RALEIGH  — A 2009 state basketball championship title vacated by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association won’t be restored by a state appeals court panel, which ruled Tuesday team members and coaches who sued lacked legal standing to challenge the group’s decision.

The three-judge panel upheld unanimously a lower court ruling that sided with the association, which stripped Northern Guilford High School of its 3-A men’s basketball title after a school board investigation found at least two players lived outside the school’s residency zone.

Forestview lost to Northern Guilford, 66-54, in the state 3A championship game that year.

Thirteen other players, former coach Stanley Kowalewski, and four assistant coaches sued the association, saying it should have investigated the problem independently and failed to follow its own rules.