3-28-22 roundup: Pro football, basketball and soccer, College basketball, High school baseball and softball, Middle school baseball and girls soccer

By Richard Walker

The rebirth of the United States Football League could see the rebirth of one of the most accomplished athletes in North Carolina high school history.

Sage Surratt, a star football and basketball player at East Lincoln and Lincolnton high schools, was selected with the 41st pick of the sixth round of the USFL Supplemental Draft by the Birmingham Stallions.

The Stallions play the USFL’s opening game on April 16 at 7:30 p.m. against the New Jersey Generals.

A league created to compete with the NFL from 1983 to 1985 before disbanding is returning to action this spring.

Surratt, the only player in N.C. high school history to win Associated Press state player of the year honors in football and basketball, will be looking to make his official professional debut.

Undrafted out of Wake Forest, Surratt was signed as a free agent by the Detroit Lions before last season. A 2017 Lincolnton High graduate who spent his first three high school seasons at East Lincoln, Surratt played in three preseason games for the Lions, was later signed to the team’s practice squad before being released after the first regular season game.

In high school, he set state records for career receptions (366), receiving yards (5,926) and touchdown catches (80) and finished second in state history in basketball scoring (2,951 points).

 

 

 

 

College baskeball

Gaston Day’s Chris Britt announced on twitter on Monday that he was committing to play at Augusta. Augusta is coached by former Belmont Abbey player and coach Dip Metress and just finished as the NCAA Division II runner-up.

 

 

 

 

 

Middle school baseball

The Gaston County Conference standings after March 28:

Belmont 2-0
Chavis 2-0
W.C. Friday 2-0
Stanley 2-0
Mount Holly 1-0
Cramerton 0-1
Grier 0-1
Holbrook 0-1
Bessemer City 0-2
Southwest 0-2
York Chester 0-2

(Monday’s games)
Stanley 13, Bessemer City 1

W.C. Friday 10, Holbrook 0: Jackson Livingston (one-hitter, 7 strikeouts), Elijah Cunningham (2 hits, 2 runs), Connor Bates (2 hits, 3 RBIs) and Chandler Wooten (home run, 4 RBIs)

Chavis 15, Southwest 0: Talon Dalton, Cole Carpenter and Canon Whitesides combined on a 1-hitter and Aaron Heavner, Davin Digh and Jayden Adams had two hits apiece.

Belmont 16, York Chester 0: Reid Wilson, Andrew Walker and Lane Lineberger combined on the 1-hitter and Reid Wilson, Andrew Walker and Walker Spargo had two hits each to lead Belmont.

(Tuesday’s game)
Cramerton at Mount Holly

 

 

 

Middle school girls soccer

The Gaston County Conference standings after March 24:

Belmont 2-0
Chavis 2-0
W.C. Friday 2-0
Cramerton 1-0
Mount Holly 1-0
Stanley 1-1
Grier 0-1
Holbrook 0-1
Bessemer City 0-2
Southwest 0-2
York Chester 0-2

(Monday’s games)
Stanley 3, Bessemer City 0: Mattie Queen, Payton Lenox and Nyla Johnson scored one goal apiece and Carsyn Simmons and Raegan Lilja combined for the goalkeeping shutout for Stanley.

W.C. Friday 5, Holbrook 0

Chavis 3, Southwest 0: Kate Bookout, Kate Mulvey and Faith McNeil scored goals and Emily Allen and Kennedy Weathers earned the shutout in goal for Chavis.

Belmont 9, York Chester 0: Mackenzie Crill and Alice Bass each had two goals, Elle Louise Blee, Lena Wells, Kaitlyn Ledford, Claire Hauck and Bella Goodwin had one goal apiece and Bella Goodwin and Kaitlyn Ledford combined for the goalkeeping shutout for Belmont.

(Tuesday’s game)
Cramerton at Mount Holly

 

 

 

 

 

 

High school baseball

(Monday’s results)
Berry 7, Huss 5

The rest of this week’s schedule:

(Tuesday)
Cramer at Huss
Crest at South Point
Kings Mountain at Forestview
North Gaston at Ashbrook
Cherryville at Burns
East Gaston at Highland Tech
Thomas Jefferson at Shelby
East Lincoln at North Iredell
North Lincoln at West Iredell
Lincolnton at West Lincoln
Master’s Academy at Piedmont CC
Pine Lake Prep at Lincoln Charter
Mountain Island Charter at Community School of Davidson
Gaston Day at SouthLake Christian
Legion Collegiate at Gaston Christian

(Wednesday)
South Point at Crest
Ashbrook at Bessemer City
Cramer at East Gaston
Davidson Day at Lincoln Charter
North Lincoln at West Lincoln
Shelby at Chambers
West Iredell at Lincolnton

(Thursday)
Piedmont CC at Bradford Prep
Hickory Grove at Gaston Day

(Friday)
Ashbrook at North Gaston
Forestview at South Point
Huss at Cramer
Burns at Cherryville
Highland Tech at East Gaston
Shelby at Thomas Jefferson
East Lincoln at North Lincoln
Bandys at West Lincoln
Lincolnton at Bunker Hill
Lincoln Charter at Pine Lake Prep
Community School of Davidson at Mountain Island Charter
Asheville Christian at Gaston Christian

 

 

 

 

 

Prep softball

(Monday’s results)
West Lincoln 14, Bessemer City 0 (4 innings)

The rest of this week’s schedule:

(Tuesday)
Ashbrook at South Point
Crest at Forestview
Huss at North Gaston
Kings Mountain at Cramer
Cherryville at Burns
East Gaston at Highland Tech
Thomas Jefferson at Shelby
East Lincoln at North Iredell
North Lincoln at West Iredell
Lincolnton at West Lincoln
Mountain Island Charter at Community School of Davidson
Pine Lake Prep at Lincoln Charter
Calvary Day at Gaston Christian

(Wednesday)
Burns at Freedom
Chase at Shelby
East Gaston at North Gaston
East Lincoln at Hopewell

(Thursday)
Gaston Christian at Concord Academy
Myers Park at Lincoln Charter

(Friday)
Ashbrook at Kings Mountain
Crest at Huss
Forestview at South Point
North Gaston at Cramer
Burns at Cherryville
Highland Tech at East Gaston
Shelby at Thomas Jefferson
Piedmont CC at Bradford Prep
East Lincoln at North Lincoln
Bandys at West Lincoln
Lincolnton at Bunker Hill
Community School of Davidson at Mountain Island Charter
Lincoln Charter at Pine Lake Prep

 

 

 

College basketball

Here are the full pairings of the 2022 NCAA tournament:

FIRST FOUR (at Dayton, Ohio)

(March 15)
MIDWEST: No. 16 Texas Southern 76, No. 16 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 67
EAST: No. 12 Indiana 66, No. 12 Wyoming 58

(March 16)
WEST: No. 11 Notre Dame 89, No. 11 Rutgers 87, 2 OT
SOUTH: No. 16 Wright State 93, No. 16 Bryant 82

FIRST ROUND

EAST REGION
(March 17 at Fort Worth, Tex.)
No. 1 Baylor 85, No. 16 Norfolk State 49
No. 8 North Carolina 95, No. 9 Marquette 63
(March 17 at Portland, Ore.)
No. 5 Saint Mary’s 82, No. 12 Indiana 53
No. 4 UCLA 57, No. 13 Akron 53
(March 18 at Milwaukee, Wisc.)
No. 6 Texas 81, No. 11 Virginia Tech 73
No. 3 Purdue 78, No. 14 Yale 56
(March 17 at Indianapolis, Ind.)
No. 7 Murray State 92, No. 10 San Francisco 87, OT
No. 15 Saint Peter’s 85, No. 2 Kentucky 79, OT
(March 19)
No. 8 North Carolina 93, No. 1 Baylor 86, OT
No. 4 UCLA 72, No. 5 St. Mary’s 56
No. 15 Saint Peter’s 70, No. 7 Murray State 60
(March 20)
No. 3 Purdue 81, No. 6 Texas 71

(March 25 at Philadelphia, Pa.)
No. 8 North Carolina 73, No. 4 UCLA 66
No. 15 Saint Peter’s 67, No. 3 Purdue 64
(March 27)
No. 8 North Carolina 69, No. 15 Saint Peter’s 49

SOUTH REGION
(March 18 at San Diego, Cal.)
No. 1 Arizona 87, No. 16 Wright State 70
No. 9 TCU 69, No. 8 Seton Hall 42
(March 18 at Pittsburgh, Pa.)
No. 5 Houston 82, No. 12 UAB 68
No. 4 Illinois 54, No. 13 Chattanooga 53
(March 17 at Indianapolis, Ind.)
No. 11 Michigan 75, No. 6 Colorado State 63
No. 3 Tennessee 88, No. 14 Longwood 56
(March 18)
No. 7 Ohio State 54, No. 10 Loyola, Chicago 41
No. 2 Villanova 80, No. 15 Delaware 60
(March 19)
No. 11 Michigan 76, No. 3 Tennessee 68
(March 20)
No. 1 Arizona 85, No. 9 TCU 80, OT
No. 5 Houston 68, No. 4 Illinois 53
No. 2 Villanova 71, No. 7 Ohio State 61

(March 24 at San Antonio, Tex.)
No. 5 Houston 72, No. 1 Arizona 60
No. 2 Villanova 63, No. 11 Michigan 55
(March 26)
No. 2 Villanova 50, No. 5 Houston 44

MIDWEST REGION
(March 17 at Fort Worth, Tex.)
No. 1 Kansas 83, No. 16 Texas Southern 56
No. 9 Creighton 72, No. 8 San Diego 69, OT
(March 17 at Buffalo, N.Y.)
No. 12 Richmond 67, No. 5 Iowa 63
No. 4 Providence 66, No. 5 South Dakota State 57
(March 18 at Milwaukee, Wisc.)
No. 11 Iowa State 59, No. 6 LSU 54
No. 3 Wisconsin 67, No. 14 Colgate 60
(March 18 at Greenville, S.C.)
No. 10 Miami, Fla. 68, No. 7 USC 66
No. 2 Auburn 80, No. 15 Jacksonville State 61
(March 19)
No. 1 Kansas 79, No. 9 Creighton 72
No. 4 Providence 79, No. 12 Richmond 51
(March 20)
No. 11 Iowa State 54, No. 3 Wisconsin 49
No. 10 Miami, Fla. 79, No. 2 Auburn 61

(March 25 at Chicago, Ill.)
No. 1 Kansas 66, No. 4 Providence 61
No. 10 Miami, Fla. 70, No. 11 Iowa State 56
(March 27)
No. 1 Kansas 76, No. 10 Miami, Fla. 50

WEST REGION
(March 17 at Portland, Ore.)
No. 1 Gonzaga 93, No. 16 Georgia State 72
No. 9 Memphis 64, No. 8 Boise State 53
(March 17 at Buffalo, N.Y.)
No. 12 New Mexico State 70, No. 5 UConn 63
No. 4 Arkansas 75, No. 13 Vermont 71
(March 18 at San Diego, Cal.)
No. 11 Notre Dame 78, No. 6 Alabama 64
No. 3 Texas Tech 97, No. 14 Montana State 62
(March 18 at Greenville, S.C.)
No. 7 Michigan State 74, No. 10 Davidson 73
No. 2 Duke 78, No. 15 Cal State Fullerton 61
(March 19)
No. 1 Gonzaga 82, No. 9 Memphis 78
No. 4 Arkansas 53, No. 12 New Mexico State 48
(March 20)
No. 3 Texas Tech 59, No. 11 Notre Dame 53
No. 2 Duke 85, No. 7 Michigan State 76

(March 24 at San Francisco, Cal.)
No. 4 Arkansas 74, No. 1 Gonzaga 68
No. 2 Duke 78, No. 3 Texas Tech 73
(March 26)
No. 2 Duke 78, No. 4 Arkansas 69

FINAL FOUR
(April 2 at New Orleans, La.)
Kansas vs. Villanova, 6:09 p.m.
Duke vs. North Carolina, approximately 8:49 p.m.

 

 

 

 

Pro basketball

The Charlotte Hornets dropped a 113-109 decision to the Denver Nuggets on Monday night in front of 17,614 at Spectrum Center.

Charlotte (39-37) had won seven of its previous eight games, but the loss dropped the Hornets from eighth place to ninth place in the tight Eastern Conference standings.

Miles Bridges (27 points, 11 rebounds), LaMelo Ball (22 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists), Terry Rozier (12 points, 8 assists), Kelly Oubre (12 points), Isaiah Thomas (12 points) and P.J. Washington (10 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists) led Charlotte.

Denver got a triple-double (26 points, 19 rebounds, 11 assists) from Nikola Jokic.

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 (W 141-119)
Sat. 12 MEMPHIS (L 118-125)
Tue. 15 at Minnesota (L 120-126, OT)
Thu. 17 MIAMI (L 107-111, 2 OT)
Fri. 25 TORONTO (W 125-93)
Sun. 27 DETROIT (L 126-127, OT)
Mon. 28 at Milwaukee (L 106-130)
MARCH
Wed. 2 at Cleveland (W 119-98)
Sat. 5 SAN ANTONIO (W 123-117)
Tue. 8 BROOKLYN (L 121-132)
Wed. 9 BOSTON (L 101-115)
Fri. 11 at New Orleans (W 142-120)
Mon. 14 at Oklahoma City (W 134-116)
Wed. 16 ATLANTA (W 116-106)
Sat. 19 DALLAS (W 129-108)
Mon. 21 NEW ORLEANS (W 106-103)
Wed. 23 NEW YORK (L 106-121)
Fri. 25 UTAH (W 107-101)
Sun. 27 at Brooklyn (W 118-110)
Mon. 28 DENVER (L 109-113)
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

 

 

 

 

Pro soccer

Here’s the full Charlotte FC schedule for the 2022 season (with results):

Feb. 26 at D.C. (L 0-3)
March 5, L.A. (L 0-1)
March 13, at Atlanta (L 1-2)
March 19, New England (W 3-1)
March 26, Cincinnati (W 2-0)
April 4, at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.
April 10, Atlanta, 1:30 p.m.
April 16, at New England, 7:30 p.m.
April 23, at Colorado, 9 p.m.
April 30, at Orlando, 7:30 p.m.
May 7, Miami, 3:30 p.m.
May 14, Montreal, 7 p.m.
May 22, Vancouver, 5 p.m.
May 29, at Seattle, 9:30 p.m.
June 11, New York, 3 p.m.
June 18, at Columbus, 7:30 p.m.
June 25, at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
June 30, Austin, 7 p.m.
July 3, at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
July 9, Nashville, 7 p.m.
July 16, at Miami, 8 p.m.
July 23, at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
July 30, Columbus, 7 p.m.
August 3, D.C., 7 p.m.
August 6, Chicago, 7 p.m.
August 13, at LAFC, 10:30 p.m.
August 17, at New York City, TBD
August 21, Orlando, 7 p.m.
August 27, Toronto, 7 p.m.
September 3, at Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m.
September 10, New York City, 7 p.m.
September 17, at Chicago, 8 p.m.
October 1, Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
October 9, at New York, TBD