Mountaineers, AKA Road Warriors,
going to state championship game
Once a Mountaineer always a Mountaineer, but a more fitting name recently has been the Kings Mountain Road Warriors.
Andrew Fann and his varsity basketball team have caught fire in the post-season and will be going to Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem Thursday at 7:30pm to battle Northern Nash for the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state championship.
Kings Mountain will go into the game as an underdog to a Northen Nash team with a 24-3 record. The Mountaineers, who went 10-12 during the regular season, have now posted impressive 6A playoff victories over St. Stephens 67-44, fifth-ranked Freedom, 65-58, fourth-ranked TC Roberson 63-61 and top-ranked Ben L. Smith 69-68
The Mountaineers, with four sophomores and one junior in the starting lineup, led all the way to win the Western Regional’s 68-61 over a Charlotte Catholic team that wore them out in an early season non-conference game.
“We played our home games at the Middle School,” noted coach Fann, “because the KMHS gym was undergoing a major fixer-upper.
“Freedom was a five-seed and Asheville a four-seed, so we had to practice on Sunday to get ready for the playoffs.
“In the St. Stephens game we led all the way,” he said. “The turning point was the third quarter against Ben L. Smith. We were down nine points against the number one ranked team in the third quarter to go up 12 in the fourth. We had some fouls but held on.
“The third quarter turned everything around,” he noted. “We lost to Catholic by 18 in the regular season to play them totally different. That was the best game we had.
‘They were strong and had a seven-footer. Handling them, we knew we were capable of beating anybody. They had good size.
“The last time Kings Mountain made it this far was in 1990,” Fann noted. “They made it to the Regional finals. Larry Sipe was the coach and he talked to our boys before we played Catholic. We had five wins in nine days. I am extremely proud of the kids. They really wanted this.”
Andrew Fann and his varsity basketball team have caught fire in the post-season and will be going to Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem Thursday at 7:30pm to battle Northern Nash for the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state championship.
Kings Mountain will go into the game as an underdog to a Northen Nash team with a 24-3 record. The Mountaineers, who went 10-12 during the regular season, have now posted impressive 6A playoff victories over St. Stephens 67-44, fifth-ranked Freedom, 65-58, fourth-ranked TC Roberson 63-61 and top-ranked Ben L. Smith 69-68
The Mountaineers, with four sophomores and one junior in the starting lineup, led all the way to win the Western Regional’s 68-61 over a Charlotte Catholic team that wore them out in an early season non-conference game.
“We played our home games at the Middle School,” noted coach Fann, “because the KMHS gym was undergoing a major fixer-upper.
“Freedom was a five-seed and Asheville a four-seed, so we had to practice on Sunday to get ready for the playoffs.
“In the St. Stephens game we led all the way,” he said. “The turning point was the third quarter against Ben L. Smith. We were down nine points against the number one ranked team in the third quarter to go up 12 in the fourth. We had some fouls but held on.
“The third quarter turned everything around,” he noted. “We lost to Catholic by 18 in the regular season to play them totally different. That was the best game we had.
‘They were strong and had a seven-footer. Handling them, we knew we were capable of beating anybody. They had good size.
“The last time Kings Mountain made it this far was in 1990,” Fann noted. “They made it to the Regional finals. Larry Sipe was the coach and he talked to our boys before we played Catholic. We had five wins in nine days. I am extremely proud of the kids. They really wanted this.”










