12-20-21 roundup: College football and basketball, Pro football and basketball, High school basketball

By Richard Walker

Former North Lincoln High standout Travali Price made the most of his redshirt freshman season at N.C. State.

Price, a 6-foot-4, 260-pound defensive end, was named the Wolfpack’s Defensive scout team player of the year. A 2021 North Lincoln High graduate, Price was a two-time all-conference player for the Knights and helped North Lincoln to its first conference title in school history in 2019.

Price is currently practicing with N.C. State as it prepares for the Dec. 28 Holiday Bowl in San Diego against UCLA. The Wolfpack (9-3) seeks the second 10-win season in school history.

 

 

 

Pro football

As the Carolina Panthers prepare for their last three games, their head coach said on Monday he “can’t speculate” on who the team’s starting quarterback will be in Sunday’s home finale against Tampa Bay.

Rhule, in his second year as Panthers’ head coach, said he’ll “continue working” with Cam Newton, who has started the last four games. But Rhule said he wanted to see what progress injured Sam Darnold has made since being placed on injured reserve on Nov. 10 due to an incomplete fracture of his shoulder blade.

“We will find out about Sam and his health,” Rhule told the media on Monday. “I’m not going to look into the future, no hypotheticals. If Sam is healthy we will practice him and see where he’s kind of at. I think it is a good opportunity to shake some the rust off and see where he’s at.”

Darnold stared the first nine games at quarterback, guiding Carolina to a 4-5 record. After P.J. Walker started and Newton provided a spark off the bench in a victory at Arizona, Newton has lost four straight starts.

The other big news for the Panthers was the uncertainty about kicker Zane Gonzalez, whose injured quadriceps injury in pregam warmups on Sunday left Carolina without a kicker. Rhule said Carolina will bring in kickers for tryouts this week if Gonzalez’s injury knocks him out of another game.

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 (L 14-31)
Dec. 26 Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.
Jan. 2 at New Orleans, 1 p.m.
Jan. 9 at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m

 

 

 

High school basketball

Here are standings for Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties through Dec. 20:

BIG SOUTH 3A
(Boys)
Kings Mountain 2-0, 3-4
Cramer 1-0, 7-0
Crest 1-0, 5-1
South Point 1-1, 4-3
Forestview 0-0, 1-3
Ashbrook 0-1, 1-5
North Gaston 0-1, 1-7
Huss 0-2, 1-5
(Girls)
Kings Mountain 2-0, 5-2
Ashbrook 1-0, 4-2
Huss 1-1, 4-1
South Point 1-1, 2-5
Forestview 0-0, 0-4
North Gaston 0-1, 3-5
Crest 0-1, 1-5
Cramer 0-1, 1-6

SOUTHERN PIEDMONT 1A/2A
(Boys)
Shelby 1-0, 1-2
Burns 1-0, 1-4
Bessemer City 0-0, 6-0
Thomas Jefferson 0-0, 7-1
East Gaston 0-0, 4-3
Cherryville 0-1, 6-2
Highland Tech 0-1, 2-4
(Girls)
Shelby 1-0, 3-2
Burns 1-0, 1-4
East Gaston 0-0, 5-2
Bessemer City 0-0, 4-2
Thomas Jefferson 0-0, 2-5
Highland Tech 0-1, 0-6
Cherryville 0-1, 0-8

OTHERS
(Boys)
Piedmont CC 0-1, 0-5
East Lincoln 1-0, 7-0
North Lincoln 1-1, 5-3
Lincolnton 1-0, 1-6
West Lincoln 1-0, 3-5
Lincoln Charter 0-0, 7-3
Mtn Isl Charter 0-0, 2-1
Gaston Christian 0-2, 3-8
Gaston Day 3-0, 10-1

(Girls)
Piedmont CC 0-0, 3-3
East Lincoln 2-0, 7-1
North Lincoln 0-2, 0-8
Lincolnton 0-1, 3-4
West Lincoln 0-1, 4-5
Lincoln Charter 0-0, 3-4
Mtn Isl Charter 0-0, 0-1
Gaston Christian 1-2, 1-5
Gaston Day 1-3, 1-8

This week’s regular season games:

(Monday)
Boys games:
Huss at Asheville, no report

Crest 73, Shelby 58

Girls game:
Shelby d. Crest

(Tuesday)
Forestview at Kings Mountain, girls only – boys ppd. Jan. 22
Huss at Cramer, ppd. Jan. 26
North Gaston at Ashbrook
South Point at Crest
Burns at Cherryville
East Gaston at Bessemer City
Highland Tech at Thomas Jefferson
North Lincoln at North Iredell
West Iredell at East Lincoln
Maiden at West Lincoln
Newton-Conover at Lincolnton

Holiday tournament schedule for Cleveland, Gaston and Lincoln counties:

Rock Hill, S.C. tournament (Phenoms Hoops)
(Dec. 17-18, 20-22)
Note: Boys game unless listed
Dec. 17
Weddington 74, Gaston Christian 49
Dec. 18
Ardrey Kell 65, Gaston Christian 55
Dec. 20
Gaston Day 67, Calvary Day 44: Callum Richard had 27 points, Evan Montanari 13, Chris Britt 12 and Colin Fayed 11 for Gaston Day.
Dec. 21
Word of God vs. Gaston Christian, 6 p.m.
Dec. 22
Gaston Christian vs. Moravian Prep, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 22 court 1
Covenant Day vs. Gaston Day, 4:30 p.m.

Cherryville tournament
(Dec. 27-28 boys and girls)
Dec. 27 boys semifinals
Thomas Jefferson vs. Piedmont Community Charter, 4:30 p.m.
Pinnacle vs. Cherryville, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 28 boys placement games
3rd place 4:30 p.m.
Championship 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 27 girls semifinals
Thomas Jefferson vs. South Point, 3 p.m.
Piedmont Community Charter vs. Cherryville, 6 p.m.
Dec. 28 girls placement games
3rd place 3 p.m.
Championship 6 p.m.

Catawba Ridge, S.C. tournament
(Dec. 28-30 boys)
North Gaston

East Lincoln tournament (Winter Jam)
(Dec. 28-30 boys and girls)
Dec. 28 boys first round
No. 2 Lake Norman vs. No. 7 Ashbrook, 1 p.m.
No. 4 Lake Norman Charter vs. SouthLake Christian, 2:30 p.m.
No. 3 Robinson vs. 6 Hough, 5:30 p.m.
No. 1 East Lincoln vs. No. 8 Huss, 8:30 p.m.
Dec. 29 boys consolations, semifinals
Consolations 1 and 2:30 p.m.
Semifinals 5:30 and 8:30 p.m.
Dec. 30 boys placement games
7th place 1 p.m.
5th place 2:30 p.m.
3rd place 5:30 p.m.
Championship 8:30 p.m.
Dec. 28 girls first round
No. 4 Cox Mill vs. No. 5 Central Cabarrus, 1 p.m.
No. 1 Mallard Creek vs. No. 8 West Cabarrus, 2:30 p.m.
No. 3 Lake Norman Charter vs. No. 6 Robinson, 4 p.m.
No. 2 East Lincoln vs. No. 7 Hough, 7 p.m.
Dec. 29 girls consolations and semifinals
Consolations at 1 and 2:30 p.m.
Semifinals at 4 and 7 p.m.
Dec. 30 girls placement games
7th place 10 a.m.
5th place 11:30 a.m.
3rd place 4 p.m.
Championship 7 p.m.

Kings Mountain tournament
(Dec. 28-30 boys)
Dec. 28 first round
Independence vs. East Rutherford, 3 p.m.
Gaston Day vs. Cox Mill, 4:30 p.m.
Shelby vs. Harding, 6 p.m.
Kings Mountain vs. Davidson Day, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 29 consolations, semifinals
Consolations 3 and 4:30 p.m.
Semifinals 6 and 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 30 placement games
7th place 3 p.m.
5th place 4:30 p.m.
3rd place 6 p.m.
Championship 7:30 p.m.

Lincolnton tournament (People’s Bank Holiday Clash)
(Dec. 28-30 boys and girls)
Dec. 28 boys first round
East Gaston vs. Highland Tech, 3 p.m.
Cramer vs. Bandys, 3 p.m.
Lincolnton vs. North Lincoln, 7 p.m.
West Lincoln vs. Forestview, 7 p.m.
Dec. 29 boys consolations, semifinals
Consolations 3 and 7 p.m.
Semifinals 3 and 7 p.m.
Dec. 30 boys placement games
7th place 4 p.m.
5th place 8 p.m.
3rd place 4 p.m.
Championship 8 p.m.
Dec. 28 girls first round
East Gaston vs. Highland Tech, 1 p.m.
Cramer vs. Bandys, 1 p.m.
Lincolnton vs. North Lincoln, 5 p.m.
West Lincoln vs. Forestview, 5 p.m.
Dec. 29 girls consolations, semifinals
Consolations 1 and 5 p.m.
Semifinals 1 and 5 p.m.
Dec. 30 girls placement games
7th place 2 p.m.
5th place 6 p.m.
3rd place 2 p.m.
Championship 6 p.m.

North Iredell tournament
(Dec. 28-30 boys and girls)
Dec. 28 boys first round
No. 3 Mooresville vs. No. 6 Seaforth, 11:30 a.m.
No. 1 Bessemer City vs. No. 8 West Iredell, 2:30 p.m.
No. 4 Langtree vs. No. 5 Rocky River, 5:30 p.m.
No. 2 North Iredell vs. No. 7 South Iredell, 8:30 p.m.
Dec. 29 boys consolations, semifinals
TBA
Dec. 30 boys placement games
TBA
Dec. 28 girls first round
No. 1 Langtree vs. No. 8 West Iredell, 10 a.m.
No. 2 Bessemer City vs. No. 7 Mooresville, 1 p.m.
No. 4 North Iredell vs. No. 5 Rocky River, 4 p.m.
No. 3 Seaforth vs. No. 6 South Iredell, 7 p.m.
Dec. 29 girls consolations, semifinals
TBA
Dec. 30 girls placement games
TBA

North Henderson tournament
(Dec. 28-30 boys and girls)
Dec. 28 first round
Crest girls vs. Clyde Erwin, 10 a.m.
Crest boys vs. East Henderson, 12:40 a.m.

Watauga tournament (High Country Holiday Classic)
(Dec. 28-30 girls)
Dec. 28 first round
Ashe County vs. Huss, 10 a.m.
Bishop McGuinness vs. Covenant Day, 1 p.m.
Providence Academy vs. North Davidson, 4 p.m.
Watauga vs. Surry Central, 7 p.m.
Dec. 29 consolations, semifinals
Consolations 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Semifinals 4 and 7 p.m.
Dec. 30 placement games
7th place 10 a.m.
5th place 1 p.m.
3rd place 4 p.m.
Championship 7 p.m.

 

 

 

 

Pro basketball

Three straight losses have dropped the Charlotte Hornets below .500 for the first time since mid-November following Monday’s 112-102 loss at the Utah Jazz.

For the fourth time on the road trip, Charlotte fell behind quickly – 35-16 after the first quarter – and the early deficit was too much to overcome. That’s even as the Hornets briefly took a lead (92-91) in the fourth quarter.

LaMelo Ball (21 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists), Miles Bridges (21 points, 11 rebounds) and Terry Rozier (20 points) led Charlotte, which played without starting forward Gordon Hayward (lower back discomfort).

For Utah (21-9), Gastonia’s Hassan Whiteside had six points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots in 12 minutes off the bench.

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 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 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: 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.

 

 

 

College basketball

Charlotte 70, Maryland Eastern Shore 54: The 49ers closed the game on a 25-9 surge during the final 11:33 to improve to 6-5 on the season. Jahmir Young led Charlotte with 20 points and nine rebounds.