2-10-22 roundup: Pro basketball and football, College basketball, High school basketball, Middle school basketball
By Richard Walker
Five area high school basketball titles have been clinched while three others remain in contention entering Friday’s regular season finales.
Crest’s boys, Shelby’s girls, East Lincoln’s girls and boys and girls teams From Lincoln Charter have wrapped their respective races.
Meanwhile, Bessemer City’s boys clinched at least a share of the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A title with Thursday’s 59-53 win over East Gaston, Shelby’s boys have the chance to share a title with Bessemer City, the girls teams of Ashbrook and Kings Mountain are Friday wins away from sharing a championship and East Lincoln’s boys will need help to win their title.
Crest !13-0) wrapped up the Big South 3A boys title on Tuesday. It’s the Chargers’ 14th regular season championship in school history and first back-to-back titles since 1977 and 1978. Crest enters Friday’s home game against Kings Mountain with a 27-game conference winning streak.
Shelby (11-0) cliched the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A girls title last week for the 14th regular season championship in school history and third straight title. The Golden Lions enter Friday’s home game against Burns with a 32-game conference winning streak.
East Lincoln (13-0) clinched the Western Foothills 3A girls title last week for its regular season title since 2017. The Mustangs can close out the school’s first unbeaten league schedule for the first time since its unbeaten 1973 team won the inaugural N.C. High School Athletic Association state championship.
Lincoln Charter’s teams are each 10-0 in the Catawba Shores 1A/2A. The Eagles’ boys have won eight straight conference titles and the Eagles’ girls six in nine years, including four straight.
Shelby’s (10-1) can tie Bessemer City (11-1) with a home win over Burns. It would be the Golden Lions’ 30th regular season title in history and fourth straight.
Ashbrook and Kings Mountain split their regular season girls matchups and take 12-1 Big South 3A records into Friday’s Huss at Ashbrook and Kings Mountain at Crest finales. Ashbrook is after its 10th conference championship and sixth in seven years while Kings Mountain is after its third in history.
And East Lincoln’s boys (11-2) trail Hickory (12-1) by one game in the Western Foothills 3A entering Friday’s North Lincoln at East Lincoln at Statesville at Hickory finales.
Also on Thursday, Gaston Day’s boys advanced to Friday’s 6 p.m. Metrolina Athletic Conference championship game against they will host against Northside Christian after a 59-53 win over SouthLake Christian. Evan Montanari had 20 points, Chris Britt 13 and Callum Richard 13 for the Spartans (23-3).
Here are Thursday’s other games:
BOYS
Burns 56, Thomas Jefferson 48
Mountain Island Charter 65, Langtree Charter 51
GIRLS
East Gaston 43, Bessemer City 40
Burns 62, Thomas Jefferson 55: Tishiona Strong had 35 points, Robyn Whitworth nine and Esynce Howze seven for Burns.
Piedmont CC 63, Corvian Community 37
Langtree Charter 57, Mountain Island Charter 31
The rest of this week’s schedule:
(Friday)
Cramer at Forestview
Huss at Ashbrook
Kings Mountain at Crest
South Point at North Gaston
Burns at Shelby
East Gaston at Highland Tech
Thomas Jefferson at Cherryville
Bradford Prep at Piedmont CC
North Lincoln at East Lincoln
West Lincoln at Lincolnton
(Saturday)
Bunker Hill at Lincolnton
Pro football
The Carolina Panthers finally have a Pro Football Hall of Famer.
A member of the team’s inaugural 1995 team, Sam Mills, wan announced as a member of the 2022 induction class on Thursday night.
Mills, who died in 2005 after a battle with cancer, is immortalized already by the Panthers for his “Keep Pounding” comment that has become the team’s motto.
Other members of the induction class were Tony Boselli, Cliff Branch, Leroy Butler, Art McNally, Richard Seymour, Dick Vermeil and Bryant Young.
Middle school basketball
(Thursday’s games)
BOYS
Belmont 59, Chavis 17: Dylan Bradley had 19 points, K.J. Shouse 12 and Zeke Pruitt nine for Belmont.
York Chester 47, Cramerton 16: Zamarius Gladden (17 points, 9 rebounds) and Tristen Gordon (11 points) led York Chester.
Stanley 49, W.C. Friday 42: Luke Bryant had 12 pointd, Parker Stafford 10, Josh Norris nine and Caleb Smith seven for Stanley.
Southwest 45, Grier 23
Holbrook 45, Mount Holly 32: Savion Lindsay had 19 points and Kendall Southern 11 to lead Holbrook.
GIRLS
Belmont 38, Chavis 16
Cramerton 26, York Chester 13: Delainah Springs had 11 points for Cramerton.
Holbrook 53, Mount Holly 2: Jakyra Sadler had 21 points and O’Shauna Holland had 14 points, 8 rebounds, 10 steals and 6 assists to lead Holbrook.
Upcoming schedule:
(Monday, Feb. 14)
Bessemer City at York Chester
Chavis at Stanley
Cramerton at Southwest
W.C. Friday at Mount Holly
Grier at Holbrook
(Tuesday, Feb. 15)
W.C. Friday at Belmont (girls only)
(Thursday, Feb. 17)
Belmont at Stanley
Bessemer City at Southwest
Chavis at Mount Holly
Holbrook at Cramerton
W.C. Friday at Grier
College basketball
Louisiana Tech 82, Charlotte 77: The 49ers lost despite Jahmir Young’s game-high 28 points.
Pro basketball
The Charlotte Hornets, mired in their longest losing streak in two years, acquired N.C. native Montrezl Harrell from the Washington Wizards on Wednesday’s NBA trade deadline day.
A 2011 North Edgecombe Hugh graduate who played collegiately at Louisville, the 6-foot-7, 240-pound Harrell is a seven-year NBA veteran and 2020 NBA Sixth Man of the Year winner. Harrell has played for the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers and Washington Wizards. He is averaging 14.1 points and 6.7 rebounds in 46 games for the Wizards this season, where he is in the final year of a two-year, $19 million contract he signed with the Lakers before the 2020-21 season.
To acquire Harrell, the Hornets traded guard Ish Smith, forward Vernon Carey, Jr., and a future second round pick to Washington.
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 (W 109-98)
Fri. 14 ORLANDO (L 109-116)
Mon. 17 at New York (W 97-87)
Wed. 19 at Boston (W 111-102)
Fri. 21 OKLAHOMA CITY (W 121-98)
Sun. 23 ATLANTA (L 91-113)
Tue. 25 at Toronto (L 113-125)
Wed. 26 at Indiana (W 158-126)
Fri. 28 L.A. LAKERS (W 117-114)
Sun. 30 LA CLIPPERS (L 90-115)
FEBRUARY
Wed. 2 at Boston (L 107-113)
Fri. 4 CLEVELAND (L 101-102)
Sat. 5 MIAMI (L 86-104)
Mon. 7 TORONTO (L 101-116)
Wed. 9 CHICAGO (L 109-121)
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 baseball
The Sunbelt Rentals Collegiate Baseball Series will return to Truist Field this year and will feature four games at the home of the Charlotte Knights.
The schedule:
Tuesday, March 1 – South Carolina vs. Appalachian State, 6:05 p.m.
Friday, March 11 – Appalachian State vs. Charlotte, 6:05 p.m.
Wednesday, March 23 – Davidson vs. Charlotte, 7:04 p.m.
Tuesday, April 5 – South Carolina vs. North Carolina, 7:04 p.m.
Pro football
The 2021-22 NFL playoffs:
(AFC 1st round)
1. Tennessee (12-5) – bye
4. Cincinnati (11-7) 26, 5. Las Vegas (10-8) 19
3. Buffalo (12-6) 47, 6. New England (10-8) 17
2. Kansas City (13-5) 42, 7. Pittsburgh (9-8-1) 21
(NFC 1st round)
1. Green Bay (13-4) – bye
2. Tampa Bay (14-4) 31, 7. Philadelphia (9-9) 15
6. San Francisco (11-7) 23, 3. Dallas (12-6) 17
4. Los Angeles (13-5) 34, 5. Arizona (11-7) 11
(AFC, NFC semifinals)
AFC
Cincinnati (12-7) 19, Tennessee (12-6) 16
Kansas City (14-5) 42, Buffalo (12-7) 36, OT
NFC
San Francisco (12-7) 13, Green Bay (13-5) 10
Los Angeles (14-5) 30, Tampa Bay (14-5) 27
(AFC, NFC championship games)
NFC
Los Angeles (15-5) 20, San Francisco (12-8) 17
AFC
Cincinnati (13-7) 27, Kansas City (14-6) 24, OT
(Super Bowl)
Feb. 13 – L.A. Rams vs. Cincinnati, 6:30 p.m.