in Charlotte. It was a back and forth battle that the Cougars ultimately won 68-65 on their way to winning the State Championship. The visiting Cougars earned their berth by defeating Ashbrook, McMichael and Kings Mountain. The Cowboys made it here by beating Watauga, Parkland and Southern Guilford. The #1 seeded Cowboys faced a tall task in these #4 seeded Cougars. These two quality teams came out and battled each other fiercely from the tip. The Cougars took advantage of an early Southwest miscue and took a quick 2-0 lead at the 7:26 mark. Nearly 5 minutes later, the Cowboys were up 18-2. Total team defense and swarming pressure limited most of the offensive opportunities for the Cougars. But they didn't make it this deep in the tournament to just lay down. Back-to-back three pointers trimmed the lead to 18-8 with 2:08 to go in the frame. A small 4-0 run by Southwest got it out to 22-8, but a late bucket by the Cougars closed the opening frame at 22-10. The second quarter opened with another strong 9-0 run by the Cowboys to push the lead out to 31-10 at the 5:47. The Cowboys played solid team defense and really made life difficult for the Cougars. Charlotte Catholic stopped the run with a basket, but the Cowboys scored 5 more quick points in a blink and it was 36-12 at the 4:28 mark. It took the Cougars roughly a full minute to score again to cut it to 36-14, but once again another 5 quick points by the Cowboys and it was 41-14. The final 2 minutes of the half were a bit sloppy and back and forth and the half closed with the Cowboys holding a strong 47-18 lead. Charlotte Catholic is a very solid program and resiliently fought throughout the third quarter. The teams traded baskets for the first two and half minutes and it was 53-24 at the 6:35 mark. A ferocious dunk  made it 55-24, and then three more baskets put it out to 59-24 at the 5:06 point. Once again the Cougars held firm and battled pretty much evenly the rest of the frame and the third quarter closed at 66-38. The final frame got a little sloppy, and every time the Cowboys pushed the margin close to the 40 point threshold, the Cougars would not allow it. In fact, the Cougars made a solid run of their own against the Cowboys bench, but Southwest scored enough to keep the lead in tact. In the end the Cowboys cruised for a convincing win with the final score of 83-49. The Cougars were led by Adam Robbe with 15 points. The Cowboys had stellar performances from several players. Highlights were: Kobe Langley with (22, 7 Asts, 6 Rebs, 3 Stls, Blk), Jayden Turner with (14, 10 Rebs, 4 Asts, 2 Stls, 2 Blks), Joel Pettiford with (14, 11 Rebs, 4 Blks, Ast), and Christian Martin with (13, 7 Rebs, 2 Asts, Blk). The Cowboys improve to 30-0 on the season and advance to the Western Regional Championship against Concord Cox Mill on Saturday.

                  1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
C. Catholic  10  08  20  11  49
Southwest   22  25  19  17  83
 

Charlotte Catholic (21-9)

Elliot Teal 3

Cedric Pitt 11

Adam Robbe 15

Kevin Dumser11

Christopher Walton 2

Colin Thomas 3

Will Graham 2

Kevin McArdle 2

Southwest (30-0)
Keyshaun Langley 8, 6 Asts, 3 Rebs, Stl
Kobe Langley 22, 7 Asts, 6 Rebs, 3 Stls, Blk

Milli Huggins 2 Rebs, Ast, Stl
Cameron Thompson 3, Stl
Jayden Turner 14, 10 Rebs, 4 Asts, 2 Stls, 2 Blks  
Christian Martin 13, 7 Rebs, 2 Asts, Blk

Nysiek Walcott 2, 2 Rebs, 2 Stls

Bryce Causey Ast

Joel Pettiford  14, 11 Rebs, 4 Blks, Ast  
Miles Taylor 2, Reb

Aamaj Platt 2, Reb
Rodney Scott 2 Rebs