12-15-21 roundup: College football and basketball, High school basketball, Pro football and basketball and soccer, Middle school volleyball and wrestling

By Richard Walker

Three major college recruits from Cleveland County highlighted Wednesday’s national signing day as Crest’s Eli Hall signed with Wake Forest and Shelby’s Malaki Hamrick signed with North Carolina and Santana Hopper with Appalachian State.

Additionally, Charlotte and Gardner-Webb added several players to their respective programs.

At Charlotte, coach Will Healy signed 12 players to a class that is ranked third-best in Conference USA that includes 10 3-star prospects and a kicker who received a 5-star ranking. Charlotte also will soon be announcing transfers of other high school players that will join the 49ers’ program.

“I’m really excited about this group. A great high school class,” Healy said in a school news release. “I’ve told you all that I would like to constantly sign the majority of our classes from the high school level. I want to develop and build with high school guys. We’ve talked about the importance of signing guys from the Carolinas. We didn’t recruit guys from the Carolinas just to sign them. We recruited guys that we felt could help us and have great experiences here. Excited about the fits. Excited about the ability. Days like today are what you can look at four or five years down the road and say this is where the program changes.”

Here are the players who signed with Charlotte on Wednesday.

Player Ht. Wt. Pos. Cl. Hometown / Previous School
Micah Bell 5-10 200 RB Fr. McDonough, Ga. / Ola
Boston Brinkley 6-3 283 OL Fr. Fort Mill, S.C. / Fort Mill
Antonio Gaines 6-4 310 OL Fr. Columbia, S.C. / Ridge View
Reggie Givhan 5-10 170 WR Fr. Kennesaw, Ga. / North Cobb
Cade Goldman 6-4 260 OL Fr. Harrisburg, N.C. / Hickory Ridge
Aveon Grose 6-0 190 DB/S Fr. Mansfield, Ohio / Mansfield Senior
Braeden McAlister 6-2 180 K Fr. Indian Trail, N.C. / Porter Ridge
Jake McTaggart 6-6 235 TE Fr. Hayesville, N.C. / Hayesville
Maguire Neal 6-1 195 LB Fr. Zephyrhills, Fla. / Zephyrhills
Kendall Stanley 6-6 320 OL Fr. Charlotte, N.C. / Rocky River
Roger “Fresh” Walters 5-10 170 WR Fr. Port St. Lucie, Fla. / St. Lucie West Centennial
Reid Williford 6-2 195 LB Fr. Nashville, Tenn. / Christ Presbyterian Academy

Gardner-Webb coach Tre Lamb signed the following players on Wednesday:

Player Ht. Wt. Position Hometown/ Previous school
Xavion Brower 6-0 195 QB Charlotte, N.C. / Butler HS
Jayden Brown 5-9 170 RB Lithonia, Ga. / Miller Grove HS
Evan Ferguson 6-2 290 OL Huntington, WVa. / Spring Valley HS
Ephraim Floyd 5-9 180 WR Vero Beach, Fla. / Vero Beach HS
Ja’Lynn Harvey 6-2 235 DE Columbus, Ohio / Antelope Valley College
Cutrell Haywood 6-0 217 WR Stockton, Calif. / Idaho
Brendan Jackson 6-2 210 LB Statesboro, Ga. / Savannah State
Darius Johnson 5-10 175 CB Watkinsville, Ga. / Oconee County HS
Will McCraw 6-4 260 OL Tiger, Ga. / Rabun County HS
Devon Myles 6-0 195 DB Chicago, Ill. / McKendree College
Josiah Wright 6-0 190 DB Loganville, Ga. / Wheeling University

 

 

 

 

Middle school sports

Kings Mountain has won two Tri-County Conference titles in recent days.

Last week, the Patriots finished their wrestling season with an 11-1 record and league title after West Lincoln forfeited the league’s championship match.

And on Tuesday, Kings Mountain won its third straight volleyball championship with a 3-0 sweep of East Lincoln.

 

 

 

 

 

 

High school basketball

(Wednesday’s games)
Boys game:

R-S Central 92, Burns 65

Girls game:

R-S Central 55, Burns 48: Joyasia Smith had 31 points and Jade Whitesides 21 for R-S Central and Tishiona Strong had 16 points, Ma’Kaiyah Ross 12 and Esynce Howze eight for Burns.

 

The rest of this week’s schedule:

(Friday)
Ashbrook at Forestview, ppd. no date
Cramer at Ashbrook
North Gaston at Kings Mountain
South Point at Huss
Highland Tech at Burns
Shelby at Cherryville
Hickory at North Lincoln
Statesville at East Lincoln
Bandys at West Lincoln
Lincolnton at Bunker Hill
Westminster Catawba at Mountain Island Charter

 

 

College basketball

N.C. Central 72, Gardner-Webb 71: The visiting Bulldogs from seven points down with 38 seconds remaining and had a chance to win the game at the buzzer before falling in the non-conference matchup. Gardner-Webb (4-7) was led by Jordan Sears’ 15 points and D’Maurian Williams’ 14.

King 86, Belmont Abbey 73: Three Belmont Abbey players reached double figures, but it was not enough as the Crusaders lost a Conference Carolinas road game to fall to 5-5 overall and 3-3 in the league.

King women 62, Belmont Abbey 58: Brittany Autry earned her second straight double-double but the Crusaders fell to 5-4 overall and 3-2 in Conference Carolinas with the road loss.

Gaston College 94, Blue Lights College 81: Jaylen Bates (18 points, 7 rebounds), Da’marco Watson (17 points, 9 assists), Jared Funderburk (12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists), Zavion Jackson (10 points, 10 rebounds), Kalil Camara (9 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals), Damon Davis (9 points) and Joshua Johnson (8 points) led the way for Gaston College (9-5), which is idle until Jan. 8.

 

 

 

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 (L 3-25)
Oct. 31 at Atlanta (W 19-13)
Nov. 7 New England (L 6-24)
Nov. 14 at Arizona (W 34-10)
Nov. 21 Washington (L 21-27)
Nov. 28 at Miami (L 10-33)
Dec. 5 BYE WEEK
Dec. 12 Atlanta (L 21-29)
Dec. 19 at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Dec. 26 Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.
Jan. 2 at New Orleans, 1 p.m.
Jan. 9 at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m

 

 

 

 

Pro basketball

Gordon Hayward scored 41 points and the Charlotte Hornets never trailed in a 131-115 win at the San Antonio Spurs.

Charlotte (16-14) also got solid production from Cody Martin (21 points, 8 rebounds), Miles Bridges (19 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists), Jalen McDaniels (15 points, 10 rebounds), Terry Rozier (13 points, 5 assists) and P.J. Washington (12 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists).

The Hornets led by as many as 30 points twice early in the fourth quarter before settling for a 16-point win.

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 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

Here’s the full college bowl schedule:

Friday, Dec. 17
Bahamas Bowl: Middle Tennessee vs. Toledo, noon
Cure Bowl: Northern Illinois vs. Coastal Carolina, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 18
Boca Raton Bowl: Appalachian State vs. Western Kentucky, 11 a.m.
Celebration Bowl: Jackson State vs. South Carolina State, noon
New Mexico Bowl: Fresno State vs. UTEP, 2:15 p.m.
Independence Bowl: No. 13 BYU vs. UAB, 3:30 p.m.
LendingTree Bowl: Eastern Michigan vs. Liberty, 5:45 p.m.
LA Bowl: Oregon State vs. Utah State, 7:30 p.m.
New Orleans Bowl: No. 23 Louisiana vs. Marshall, 9:15 p.m.

Monday, Dec. 20
Myrtle Beach Bowl: Tulsa vs. Old Dominion, 2:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 21
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Kent State vs. Wyoming, 3:30 p.m.
Frisco Bowl: No. 24 San Diego State vs. UTSA, 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 22
Armed Forces Bowl: Missouri vs. Army, 8 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 23
Frisco Football Classic: Miami, O. vs. North Texas, 3:30 p.m.
Gasparilla Bowl: Florida vs. Central Florida, 7 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 24
Hawai’i Bowl: Memphis vs. Hawaii, 8 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 25
Camellia Bowl: Ball State vs. Georgia State, 2:30 p.m.

Monday, Dec. 27
Quick Lane Bowl: Western Michigan vs. Nevada, 11 a.m.
Military Bowl: East Carolina vs. Boston College, 2:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 28
Birmingham Bowl: No. 20 Houston vs. Auburn, noon
First Responder Bowl: Air Force vs. Louisville, 3:15 p.m.
Liberty Bowl: Texas Tech vs. Mississippi State, 6:45 p.m.
Holiday Bowl: No. 18 N.C. State vs. UCLA, 8 p.m.
Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Minnesota vs. West Virginia, 10:15 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 29
Fenway Bowl: Virginia vs. SMU, 11 a.m.
Pinstripe Bowl: Virginia Tech vs. Maryland, 2:15 p.m.
Cheez-It Bowl: No. 19 Clemson vs. Iowa State, 5:45 p.m.
Alamo Bowl: No. 14 Oregon vs. No. 16 Oklahoma, 9:15 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 30
Duke’s Mayo Bowl: North Carolina vs. South Carolina, 11:30 a.m.
Music City Bowl: Tennessee vs. Purdue, 3 p.m.
Peach Bowl: No. 10 Michigan State vs. No. 12 Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Las Vegas Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Arizona State, 10:30 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 31
Gator Bowl: No. 17 Wake Forest vs. No. 25 Texas A&M, 11 a.m.
Sun Bowl: Washington State vs. Miami, Fla., noon
Arizona Bowl: Central Michigan vs. Boise State, 2 p.m.

(College Football Playoff semifinals)
Cotton Bowl: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Cincinnati, 3:30 p.m.
Orange Bowl: No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 3 Georgia, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 1
Outback Bowl: No. 21 Arkansas vs. Penn State, noon
Citrus Bowl: No. 15 Iowa vs. No. 22 Kentucky, 1 p.m.
Fiesta Bowl: No. 5 Notre Dame vs. No. 9 Oklahoma State, 1 p.m.
Rose Bowl: No. 6 Ohio State vs. No. 11 Utah, 5 p.m.
Sugar Bowl: No. 7 Baylor vs. No. 8 Mississippi, 8:45 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 4
Texas Bowl: Kansas State vs. LSU, 9 p.m.

Monday, Jan. 10
(College Football Playoff championship game)
At Indianapolis: Cotton/Orange bowl winners, 8 p.m.