1-10-22 roundup: High school basketball, Legion baseball, Pro football, basketball and soccer, College football and volleyball
By Richard Walker
Cramer High’s boys basketball team has moved into historic territory during the Storm’s 11-0 start to the season entering Tuesday’s Big South 3A Conference game at Kings Mountain.
Coach Brad Sloan’s team is off to the 11th boys basketball start of 10-0 or better in Gaston County in the last 40 years.
Each of the previous 10 teams won 21 or more games and all advanced to the state playoffs.
Cherryville’s 25-0 start in the 1997-98 season is the best start in the era. That year’s Ironmen finished 28-2 overall and as Western N.C. 2A runner-up.
Other fast starts of the last 40 years have come from Ashbrook (13-0 in 1999-2000), Bessemer City (10-0 in 1995-96), Cherryville (24-0 in 2003-04, 11-0 in 2007-08, 10-0 in 2013-14), East Gaston (11-0 in 2004-05 and 10-0 in 2001-02), Forestview (23-0 in 2003-04) and Huss (12-0 in 1989-90).
Cramer’s hot start has been led by senior Will Kelly, who leads the Storm in scoring (23.7), rebounding (8.3) and assists (4.1).
Other standouts have been Justin Rocquemore (11.5 points, 2.5 assists), Mason Craig (8.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists), Jacob Joyner (8.2 points), Taelan Whitley (5.5 rebounds), John Hill (5.2 rebounds) and Owen Sloan (3.7 assists).
Here’s the full schedule of girls/boys doubleheaders for Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties:
Ashbrook at South Point
Cramer at Kings Mountain
Forestview at Crest
North Gaston at Huss
East Gaston at Shelby
Highland Tech at Cherryville
Piedmont CC at Carolina International
Lincolnton at East Burke
West Lincoln at West Caldwell
Northside Christian at Gaston Day
Hickory Grove at Gaston Christian
Lincoln Charter at Christ the King
Mountain Island Charter at Community School of Davidson
(Monday’s games)
Boys
Bessemer City 69, Burns 41: Randall Pettus (25 points, 9 steals, 4 assists), Keyshawn Adams (17 points, 20 rebounds, 3 blocks) and Nazari Smarr (7 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists) led Bessemer City.
Girls
Bessemer City 65, Burns 44: Tionna Pettus (31 points, 18 rebounds) and Janiya Adams (30 points, 9 steals) led Bessemer City.
Here are standings for Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties through Jan. 10:
BIG SOUTH 3A
(Boys)
Crest 3-0, 9-1
Kings Mountain 3-0, 6-5
Cramer 2-0, 11-0
Forestview 1-0, 3-5
Ashbrook 1-2, 2-9
South Point 1-3, 5-8
Huss 0-3, 3-8
North Gaston 0-3, 3-10
(Girls)
Kings Mountain 4-0, 7-2
Ashbrook 3-0, 7-4
Huss 2-1, 6-3
South Point 2-2, 5-7
Crest 1-2, 3-7
Cramer 0-1, 2-8
North Gaston 0-3, 4-9
Forestview 0-3, 0-10
SOUTHERN PIEDMONT 1A/2A
(Boys)
Shelby 3-0, 4-4
Thomas Jefferson 2-0, 11-2
Bessemer City 2-1, 8-3
Burns 2-2, 2-10
Cherryville 1-3, 9-4
East Gaston 0-1, 6-5
Highland Tech 0-3, 2-9
(Girls)
Shelby 3-0, 6-2
Thomas Jefferson 2-0, 4-7
East Gaston 1-0, 7-4
Bessemer City 2-1, 7-5
Burns 2-2, 3-9
Highland Tech 0-3, 2-9
Cherryville 0-4, 1-12
OTHERS
(Boys)
Piedmont CC 1-1, 2-7
East Lincoln 4-0, 11-2
North Lincoln 2-3, 8-6
Lincolnton 3-1, 5-8
West Lincoln 2-2, 5-9
Lincoln Charter 1-0, 10-4
Mtn Isl Charter 0-0, 5-8
Gaston Christian 1-2, 5-9
Gaston Day 4-0, 15-1
(Girls)
Piedmont CC 0-0, 3-5
East Lincoln 4-0, 11-2
North Lincoln 0-5, 2-12
Lincolnton 0-3, 5-7
West Lincoln 1-3, 7-9
Lincoln Charter 1-0, 9-6
Mtn Isl Charter 0-0, 0-3
Gaston Christian 1-3, 1-6
Gaston Day 2-4, 2-9
This week’s other games:
(Wednesday)
Cramer at Crest
East Lincoln at Lincolnton
(Thursday)
Burns at East Rutherford
(Friday)
Cramer at North Gaston
Huss at Crest
Kings Mountain at Ashbrook
South Point at Forestview
East Gaston at Burns
Corvian Community at Piedmont CC
North Iredell at East Lincoln
West Iredell at North Lincoln
East Burke at West Lincoln
Gaston Day at Concord Academy
Mountain Island Charter at Lincoln Charter
(Saturday)
Columbia, S.C. Newman at Gaston Christian
Pro football
The 2021-22 NFL playoff schedule:
(AFC 1st round)
1. Tennessee (12-5) – bye
5. Las Vegas (10-7) at 4. Cincinnati (10-7), 4:30 p.m. Saturday
6. New England (10-7) at 3. Buffalo (11-6), 8:15 p.m. Saturday
7. Pittsburgh (9-7-1) at 2. Kansas City (12-5), 8:15 p.m. Sunday
(NFC 1st round)
1. Green Bay (13-4) – bye
7. Philadelphia (9-8) at 2. Tampa Bay (13-4), 1 p.m. Sunday
6. San Francisco (10-7) at 3. Dallas (12-5), 4:30 p.m. Sunday
5. Arizona (11-6) at 4. Los Angeles (12-5), 8:15 p.m. Monday
(AFC, NFC semifinals)
Jan. 22-23
(AFC, NFC championship games)
Jan. 30
(Super Bowl)
Feb. 13
Pro basketball
The Charlotte Hornets have now beaten the defending NBA champions twice in three days after Monday’s 103-99 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Two days after a 114-106 home win, the Hornets made it two straight against the Bucks and three straight overall to improve to 22-19 on the season.
Terry Rozier (27 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists), LaMelo Ball (23 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists), Miles Bridges (17 points, 11 rebounds), Gordon Hayward (14 points) and Mason Plumlee (6 points, 9 rebounds) led a balanced Charlotte attack.
That balance overcame the exceptional efforts from Milwaukee stars Khris Middleton (27 points, 7 rebounds, 11 assists) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (26 points, 13 rebounds, 8 assists).
Charlotte moved into a tie for seventh place in the Eastern Conference and are only a half-game behind sixth place Cleveland.
Here is the Charlotte Hornets’ full regular season schedule (with results):
OCTOBER
Wed. 20 INDIANA (W 123-122)
Fri. 22 at Cleveland (W 123-112)
Sun. 24 at Brooklyn (W 111-95)
Mon. 25 BOSTON (L 129-140, OT)
Wed. 27 at Orlando (W 120-111)
Fri. 29 at Miami (L 99-114)
Sun. 31 PORTLAND (W 125-113)
NOVEMBER
Mon. 1 CLEVELAND (L 110-113)
Wed. 3 at Golden State (L 92-114)
Fri. 5 at Sacramento (L 110-140)
Sun. 7 at LA Clippers (L 106-120)
Mon. 8 at L.A. Lakers (L 123-126, OT)
Wed. 10 at Memphis (W 118-108)
Fri. 12 NEW YORK (W 104-96)
Sun. 14 GOLDEN STATE (W 106-102)
Wed. 17 WASHINGTON (W 97-87)
Fri. 19 INDIANA (W 121-118)
Sat. 20 at Atlanta (L 105-115)
Mon. 22 at Washington (W 109-103)
Wed. 24 at Orlando (W 108-99)
Fri. 26 MINNESOTA (W 133-115)
Sat. 27 at Houston (L 143-146, OT)
Mon. 29 at Chicago (L 119-133)
DECEMBER
Wed. 1 at Milwaukee (L 125-127)
Sun. 5 at Atlanta (W 130-127)
Mon. 6 PHILADELPHIA (L 124-127, OT)
Wed. 8 PHILADELPHIA (L 106-110)
Fri. 10 SACRAMENTO (W 124-123)
Mon. 13 at Dallas (L 96-120)
Wed. 15 at San Antonio (W 131-115)
Fri. 17 at Portland (L 116-125)
Sun. 19 at Phoenix (L 106-137)
Mon. 20 at Utah (L 102-112)
Thu. 23 at Denver (W 115-107)
Mon. 27 HOUSTON (W 123-99)
Wed. 29 at Indiana (W 116-108)
JANUARY
Sun. 2 PHOENIX (L 99-133)
Mon. 3 at Washington (L 121-124)
Wed. 5 DETROIT (W 140-111)
Sat. 8 MILWAUKEE (W 114-106)
Mon. 10 MILWAUKEE (W 103-99)
Wed. 12 at Philadelphia 7:00
Fri. 14 ORLANDO 7:00
Mon. 17 at New York 1:00
Wed. 19 at Boston 7:30
Fri. 21 OKLAHOMA CITY 7:00
Sun. 23 ATLANTA 7:00
Tue. 25 at Toronto 7:00
Wed. 26 at Indiana 7:00
Fri. 28 L.A. LAKERS 7:00
Sun. 30 LA CLIPPERS 1:00
FEBRUARY
Wed. 2 at Boston 7:30
Fri. 4 CLEVELAND 7:00
Sat. 5 MIAMI 7:00
Mon. 7 TORONTO 7:00
Wed. 9 CHICAGO 7:30
Fri. 11 at Detroit 7:00
Sat. 12 MEMPHIS 7:00
Tue. 15 at Minnesota 8:00
Thu. 17 MIAMI 7:00
Fri. 25 TORONTO 7:00
Sun. 27 DETROIT 7:00
Mon. 28 at Milwaukee 8:00
MARCH
Wed. 2 at Cleveland 7:00
Sat. 5 SAN ANTONIO 7:00
Tue. 8 BROOKLYN 7:00
Wed. 9 BOSTON 7:00
Fri. 11 at New Orleans 8:00
Mon. 14 at Oklahoma City 8:00
Wed. 16 ATLANTA 7:00
Sat. 19 DALLAS 7:00
Mon. 21 NEW ORLEANS 7:00
Wed. 23 NEW YORK 7:00
Fri. 25 UTAH 7:00
Sun. 27 at Brooklyn 7:30
Mon. 28 DENVER 7:00
Wed. 30 at New York 7:30
APRIL
Sat. 2 at Philadelphia 12:30
Tue. 5 at Miami 7:30
Thu. 7 ORLANDO 7:00
Fri. 8 at Chicago 8:00
Sun. 10 WASHINGTON TBD
College basketball
Big South Conference: Gardner-Webb took both the Big South Conference men’s and women’s player of the week honors for games played from Jan. 3-9, the league announced on Monday.
Sophomore guard Anthony Selden was named men’s player of the week after helping the Runnin’ Bulldogs to a 2-0 record with wins over Charleston Southern and Hampton. He shot a combined 78.9 percent from the field (15-of-19) and was 5-of-7 on 3-pointers while averaging 18.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals.
Sophomore forward Alasia Smith was the women’s player of the week after helping the Runnin’ Bulldogs to a 2-0 record with 15.5 points, 12.0 rebounds, 4.0 steals, 2.5 assists and a 66.7 field goal percentage in wins over Charleston Southern and Radford.
American Legion baseball
The 2022 North Carolina American Legion Baseball Hall of Fame ceremony inducting the 2021 class will be held on Saturday, March 5 at 6:30 p.m. at the Cherryville Post 100 Legion hut. Tickets are $10. Call Jerry Hudson (704-460-4855), Tony Robinson (980-329-7200), Mike Robinson (704-473-9310), Ned Yates (704-618-3644), Jill Pueit (704-842-4804) or Danny Eaker (704-435-2717) to reserve your seat. The inductees will be Mike Ellis of Ahoskie Post 102, Sam Homesley of Cherryville Post 100, Mike Robinson of Cherryville Post 100 and Jerald D. Rollins of Greenville Post 39.
College football
After Monday’s CFP championship game, here are the records of each major college conference in bowl games:
Mountain West 5-1
American 3-1
Sun Belt 3-1
Big 12 5-2
Big Ten 6-4
Independents 2-2
SEC 6-8
Conference USA 3-5
MAC 3-5
ACC 2-4
PAC 12 0-5
Here’s the complete college bowl schedule with results:
Friday, Dec. 17
Bahamas Bowl: Middle Tennessee 31, Toledo 24
Cure Bowl: Coastal Carolina 47, Northern Illinois 41
Saturday, Dec. 18
Boca Raton Bowl: Western Kentucky 59, Appalachian State 38
Celebration Bowl: S.C. State 31, Jackson State 10
New Mexico Bowl: Fresno State 31, UTEP 24
Independence Bowl: UAB 31, No. 13 BYU 28
LendingTree Bowl: Liberty 56, Eastern Michigan 20
LA Bowl: Utah State 24, Oregon State 13
New Orleans Bowl: No. 23 Louisiana 36, Marshall 21
Monday, Dec. 20
Myrtle Beach Bowl: Tulsa 30, Old Dominion 17
Tuesday, Dec. 21
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Wyoming 52, Kent State 38
Frisco Bowl: No. 24 San Diego State 38, UTSA 24
Wednesday, Dec. 22
Armed Forces Bowl: Army 24, Missouri 22
Thursday, Dec. 23
Frisco Football Classic: Miami, O. 27, North Texas 14
Gasparilla Bowl: Central Florida 29, Florida 17
Friday, Dec. 24
Hawai’i Bowl: Memphis vs. Hawaii (cancelled, COVID-19 issues with Hawaii)
Saturday, Dec. 25
Camellia Bowl: Georgia State 51, Ball State 20
Monday, Dec. 27
Quick Lane Bowl: Western Michigan 52, Nevada 24
Military Bowl: East Carolina vs. Boston College (cancelled, COVID-19, other issues with Boston College)
Tuesday, Dec. 28
Birmingham Bowl: No. 20 Houston 17, Auburn 13
First Responder Bowl: Air Force 31, Louisville 28
Liberty Bowl: Texas Tech 34, Mississippi State 7
Holiday Bowl: No. 18 N.C. State vs. UCLA (cancelled, COVID-19 issues with UCLA)
Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Minnesota 18, West Virginia 6
Wednesday, Dec. 29
Fenway Bowl: Virginia vs. SMU (cancelled, COVID-19 issues with Virginia)
Pinstripe Bowl: Maryland 54, Virginia Tech 10
Cheez-It Bowl: No. 19 Clemson 20, Iowa State 13
Alamo Bowl: No. 16 Oklahoma 47, No. 14 Oregon 32
Thursday, Dec. 30
Duke’s Mayo Bowl: South Carolina 38, North Carolina 21
Music City Bowl: Purdue 48, Tennessee 45 (OT)
Peach Bowl: No. 10 Michigan State 31, No. 12 Pittsburgh 21
Las Vegas Bowl: Wisconsin 20, Arizona State 13
Friday, Dec. 31
Gator Bowl: No. 17 Wake Forest 38, Rutgers 10
(No. 24 Texas A&M opted out due to COVID-19 issues)
Sun Bowl: Washington State vs. Miami, Fla., noon (Miami withdrew due to COVID-19 issues)
Sun Bowl: Central Michigan 24, Washington State 21
Arizona Bowl: Central Michigan vs. TBA, 2 p.m. (Boise State withdrew due to COVID-19 issues)
(College Football Playoff semifinals)
Cotton Bowl: No. 1 Alabama 27, No. 4 Cincinnati 6
Orange Bowl: No. 3 Georgia 34, No. 2 Michigan 11
Saturday, Jan. 1
Outback Bowl: No. 21 Arkansas 24, Penn State 10
Citrus Bowl: No. 22 Kentucky 20, No. 15 Iowa 17
Fiesta Bowl: No. 9 Oklahoma State 37, No. 5 Notre Dame 35
Rose Bowl: No. 6 Ohio State 48, No. 11 Utah 45
Sugar Bowl: No. 7 Baylor 21, No. 8 Mississippi 7
Tuesday, Jan. 4
Texas Bowl: Kansas State 42, LSU 20
Monday, Jan. 10
(College Football Playoff championship game)
At Indianapolis: No. 3 Georgia 33, No. 1 Alabama 18
College men’s volleyball
Belmont Abbey 3, Long Island University 0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-25): The Crusaders’ opened their season and the head coaching career of Derek Sullivan with a win at the Wheeler Center. Matteo Miselli finished with a match-high 13 kills in the victory for the Abbey.
Pro soccer
Charlotte FC will select first overall in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. The Club has three total selections in the draft.
The first round will be streamed on league platforms. Second and third round selections can be followed on the Draft Tracker.