10-20-21 roundup: Pro basketball and football, College football and basketball, High school football, boys soccer, volleyball and cross country, Middle school football, volleyball and boys soccer
By Richard Walker
A third quarter offensive explosion propelled a Charlotte Hornets’ comeback that ended in a dramatic 123-122 victory over the Indiana Pacers in front of 15,521 at Spectrum Center.
The Hornets trailed 82-59 early in the third quarter and were still behind 84-63 with 8:48 left in that quarter before scoring 24 straight points to take control of the season-opener against the team that routed them 144-117 on May 18. It was the largest comeback win since Charlotte trailed by 23 at Brooklyn on March 21, 2018 before coming back to win.
LaMelo Ball (31 points, nine rebounds, seven assists), Gordon Hayward (27 points, five rebounds), Kelly Oubre (14 points), Miles Bridges (13 points, eight rebounds, four assists), Mason Plumlee (eight points, 10 rebounds), Ish Smith (14 points, five rebounds) and Cody Martin (10 points) led Charlotte, but it was two P.J. Washington free throws with 4.6 seconds left that gave Charlotte its 12th season-opening win in its 32-year history.
Starting guard Terry Rozier sat out the game with the sprained left ankle that kept him out of the last two preseason games.
Domantas Sabonis had 33 points and 15 rebounds to lead Indiana.
Here is the Charlotte Hornets’ full regular season schedule:
OCTOBER
Wed. 20 INDIANA (W 123-122)
Fri. 22 at Cleveland 7:00
Sun. 24 at Brooklyn 4:00
Mon. 25 BOSTON 7:00
Wed. 27 at Orlando 7:00
Fri. 29 at Miami 7:30
Sun. 31 PORTLAND 7:00
NOVEMBER
Mon. 1 CLEVELAND 7:00
Wed. 3 at Golden State 10:00
Fri. 5 at Sacramento 10:00
Sun. 7 at LA Clippers 9:00
Mon. 8 at L.A. Lakers 10:30
Wed. 10 at Memphis 8:00
Fri. 12 NEW YORK 7:00
Sun. 14 GOLDEN STATE 7:00
Wed. 17 WASHINGTON 7:00
Fri. 19 INDIANA 7:00
Sat. 20 at Atlanta 7:30
Mon. 22 at Washington 7:00
Wed. 24 at Orlando 7:00
Fri. 26 MINNESOTA 7:00
Sat. 27 at Houston 8:00
Mon. 29 at Chicago 8:00
DECEMBER
Wed. 1 at Milwaukee 8:00
Sun. 5 at Atlanta 6:00
Mon. 6 PHILADELPHIA 7:00
Wed. 8 PHILADELPHIA 7:00
Fri. 10 SACRAMENTO 7:00
Mon. 13 at Dallas 8:30
Wed. 15 at San Antonio 8:30
Fri. 17 at Portland 10:00
Sun. 19 at Phoenix 8:00
Mon. 20 at Utah 9:00
Thu. 23 at Denver 9:00
Mon. 27 HOUSTON 7:00
Wed. 29 at Indiana 7:00
JANUARY
Sun. 2 PHOENIX 7:00
Mon. 3 at Washington 7:00
Wed. 5 DETROIT 7:00
Sat. 8 MILWAUKEE 7:00
Mon. 10 MILWAUKEE 7:00
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 football
After winning at Florida International on Oct. 8, the Charlotte 49ers have had 13 days to prepare to continue improvement on their best start in school history.
“I’m proud of how our guys handled the bye week,” Will Healy said during his Tuesday news conference. “It’s great to be leading the division but it’s really in the season and we know we’ve got a lot more work to do.”
Charlotte’s all-time leading passer (6,380 yards) Chris Reynolds and 49ers’ No. 2 all-time receiver (2,453 yards) Victor Tucker lead a 49ers’ offense that has scored 31 or more points in the team’s 4-2 start that includes 2-0 in Conference USA.
Linebacker Tyler Murray has a team-high 43 tackles and defensive end Markees Watts is second in the league in sacks with five to lead the Charlotte defense.
“I think we’ve had the best week of preparation yet,” Healy said. “But we understand it’s a big football game we’re playing this week.”
Florida Atlantic leads the all-time series with Charlotte 3-2 but the 49ers’ last win – 27-24 in 2018 – is significant.
Not only was it the final game of inaugural Charlotte head coach Brad Lambert’s tenure – he was let go earlier that week – it marked the first 49ers’ game Healy said he watched.
“It’s another chance to show how much better we’ve gotten in the last two weeks,” Healy said. “FAU has been the favorites to win the league since I’ve been here. So this is a great opportunity ahead of us.”
Another player who has shined for the 49ers this season is 2017 Shelby High graduate Calvin Camp, who leads Charlotte in rushing with 353 yards.
“He’s a leader on the field and he’s helping all the younger guys as well,” Reynolds said of Camp.
Here’s the Carolinas Division I schedule for this week:
(Wednesday)
Appalachian State 30, Coastal Carolina 27
(Thursday)
Florida Atlantic at Charlotte, 7:30 p.m.
(Saturday)
Wake Forest at Army, noon
Davidson at Butler, 1 p.m.
New Hampshire at Elon, 1 p.m.
N.C. Central at Morgan State, 1 p.m.
San Diego at Presbyterian, 1 p.m.
Robert Morris at Gardner-Webb, 1:30 p.m.
East Tennessee State at Furman, 2 p.m.
N.C. A&T at Hampton, 2 p.m.
S.C. State at Delaware State, 2 p.m.
Western Carolina at The Citadel, 2 p.m.
Charleston Southern at North Alabama, 3 p.m.
Clemson at Pittsburgh, 3:30 p.m.
East Carolina at Houston, 4 p.m.
Kennesaw State at Campbell, 4 p.m.
Wofford at Mercer, 6 p.m.
South Carolina at Texas A&M, 7:30 p.m.
N.C. State at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
Here’s the Carolinas Division II schedule for this week:
(Saturday)
Wingate at Virginia Wise, noon
Catawba at Mars Hill, 1 p.m.
Fayetteville State at St. Augustine’s, 1 p.m.
J.C. Smith at Shaw, 1 p.m.
Limestone at Lenoir-Rhyne, 1 p.m.
Livingstone at Winston-Salem State, 1 p.m.
Chowan at Elizabeth City State, 1:30 p.m
Barton at Tusculum, 2 p.m.
Charleston, W.Va. at UNC-Pembroke, 2 p.m.
Carson-Newman at Newberry, 4 p.m.
North Greenville at West Georgia, 6 p.m.
High school football
Here are standings through Oct. 18 with conference record listed first followed by overall record:
BIG SOUTH 3A
Kings Mountain 5-0, 7-1
Crest 5-0, 5-2
South Point 3-2, 5-3
Forestview 3-2, 4-4
Cramer 2-3, 4-4
Ashbrook 1-4, 1-5
North Gaston 1-4, 1-7
Huss 0-5, 0-6
WESTERN FOOTHILLS 3A
Statesville 5-0, 7-0
North Lincoln 4-1, 6-2
Hickory 4-1, 5-3
East Lincoln 3-2, 6-2
North Iredell 2-3, 2-5
West Iredell 1-4, 1-5
St. Stephens 1-4, 1-6
Foard 0-5, 0-7
CATAWBA VALLEY 2A
Maiden 5-0, 8-0
Bunker Hill 4-1, 7-1
Lincolnton 4-1, 4-4
West Lincoln 3-2, 6-2
Newton-Conover 3-2, 3-4
Bandys 0-4, 2-4
East Burke 0-4, 1-5
West Caldwell 0-5, 0-7
SOUTHERN PIEDMONT 1A/2A
Shelby 4-0, 7-1
Burns 4-0, 6-2
East Gaston 3-1, 5-3
Thomas Jefferson 2-3, 4-3
Cherryville 1-3, 2-6
Bessemer City 1-4, 2-7
Highland Tech 0-4, 0-7
QUEEN CITY 3A/4A
Hough 5-0, 8-0
Chambers 3-1, 7-1
West Charlotte 2-2, 6-2
North Meck 2-2, 4-3
Mallard Creek 2-2, 3-3
West Meck 1-4, 4-5
Hopewell 0-4, 1-7
SOUTH MECK 4A
Myers Park 3-0, 6-2
South Meck 2-1, 6-2
Olympic 2-1, 5-2
Kell 2-1, 5-2
Berry Academy 1-3, 2-5
Harding 0-4, 2-7
SOUTHWESTERN 4A
Butler 5-0, 6-2
Catholic 4-1, 6-2
Providence 2-2, 4-4
Independence 2-2, 3-4
Rocky River 1-3, 2-6
East Meck 1-3, 1-7
Garinger 0-4, 0-7
OTHERS
Chase 2-1, 7-1
Clover 2-0, 3-3
Mtn Island Charter 4-1, 7-1
R-S Central 2-2, 2-5
Lk Norman Charter 0-0, 5-2
This week’s schedule:
(Friday)
Cramer at North Gaston
Huss at Crest
Kings Mountain at Ashbrook
South Point at Forestview
Burns at Cherryville
Shelby at East Gaston
North Iredell at East Lincoln
West Iredell at North Lincoln
Maiden at Lincolnton
West Lincoln at East Burke
Mountain Island Charter at W-S Carver
Foard at Hickory
Statesville at St. Stephens
Bandys at West Caldwell
Bunker Hill at Newton-Conover
North Meck at Hopewell
West Cabarrus at Hough
West Charlotte at Chambers
West Meck at Mallard Creek
Olympic at Kell
South Meck at Myers Park
East Meck at Catholic
Providence at Garinger
Rocky River at Independence
Patton at Chase
Gaffney, S.C. at Clover, S.C.
(Monday)
Highland Tech at Thomas Jefferson
Pro football
Here is the Carolina Panthers’ 2021 schedule (with results):
Sept. 12 New York Jets (W 19-14)
Sept. 19 New Orleans (W 26-7)
Sept. 23 at Houston (W 24-9)
Oct. 3 at Dallas (L 28-36)
Oct. 10 Philadelphia (L 18-21)
Oct. 17 Minnesota (L 28-34, OT)
Oct. 24 at New York Giants, 1 p.m.
Oct. 31 at Atlanta, 1 p.m.
Nov. 7 New England, 1 p.m.
Nov. 14 at Arizona, 4:05 p.m.
Nov. 21 Washington, 1 p.m.
Nov. 28 at Miami, 1 p.m.
Dec. 5 BYE WEEK
Dec. 12 Atlanta, 1 p.m.
Dec. 18 or 19 at Buffalo, TBD
Dec. 26 Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.
Jan. 2 at New Orleans, 1 p.m.
Jan. 9 at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m
College basketball
Campbell and Winthrop were named preseason favorites in the Big South Conference’s annual men’s preseason poll that was announced on Wednesday.
Big South men’s basketball returns to divisional play in 2021-22 for the first time since it did so for two seasons from 2012-14. And in voting done by head coaches and media, Campbell the voted preseason favorite to win the North Division with league champion Winthrop picked to the win the South Division.
Big South preseason polls:
(North Division)
1. Campbell
2. Longwood
3. North Carolina A&T
4. Radford
5. Hampton
6. High Point
(South Division)
1. Winthrop
2. UNC Asheville
3. Gardner-Webb
4. Presbyterian
5. Charleston Southern
6. USC Upstate
Defending champion High Point is the preseason favorite in the Big South Conference’s annual women’s preseason poll.
Big South preseason poll:
1. High Point
2. Campbell
3. Longwood
4. North Carolina A&T
5. Gardner-Webb
6. Radford
7 (tie). UNC Asheville
Presbyterian
9. Hampton
10. USC Upstate
11. Winthrop
12. Charleston Southern
High school boys soccer
Here are the standings for teams from Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties through Oct. 20 with conference record listed first followed by overall record:
BIG SOUTH 3A
Cramer 11-0-1, 17-2-1
Forestview 10-2, 13-6-1
South Point 9-3, 13-6
Ashbrook 6-5-1, 8-6-1
North Gaston 6-6, 8-8-1
Huss 2-9-1, 5-9-1
Kings Mountain 2-9-1, 3-13-1
Crest 0-12, 0-16
SOUTHERN PIEDMONT 1A/2A
Shelby 11-0, 16-1-1
Highland Tech 9-1, 11-3
Thomas Jefferson 6-4, 6-6
Burns 5-6, 8-6-1
East Gaston 4-6, 5-13
Bessemer City 1-9, 2-12
Cherryville 0-10, 1-13-1
OTHERS
Gaston Christian 3-2, 6-8
Gaston Day 5-0, 13-2
East Lincoln 8-3-1, 10-6-2
North Lincoln 3-9, 7-12
Lincolnton 10-0-1, 14-0-3
West Lincoln 0-11, 2-16
Lincoln Charter 3-6, 7-10-1
Mtn Island Charter 0-10, 3-13
Piedmont CC 9-1, 11-2
This week’s schedule
(Monday)
Cramer 0, Ashbrook 0 (2 OT)
Forestview 4, Huss 1
North Gaston 4, Crest 1
South Point 3, Kings Mountain 0
Shelby 9, Cherryville 0
East Lincoln 9, West Iredell 0
North Iredell 2, North Lincoln 1
Lincolnton 3, West Caldwell 0
Newton-Conover 9, West Lincoln 0
Lincoln Charter 3, Community School of Davidson 2 (2 OT)
Langtree Charter 6, Mountain Island Charter 2
(Tuesday)
Lincolnton 3, Forestview 0
Thomas Jefferson 3, Burns 0
East Gaston 7, Cherryville 0
Shelby 8, Bessemer City 1
NCISAA playoffs – Gaston Christian 4, Fayetteville Christian 2
(Wednesday)
Forestview 9, Crest 0
North Gaston 3, Huss 0
Cramer 8, Kings Mountain 0
South Point 2, Ashbrook 1 (OT)
East Lincoln 3, Foard 0
St. Stephens 4, North Lincoln 3
East Burke at Lincolnton, no report
West Caldwell at West Lincoln, no report
Pine Lake Prep 6, Lincoln Charter 2
Christ the King 5, Mountain Island Charter 2
(Thursday)
Bessemer City at East Gaston
Burns at Cherryville
Highland Tech at Thomas Jefferson
Shelby at T.C. Roberson
NCISAA playoffs – Tuesday’s Hickory Christian-University Christian winner at Gaston Day
NCISAA playoffs – Gaston Christian at Cary Christian
(Friday)
Piedmont CC at Corivan Community
High school volleyball
Here are standings through Oct. 20:
BIG SOUTH 3A
Kings Mountain 14-0, 18-2
Crest 12-2, 18-3
South Point 10-4, 11-9
Forestview 8-6, 13-7
Cramer 5-9, 9-12
North Gaston 5-9, 6-14
Ashbrook 2-12, 2-15
Huss 0-14, 1-17
(Tuesday result)
Kings Mountain 3, Crest 0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-15): The Mountaineers completed a perfect run through the Big South 3A Conference in which they did not lose a set behind Meile Songaila (14 kills, 2 assists, 3 serve receptions, 16 digs, 15 service points, 2 blocks), Aaliyah Byers (14 kills, 4 digs, 1 block, 6 service points), Paige Bagwell (5 kills, 31 assists, 9 digs, 3 blocks, 4 service points), Myracle Davis (5 kills, 5 digs, 6 blocks) and Caroline Barber (5 assists, 15 serve receptions, 9 digs, 6 service points).
Kings Mountain won the JV match 2-0 (25-11, 25-12) behind Sara Kate Bridges (9 service points, 20 assists, 3 digs, 2 kills), Alexa Jones (3 service points, 9 kills, 4 digs), London Brown (10 service points, 4 kills, 5 serve receptions, 3 digs), Addi Peeler (8 service points, 8 serve receptions, 4 digs) to finish 14-3 overall and 9-2 in the conference.
SOUTHERN PIEDMONT 1A/2A
East Gaston 11-1, 16-6
Highland Tech 10-1, 17-3
Cherryville 8-4, 12-13
Burns 6-5, 9-8
Thomas Jefferson 4-8, 6-11
Shelby 1-11, 1-16
Bessemer City 1-11, 1-17
(Tuesday’s semifinals)
No. 4 Burns at No. 1 Highland Tech (HT 3-0)
No. 3 Cherryville at No. 2 East Gaston (EG 3-1)
(Wednesday’s final)
No. 2 East Gaston vs. No. 1 Highland Tech (HT 3-0)
WESTERN FOOTHILLS 3A
Foard 13-1, 22-3
North Iredell 13-1, 21-1
East Lincoln 9-5, 13-7
Hickory 8-6, 13-9
West Iredell 4-10, 6-12
North Lincoln 4-10, 8-13
St. Stephens 4-10, 7-15
Statesville 1-13, 2-20
(Monday’s quarterfinals)
No. 8 Statesville at No. 1 Foard (F 3-0)
No. 5 West Iredell at No. 4 Hickory (H 3-1)
No. 7 St. Stephens at No. 2 North Iredell (NI 3-0)
No. 6 North Lincoln at No. 3 East Lincoln (EL 3-2)
(Tuesday’s semifinals)
No. 4 Hickory at No. 1 Foard (F 3-0)
No. 3 East LIncoln at No. 2 North Iredell (NI 3-0)
(Wednesday’s final)
No. 2 North Iredell at No. 1 Foard (NI 3-2)
CATAWBA VALLEY 2A
Maiden 14-0, 17-8
Bandys 12-2, 18-6
Newton-Conover 8-6, 9-9
West Lincoln 8-6, 14-11
Bunker Hill 6-8, 7-13
Lincolnton 4-10, 9-12
East Burke 4-10, 4-18
West Caldwell 0-14, 0-22
(Monday’s quarterfinals)
No. 8 West Caldwell at No. 1 Maiden (M 3-0)
No. 5 Bunker Hill at No. 4 West Lincoln (w 3-0)
No. 7 East Burke at No. 2 Bandys (B 3-0)
No. 6 Lincolnton at No. 3 Newton-Conover (L 3-1)
(Tuesday’s semifinals)
No. 4 West Lincoln at No. 1 Maiden (M 3-0)
No. 6 Lincolnton at No. 2 Bandys (B 3-0)
(Wednesday’s final)
No. 2 Bandys at No. 1 Maiden (B 3-2)
High school cross country
Cramer’s boys and South Point’s girls won their respective Big South 3A Conference titles in Tuesday’s league meet at the Ashbrook High course. Cramer’s Nicholas Willer and Kings Mountain’s Thalia Kushman were the individual champions.
Here are the results:
Boys team scores: Cramer 32, Forestview 54, Kings Mountain 61, South Point 99, Ashbrook 124, Crest 136
Boys top 10:
1. Nicholas Willer (Cramer) 16:20.43
2. Austin Brotemarkle (Forestview) 16:22.11
3. Zachary Willer (Cramer) 16:48.04
4. Parker Key (Kings Mountain) 18:01.79
5. Ethan Jones (Forestview) 18:14.15
6. Luke Auten (Cramer) 18:45.64
7. Zachary Laxton (Ashbrook) 19:35.38
8. Isaiah Watts (Kings Mountain) 19:42.45
9. Ben Kimmel (Huss) 19:43.69
10. Chris Tuttle (Forestview) 19:48.12
Girls team scores: South Point 31, Kings Mountain 41, Cramer 65, Forestview 92
Girls top 10:
1. Thalia Kushman (Kings Mountain) 22:05.40
2. Maddie Frank (South Point) 22:31.19
3. Rachel Tolbert (South Point) 23:20.17
4. Divinity Ervin (Kings Mountain) 23:42.19
5. Emme Lewandowski (South Point) 25:04.17
6. Savannah Powell (Cramer) 25:05.06
7. Zaniya Littlejohn (Cramer) 25:14.94
8. Samantha Narciso (South Point) 25:26.02
9. Mackenzie Granados (Cramer) 25:31.75
10. Brooke Waseman (Kings Mountain) 25:33.88
Middle school football
Tri-County Conference standings through Oct. 20 with division record listed first followed by overall record:
(East)
East Lincoln 5-0, 6-0
Kings Mountain 4-1, 4-3
Burns 3-2, 3-2
North Lincoln 2-3, 3-3
Lincolnton 0-5, 1-5
West Lincoln 1-4, 1-5
(West)
Crest 5-0, 6-1
Shelby 4-1, 6-1
R-S Central 3-2, 4-2
East Rutherford 2-3, 2-4
Thomas Jefferson 1-4, 1-5
Chase 0-5, 0-6
Monday’s game
Shelby 40, East Rutherford 6
Wednesday’s game
West Lincoln 16, Lincolnton 14
(Playoffs)
Oct. 21 semifinal: East-2 (Kings Mountain) at West-1 (Crest)
Crest 38, Kings Mountain 12: Michael Edwards had two touchdown runs, Hampton Boykins one and Brock Melton threw touchdown passes to Lyrik Pettis, Donavan Walton and Davarious Surratt for Crest. Pettis also had a two-point run for the Dragons, whose defense was led by Tavian Whisnant, Eli Black, Walton and Edwards.
Oct. 22 semifinal: West-2 (Shelby) at East-1 (East Lincoln)
Oct. 27 championship: Shelby-EL winner at Crest
Middle school volleyball
Tri-County Conference standings through Oct. 12:
(East)
Kings Mountain 10-0, 10-1
West Lincoln 8-2, 8-3
North Lincoln 6-4, 6-4
Burns 3-7, 3-7
East Lincoln 3-7, 3-7
Lincolnton 0-10, 0-10
(West)
East Rutherford 9-1, 11-1
R-S Central 7-2, 8-3
Crest 7-3, 7-3
Chase 4-5, 4-5
Thomas Jefferson 2-8, 2-8
Shelby 0-10, 0-10
(Playoffs)
Oct. 19 semifinals
West Lincoln at East Rutherford
R-S Central at Kings Mountain
Oct. 21 final
At higher seed
Middle school boys soccer
Tri-County Conference standings through Oct. 19:
(East)
East Lincoln 8-0, 9-0
Lincolnton 5-3, 5-4
Burns 4-4, 4-4
North Lincoln 2-6, 2-6
Kings Mountain 1-7, 1-7
(West)
Thomas Jefferson 10-0, 11-0
R-S Central 7-3, 7-4
Crest 5-5, 5-5
East Rutherford 5-5, 5-5
Chase 3-7, 3-7
Shelby 0-10, 0-10
(Playoffs)
Oct. 19 semifinals
Thomas Jefferson 4, Lincolnton 1
East Lincoln d. R-S Central
Oct. 21 final
East Lincoln at Thomas Jefferson