Rising Starr reigns as the county middle school boys basketball champions. The Panthers grounded the Flat Rock Eagles to claim the title, 54-45.

The champion Panthers are Joseph Little, Scott Moreman, Warren Curry, Gregory Jadick, Jack Murphy, Thomas Cochran, Brody Smith, Joey Grant, Tyler Griffin, Nolan Blackwell, Dane Each, and William Deslyper. The team managers are Brady Defler and Preston Smith.

The team is coached by Ryan Ross.

“Winning this game was extra special because I am pretty sure that no one in the gym outside of our guys and some of our parents thought we were going to win. I just got the idea from being around this team all year that they were different. We did not have a bad practice all year long,” said Coach Ross. “Our guys are leaders on the court and in the school. They will go on to do great things far beyond basketball.”