R.J. Moore at the buzzer for the title! Charlotte’s Corvian Community wins 1A championship
R.J. Moore’s heroics put him in the Corvian Community School history books.
The star sophomore knocked down a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Cardinals to a remarkable 58-55 victory in overtime of the NCHSAA 1A boys’ basketball state championship on Friday afternoon.
Corvian, the charter school in north Charlotte, rallied throughout the second half and battled Southern Wake until the final seconds of overtime.
Moore’s winner came following a timeout and the game tied at 55, and his jumper from a step behind the arc on the left side of the floor at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum secured the Cardinals’ first state title in school history.
“I was just the one who put the ball in the rim,” Moore said. “We’re a new school. People didn’t know us last year. People still don’t know us to this day. But I feel like that just put us on the map. We just won the state championship, and that’s a great thing for our school.”
Moore, who scored 26 points to lead all scorers, was voted the game’s most outstanding player.
Senior Malachi McCutcheon poured in 15 points, while Southern Wake sophomore Kobe Plata led the way with 19 points in a losing effort.
“Last year, nobody knew what we were at all,” McCutcheon said. “Doubted us. This year, we were the underdogs, underdogs, underdogs, every game. It feels great, and we’re putting Corvian on the map.”
How Corvian won its first state championship
Defenses battled early, and Corvian (25-7) rallied from its manageable deficit throughout the third quarter.
Senior point guard Andre Jackson Jr. and McCutcheon hit big shots as the Cardinals came back to tie the game. Southern Wake kept the pace on its end of the floor, but Corvian continued defending well and prevented its opponent from taking more than a two-score advantage.
“We were terrible on offense in the first half,” Corvian head coach Ron Murphy said. “The one thing we were able to do was put pressure on them late. They held the ball a couple times, and our coaches were really good about how many possessions a quarter, how low it was. They were taking 45 seconds to score, so we started pressing a little bit more.“
Down four points late in the fourth quarter, Moore drove into the paint from the wing. The standout sophomore nailed a mid-range jumper — followed up by a huge defensive stop that gave Corvian the ball back with inside of two minutes left in regulation.
Jackson hit the tying shot, knotting the game at 49 with roughly 90 seconds to go. The Cardinals’ aggressive defense forced a jump ball on Southern Wake’s ensuing possession, giving them a shot to take the lead with the final minute nearing.
They did.
Moore drove through the lane and put up a basket, putting Corvian on top with just over a minute remaining. The Lions hit free throws to tie it back at 51 — and Moore struck once again, but it wasn’t enough to go back in front before time expired in regulation.
Moore missed the chance for a three-point play after getting harmed on a go-ahead layup. Southern Wake came up empty at the horn, and the sides headed to overtime.
Notable
▪ Corvian Community, whose high school opened in 2018 in the Mallard Creek area of Charlotte, played in the 1A state title game for the second straight year. The Cardinals dropped a 65-63 heartbreaker to Wilson Prep in last season’s championship.
▪ The No. 5 seed in this year’s 1A playoff bracket, Corvian ended its season with 13 wins in its final 14 games.
▪ Southern Wake Academy, south of Raleigh in Fuquay-Varina, made its first appearance in a state championship game and finished the season 29-5.
They said it
“I’ve been with the same group of guys since my freshman year,” Corvian senior point guard Andre Jackson Jr. said. “This kid (Moore), we used to go to his middle school games and be like, ‘Who’s this little light-skin kid who thinks he’s (Kevin Durant)?’ It feels great, just establishing a program and being the start of something special.
“I know a lot of people have had their doubts and kind of take away credit from what we do, but they don’t see the hard work we’ve put it on the inside.”
This story was originally published March 14, 2025 at 3:01 PM with the headline "R.J. Moore at the buzzer for the title! Charlotte’s Corvian Community wins 1A championship."
