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RALEIGH — They're boys among men who play like men among boys.

The Northern Guilford Nighthawks, a two-year-old team with no seniors, finished off an emphatic run through the playoffs with a 66-54 win over Gastonia Forestview in the 3-A state championship game at Reynolds Coliseum on Saturday night.

"I really believe Northern Guilford's going to win a lot of championships in a lot of sports, but the thing I'm most proud of is that we won the first one," Northern head coach Stan Kowalewski said. "That's something these kids are going to remember forever."

Junior forward Chris McCain turned in the game of his season, nearly doubling his season averages with 25 points and 11 rebounds. His driving layup to beat the halftime buzzer gave Northern a 30-23 edge at the break.

"Coming out, I told the coaches I would do it for them," McCain said. "And if I didn't, I knew someone else would."

McCain, a 6-foot-6 tree trunk, wasn't the only one to give the Jaguars trouble.

Forestview gave up 11 inches across the starting five, and "I think all of our guys got a stiff neck looking up," Jaguars head coach Dan Ghent said. "They had plenty of size, and players who knew what to do when the ball got there."

Jacob Lawson was a menace down low with eight points, eight rebounds and five crowd-awakening blocks. He and McCain both ran free in transition, part of the Nighthawks' 36-18 advantage in the paint.

Forestview's lone hope, 6-foot-8 senior Calvin Smith, was held scoreless in 5 minutes.

Northern charged ahead by as many as 14 in the third quarter, but Forestview closed within three early in the fourth and had chances to get even closer.

The Nighthawks, who got 12 points each from Michael Neal and Jonathan Frye, missed 10-of-25 free throws but somehow got an answer every time they needed one.

After a floater by Forestview's Jarkeevus Alexander spun on the rim for seconds before falling out, the Nighthawks sprinted the rebound up floor and got it to Lawson for a dunk and an eight-point lead with just under 4 minutes to play.

"Their momentum went down," Neal said, "and we kept going at them."

The Nighthawks became the third school in history to win the 3-A title in their second season, joining East Chapel Hill in 1997 and Warren County in 1982. They won't lose anyone next season, and with Forestview graduating just two key seniors, Kowalewski jokingly told Ghent afterward, "same place, same time next year."

"If we didn't have a target on our back this year, it'll be twice as big next year," Kowalewski said. "Expectations will be high, but certainly we're going to sit back and enjoy this one for a while."

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

Gastonia Forestview 13 10 22 9 — 54
Northern Guilford 14 16 21 15 — 66

Gastonia Forestview (25-7) — Preston Holmes 19, Jack Sumner 12, Chris Johnson 10, DeJuan Means 8, Jarkeevus Alexander 3, Zeek Bigger 2.

Northern Guilford (30-3) — Chris McCain 25, Jonathan Frye 12, Michael Neal 12, Jacob Lawson 8, Asad Lamot 5, John McBeth 2, Dylan Berry 2.