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KERNERSVILLE — Sorry, Steve Nealen told friends who tried to call him with congratulations after the Bishop McGuinness boys advanced to the state finals last weekend. Can't talk.

Literally.

The Villains senior guard screamed himself hoarse trying to ignite his teammates and cheering section in Saturday's regional final, and after the Villains escaped with a one-point victory and a berth in Saturday's 1-A state final against Weldon in Raleigh, all he could do was text message responses before taking a bath and passing out from euphoric exhaustion.

"Yelling works," said Nealen, who scored just three points but likely had as much to do with the second-half momentum swing as anybody.

It's a recurring pursuit for Bishop's most emotional player. Nealen, a two-year starter, has always been vocal off the court, but he realized early this season somebody would have to speak up on occasion if McGuinness was going to fulfill its potential as one of the 1-A's top teams.

He embraced that role in practice and subconsciously started incorporating it into games, slapping the ground after a big 3-pointer — he hit six of them in the Northwest 1-A tournament final — unleashing a full-body "LET'S GO!" and sending more than a few opposing point guards backpedaling from the fire.

"When the crowd makes so much noise that you can't hear anything else, that's when you really get at it," Nealen said. "If I leave it all on the floor, I won't have any regrets."

Twenty-six banners line the gym walls at this small Catholic school. The only one that mentions men's basketball comes from the 1960s and a league that no longer exists.

"We've been pretty successful at athletics," junior center Jake McSwain said, "but we want to get our own banner on that wall."

McGuinness has surprised quite a few people by making it this far, including many of the Internet-enabled armchair experts whose message board banter Nealen has taken a particular interest in following this season.

After games, he and his parents will often jump on three different computers to follow the night's action. "I'm like, what has happened to this family?" he said.

Nealen doesn't seek out naysayers, but they're not hard to find. Weldon, which has won 26 straight games, has the same kind of up-tempo talent that many thought Cherryville would use to dispatch the Villains last week.

"Most of the time, they pick us to lose," Nealen said. "That's when I'm like, 'It's 8 in the morning, but I'm ready to go now.'"

This week feels like just as long a wait. McSwain said class seems like it drags on forever, and Nealen, who was still hoarse Tuesday, still has a few days to craft a recovery plan for his voice.

"I hope I get it back," he said, "so I can lose it again on Saturday."

Contact Tom Keller at 373-7034 or tom.keller@news-record.com