The Tigers are down by five as the clock winds down to 38 seconds. It’s unfamiliar territory, and a sea of shrieks from the Thomasville High School stands nearly drowns out the noise of the game.
Senior Ryan MacKinnon sinks a three-pointer; the Tigers get a defensive stop and then junior David Mirikwe makes a field goal to tie the game.
The buzzer sounds, and as soon as overtime begins, junior Andrew Herring scores a layup. Not long after, the Tigers hit the road having won by four.
The Tigers’ victory over Thomasville on January 17 helped pave the way for their 19-8 record—the team’s best record since the 2013-2014 season. In conference games the Tigers went 8-5, earning Chapel Hill High School third place in the DAC-VII conference.
The team’s season came to an end on February 21 after the Tigers were defeated by Sanderson High School by a score of 48-53 in the first round of the NCHSAA 4A state playoffs.
MacKinnon closed the season ranked first in the conference for three pointers—scoring 55 across 27 games—and third in the conference for field goals made (142). Senior captain Tyler Stillson finished second in the conference for three pointers (50), and Mirikwe averaged 2.4 steals per game, good for second in the DAC-VII conference.
Head coach Rodney Carter said he was proud of his players’ cooperation on the court and noted that MacKinnon will continue playing basketball post-graduation.
“This year’s group of players decided they didn’t want to repeat the past,” he said. “They came out ready to win games, play hard, stick together as a family, and show the community what being a team is all about.”
Stillson, a shooting guard, is thankful to have been on such a tight-knit team in his final season.
“[The coaches] have done a really good job of making it feel like a special year. At the end of every practice we huddle, and it’s ‘family on three,’” Stillson said.
To raise money for the program, players worked concessions throughout the season, which allowed them to purchase team shoes and equipment. A collaborative dynamic was present throughout the season, and Mirikwe—one of ten juniors on the team—sees it as an advantage.
“This is a young team overall, and we’ve been playing with each other for a long time. We understand each other’s tendencies and personalities, which makes us mesh very well as a team,” Mirikwe said.
On December 14, the Tigers beat Carrboro High School at home with a score of 66-34. The team punctuated the win with three dunks, which Stillson said was very satisfying.
“Last year we lost to [Carrboro High School], so it felt good to come back and beat them—pretty badly, too,” Stillson said.
The Tigers won seven of nine games in December and participated in the Holiday in the Pines basketball tournament at Pinecrest High School over winter break, in which it went 2-1.
“[My favorite part of the season] was the Christmas tournament. It was fun, because it was the first time the coaches have ever paid for us to all go to a hotel and experience so many different things,” Mirikwe said.
On January 13, the team beat arch-rival East Chapel Hill High School at home on senior night 51-31. Mirikwe said that the atmosphere—given the cross-town rivalry—“felt different compared to other games.”
The team’s improvement this season was evident in its improved record. Last year, the Tigers finished 8-15 overall; the Tigers notched 11 more victories this season.
“Last year it took us a while to get in the groove of things, but this year, from the start, we’ve been really together,” Stillson said.
Carter summed up the season with a quotation by British author Paul Arden.
“‘It’s not how good you are, it’s how good you want to be.’ This is what I was able to see in our team this year,” he said.
