Southern Durham Wins First Ever Basketball Championship

One year after heartbreak, the Southern Durham Spartans refused to let their championship dream slip away again.

The Spartans claimed their first state basketball title in school history Saturday night, rallying past Mooresville 54-47 in the NCHSAA 7A championship game in Winston-Salem. It was redemption a year in the making for a team that lost in the finals just last season.

Sophomore guard A.J. Morman delivered when it mattered most. After struggling through most of the game at just 1-for-8 shooting, he nailed a buzzer-beating three-pointer to end the third quarter, then poured in seven more points in the final frame to push Southern Durham ahead for good.

"I just wanted to come back and win it this time," Morman said after finishing with a game-high 16 points.

The comeback wasn't easy. Mooresville led for most of the third quarter before Morman's momentum-shifting three gave Southern a 39-36 edge heading into the fourth. Reserve guard Martin Ashley immediately hit another three to start the final period, and the Spartans never looked back.

Southern's defense locked down when it counted most, holding Mooresville scoreless for the final 2:39 of the game. The Spartans outscored the Blue Devils 15-11 in the fourth quarter to complete the comeback.

Why This Inspires

This championship means everything to a program that had tasted success but never hoisted a banner. Head coach Greg Motley brought in transfers K.J. Terry and Aden Jeffries in the offseason, and the pieces clicked perfectly for a team hungry to erase last year's disappointment.

The Spartans' depth made the difference. They scored 12 fast-break points and got 14 bench points compared to Mooresville's zero. When stars struggled, role players stepped up.

Game MVP K.J. Terry scored 13 points and summed up the journey perfectly: "It doesn't feel real at all. We put so much work in. We knew what we wanted to do before the season started, and we knew we were good enough to do it."

For the Bull City faithful who made the trip from Durham, the celebration was worth the wait. After 28 wins and three losses, Southern Durham finally has its first basketball championship.

Sometimes the sweetest victories are the ones you have to fight for twice.