WINSTON-SALEM, NC — The Queen’s Grant boys basketball team is set to play at a home court built on campus for the first time in school history, and while most despise moving, the Stallions are ready to decorate their new home court.
The main accent piece that will be the first item to hang from the rafters of the gym will be the 2026 N.C. High School Athletic Association 2A state title — a first for the program and the school — claimed in dominant fashion Thursday in Winston-Salem.
A tenacious defense, and an imposing force in the paint paved the way for the Stallions to defeat Warren County 77-43.
“I’ll hang it,” sophomore big man Chase Smith said, sporting a big smile.
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It was a redemptive win for the program, coming off a 75-44 loss to Corvian Community in the West regional championship in Winston-Salem a year ago.
“We knew what we had to do as a returning group. We had to take leadership and let everyone know how hard it is to get here,” sophomore guard Mehki Allen said.
The west’s top seed, Queen’s Grant (33-3), played its 38th game of the season Thursday afternoon, and the marathon schedule against some of the top teams across the state and the region paid off for a state title. Thursday’s victory was a 31st win in a row to close out the season for the Stallions.
Warren County (14-10), the No. 8 seed out of the 2A East, was locked down on offense with its leading scorer, Nazir Shaw, scoring seven points.
“Our main focus is on defense. We weren’t just focused on (Shaw), but their whole team as a whole,” Queen’s Grant junior Preston Scott said. “We don’t try to key in on one guy because one guy can go off on any night.”
Queen’s Grant’s defensive pressure helped the Stallions build a lead into double figures within the first four minutes of the game. The turnovers fueled highlight-reel fast breaks, mostly courtesy of sophomore guard Mekhi Allen, who threw down three dunks in the first three minutes. He had 11 points in the first period.
“We knew that we did not need to let them get out in transition, and we didn’t do a good job of that,” Warren County coach Toriano McRae Jr. said. “We had to keep them off the offensive glass.”
The game plan didn’t go as planned with the Stallions pulling down double the number of rebounds as the Eagles, including 17 offensive boards. Queen’s Grant also scored the bulk of its points in the paint, with 68 of the 77 coming around the basket.
Smith scored 22 points and pulled down nine rebounds in the first two periods against Warren County, outscoring the Eagles single-handedly by the halftime break. Smith finished with a game-high 27 points in his double-double performance to include 13 rebounds.
“Preparing for this game, we were watching film of other teams to see how open the middle was and how easy it was to get to the rim,” Smith said. “It was my team just trusting in me, looking for me to get me open looks. It was just me showing up and doing what I do to finish.”
Smith, who has drawn significant Division I interest, added state championship MVP honors to his résumé.
Allen finished with 21 points to earn most outstanding player honors.
The Stallions raced off with a running-clock margin with 3:12 left in the fourth.The entire roster for Queen’s Grant is made up of underclassmen, but any hopes of repeating the result won’t come without the work being done, coach Joe Badgett said.
“People take for granted that this is hard to do. It’s hard to win a state championship, and to win one is very special and very unique. There is no promise that you are going to get back,” Badgett said. “It is special to watch them achieve this goal.”
Warren County junior Jeremiahe Kearney led the Eagles in scoring with 12, and he was honored as the most outstanding player for Warren County.
The Eagles’ smaller than usual roster of nine players warmed up on the Lawrence Joel Veteran Memorial Coliseum floor with shirts saying “Chosen 9.”
“It’s a testament to their resiliency. In basketball, it’s tough to do it with nine players. I have to suit up in practice to do a scrimmage,” McRae said. “They weather those storms and really don’t complain at all. I almost had four players play all 32 minutes. It’s cool that this team right here, along with the last two Warren County teams that went to states had a name. Their legacy is defined here in Warren County.”
The small group carries the “Chosen 9” is a nickname the Eagles carry with pride.
“Making it to states with nine players is hard, so that just gives everybody hope that you don’t need a big team to get here,” Shaw said.
“You’ve just got to fight and stay together as a team.”
The sportsmanship award winners from the two teams, honored before the contest, were Warren County’s Jeremiah Barnett and Queen’s Grant’s Tristan O’Neal.
Box Score1Q2Q3Q4QFWarren County146131043Queen’s Grant2721131677
Scoring
Warren County
Jeremiahe Kearney, 12Khalil Townsend, 11Nazir Shaw, 9Zane Freeman, 6Elijah Stevenson, 3Graham Hosch, 2
Queen’s Grant
Chase Smith, 27Mekhi Allen, 21Cannon DeBerry, 8Preston Scott, 6Joel Jackson, 4Bobby Montgomery, 3Jamal Mustaf, 2Ethan McSweeney, 2Jaleel Brown, 2Tristan O’Neil 2Postgame Press Conferences
Warren County
Queen’s Grant
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