Seventy-First basketball beats Westover, wins NCHSAA 3A East title for 2nd time in 3 years

WINSTON-SALEM — The No. 4-seeded Seventy-First Falcons are headed to the NCHSAA 3A state championship game after defeating No. 2 Westover on Tuesday in a game that was all Falcons from start to finish, 63-44.

Jacquez Foster exploded for five 3-pointers and 25 points as the Falcons (28-2) ran away with the East Regional final to get to their second state championship since 2022 — when Foster and several other Seventy-First stars were freshmen.

Seventy-First's attack began in the first quarter on the defensive end, forcing Westover (29-2) to shoot just 10% (1-10) from the field in opening minutes. After a 3-point bucket from Malachi Allen, the Wolverines never regained the lead as the Falcons ended the first on a 12-point scoring run, topped off by a Foster buzzer-beater.

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In the second and third quarters, Seventy-First's dominance couldn't be denied, holding Westover to just 25 points to its own 31 in those 16 minutes and extending a nine-point halftime lead to 16 by the end of the third.

"We're Falcons," said coach Jeremy Ingram. "I teach them to play fast and to play free, and that's what we'll continue to do."

The Falcons' "three-headed monster" of DeAndre Nance, Mylon Campbell, and Foster — a group that Ingram said brings their all every night — combined for 50 points and brought a majority of the productive activity for the No. 4 seed.

Seventy-First will return to Lawrence Joel Veteran Memorial Coliseum on Friday to play West No. 2 seed Central Cabarrus for the 3A state championship at 8:30 p.m.

Westover had its best season since the state championship-winning squad from 2019-20 that finished 30-0.