“It’s all about whether or not you can come back,” says Young. “You’re not a good team until you show you can do that.”

Davie is a good team, not just because it is 11-0 and the No. 1 seed for next week’s Sam Moir Christmas Classic, but because it can indeed come back. The War Eagles spotted Northwest Cabarrus 17 points, but rallied for a wild 79-74 victory on Thursday night for the championship of the Domino’s Pizza Hoops Classic.

Northwest (6-4) started the game with four 5-foot-9 players, while Davie opened with power towers Larry Umberger (6-6) and Djordje Lukic (6-7), with 6-7 Jon Orsillo waiting in the wings. Something, obviously, had to give. And for a long while it was the host War Eagles.

“We came out in a fog,” said Young, “and they really took it to us with some great pressure defense. They were on fire.”

Northwest guard Matt Hubbard launched two 3-pointers in the first two minutes and the Trojans of the 3A South Piedmont Conference were off and gunning.

Davie star Duane Phillips was saddled with two fouls after four minutes and it was suddenly 13-2. Hubbard hit another 3 in the closing seconds of the first quarter as the Trojan bulge soared to a shocking 19-6.

It got worse for the War Eagles before it got better. Back-to-back 3s by Northwest waterbug Lamont McKnight made it 25-8 a minute into the second quarter. Down 17 and turning the ball over on every other possession, it was Davie that blinked first on the size mismatches. Young pulled Umberger and played four small men, trying desperately to find a combination that could get the ball up the floor.

Davie guard Dominic Graham heated up in the second quarter and kept his team in the game, but there was no still no letup from Northwest. The Trojans bounced to the locker room with a stunning 42-25 lead. Northwest had pumped in nine 3s, with three coming from the unexpected hot hand of sophomore reserve Shelton Roseboro. And Davie, as flat as any Domino’s pizza that’s ever been delivered, had committed 18 turnovers to only six for the Trojans.

“That first half,” said Young, shaking his head, “we couldn’t have jumped over a sheet of paper. We couldn’t dribble the ball without it going off our legs and we couldn’t shoot the ball without it hitting someone in the head.”

Davie regrouped at halftime.

The key to the comeback was Young’s decision to press in the third quarter. It was an odd sight, as Davie’s giants — Young played all three of them together at times— harassed Northwest’s gnats in a furious, arm-flapping, fullcourt frenzy.

It was a huge gamble.

“Quick as they are, we knew we might get blown right out of there,” said Young, but ...”

But there was nothing to lose.

“When we can make someone try to press us,” said Trojan coach Greg McKenzie, “it’s supposed to be game over. But we stopped playing smart. Davie’s a good team but even if you’re playing the L.A. Lakers you have to meet passes and catch the ball. We just started dropping balls out of bounds and hurrying shots.”

McKenzie kept telling his team (and by all logic he was correct) that the towering War Eagles couldn’t guard his guys man-to-man, but Davie came out of its zone and outscored Northwest 30-16 in the wild third. Hubbard scored 10 more in a valiant effort to keep his team ahead, but the War Eagles were getting flurries from Phillips, Graham and a rejuvenated Umberger.

“We expected a second-half run from Davie,” said McKenzie, who tossed aside his clipboard during one timeout and pounded his heart in an effort to fire up his team. “But we thought we could handle it better.”

But by quarter’s end, the once imposing Trojan lead was down to 58-55.

Then Davie surged for the first 11 points of the final quarter, capping a 41-16 run after halftime, to lead 66-58.

With the game slipping away, Northwest reached down for one last effort, storming back for a 68-67 lead on Mike Rayburn’s layup at the 3:36 mark. But after Rayburn and Brandon Smith fouled out, the Trojans finally wore down. Their 5-9 kids could no longer box out Umberger and Orsillo, and Davie got repeated shots. Tourney MVPPhillips sank a baseline 3-pointer with 2:46 left to put Davie on top for good at 70-68. Two huge Phillips free throws with 58 seconds left pushed the lead to 78-72 and a big steal and defensive board by Rod Tenor sealed the win.

“It was a great game for us,” said Young, “because Northwest is legit. Defense won it. The kids moan and groan about all the work we do on defense, but tonight they saw the benefits.”

While the War Eagles celebrated, it was a quiet Trojan locker room.

“We should’ve won this game,” sighed McKenzie, whose four losses have been to the cream of area teams — West Rowan, Central Cabarrus, Davie and Harding. “I was very proud of our effort, but I was surprised that we didn’t play smarter.”

NOTES: Davie will debut in the Catawba Christmas tourney on Wednesday, facing the winner of Tuesday’s Salisbury-South Rowan contest. ... Northwest won’t play again until it goes to Sun Valley on Jan. 4. ... Hubbard, McKnight, Umberger and Graham joined Phillips on the all-tourney team. ... Hubbard led Northwest with 19. ... Phillips had 23 and Graham 22 for Davie. ... Umberger had 10 rebounds and four blocks in the second half.

NORTHWEST (74) — Carmichael 6, Ferguson 2, Hubbard 19, Leister 4, Lindsey 3, McKnight 12, Raburn 4, Reel, Roseboro 11, Smith 9.

DAVIE (79) — Crump, Graham 22, Gustafson, Lassiter 6, Lukic 8, Orsillo 10, Peacock, Phillips 23, R.Tenor 2, Umberger 8.

Northwest 19 23 16 16 — 74