By Brian Pitts
Davie Enterprise Record

In the history of Davie boys basketball, no words have ever sounded better than these: Davie won the sectional, advanced to the regional and is two wins from playing for a state championship.
Another layer was added to this fairy tale season Friday as Davie hosted Richmond County in the Midwest Sectional final.
The War Eagles led by seven with 70 seconds left, withstood a furious Richmond County rally and held on by a thread, 66-65.
The War Eagles have rewritten the record book. The latest records:
• They advanced to the regional for the first time. It was only their second sectional final in 35 years (Davie joined the NCHSAA in 1977-78). In the other sectional final, they lost 82-69 to Reynolds at Joel Coliseum in 2000.
• At 22-6, Davie broke the record for wins in a season. The record did belong to the 2000 squad that went 21-6.
The county and team have come together in an extraordinary way. The scene was a circus, with fans lining up outside before the doors opened at 5:30 and the place selling out more than 30 minutes before the 7 o’clock tipoff. When the Raiders failed to score on the game’s final possession, people stormed the floor and the War Eagles celebrated like they’d won the state championship – a moment decades in the making.
“It’s a privilege,” sophomore Cody Martin said. “We’re a family on this team and we play as a team.”
“It’s just amazing,” senior Shannon Dillard said. “I’m just glad to be on this team.”
“We’re just going to keep going,” sophomore Caleb Martin said. “Hopefully we win the state and set some more records.”
“It’s really special,” senior Davis Absher said. “I don’t know how to describe it yet.”
There were four lead changes in the first quarter, but Richmond emerged with a 17-14 lead because of its dominance inside. The Raiders had 14 points in the paint.
Davie hit seven of 11 field goals in the second, but trailed 36-31 at the half as Richmond’s inside game continued to give Davie trouble. The Raiders controlled the boards 20-12. They closed the half with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer …