3-5-22 roundup: High school basketball, baseball and softball, Middle school basketball, Pro basketball and soccer, College basketball, football, baseball and softball

By Richard Walker

Charlotte’s Major League Soccer debut drew a record crowd at Bank of America Stadium on Saturday night as Charlotte FC fell 1-0 to LA Galaxy.

A MLS-record crowd of 74,749 attended the contest.

Efrain’ Alvarez’s goal in the 77th minute was the only score of the contest.

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, 4:30 p.m.
March 19, New England, 7 p.m.
March 26, Cincinnati, 6 p.m.
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

 

 

High school basketball

Shelby High’s girls basketball team had their dreams of a back-to-back state titles end in a heartbreak 45-44 double-overtime loss to Salisbury on Saturday.

The Golden Lions’ season ended with a 22-3 overall record.

Here are full statewide results for Saturday’s regional championships. Winners advance to March 12 state title games at sites and times to be announced:

(West)
1A at Asheville A.C. Reynolds High School
Girls: (5) Bishop McGuinness 48, (2) Mountain Heritage 37
Boys: (1) Hayesville 72, (2) Winston-Salem Prep 66

2A at Greensboro Grimsley High School
Girls: (2) Salisbury 45, (5) Shelby 44, 2 OT
Boys: (6) Jay M. Robinson 79, (4) North Surry 60

3A at Morganton Freedom High School
Girls: (19) Enka 51, (4) North Davidson 49
Boys: (8) West Charlotte 84, (2) Central Cabarrus 75

4A at McDowell High School
Girls: (6) Chambers 45, (4) Charlotte Catholic 36
Boys: (1) Weddington 72, (10) North Mecklenburg 69

(East)
1A at Greenville Rose High School
Girls: (1) Bertie 61, (2) Wilson Prep 58
Boys: (1) Chatham Charter 59, (2) Wilson Prep 42

2A at Lee County High School
Girls: (3) Farmville Central 75, (1) St. Pauls 36
Boys: (1) Farmville Central 66, (2) Kinston 58

3A at Southern Lee High School
Girls: (2) Northwood 51, (1) Terry Sanford 50
Boys: (5) Seventy First 74, (2) West Carteret 70

4A at Cary Green Level High School
Girls: (1) Apex Friendship 65, (2) Millbrook 48
Boys: (15) Panther Creek 68, (5) Cleveland 54

 

 

 

 

Middle school basketball

Southwest’s boys and Holbrook’s girls will seek to finish off unbeaten Gaston County Conference championship seasons on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, in the 2022 title games.

Southwest (11-0) meets Belmont (9-2) at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at Hunter Huss High School. And Holbrook (11-0) meets W.C. Friday (9-2) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Ashbrook High School.

 

 

 

 

College football

Three local standouts have recently made commitments to play college football in the last few days.

Crest’s Carter Greene has committed to play at Appalachian State.

And Crest’s Nick Beason and Shelby’s Samuel Baldree have committed to play at Gardner-Webb.

 

 

 

 

 

High school softball

Highland Tech 9, Piedmont CC 8 (Friday): Emma Ghorley had 11 strikeouts for Highland Tech and Abigale Harris (4 hits, 2 doubles, 1 home run, 3 RBIs), Grace East (2 hits), Julianna East (2 hits, 1 RBI) led Piedmont Community Charter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

College basketball

Charlotte women 70, Southern Miss 49: The 49ers came out of the gates firing on all cylinders spurred by a crowd of more than 1,000 at Halton Arena to take a victory that clinched their first outright title since the 2002-03 season. Charlotte improved to 19-9 overall and 15-3 in Conference USA.

Charlotte 70, Southern Miss 67: A trio of double-figure scorers and an 18th 20-point output from junior Jahmir Young pushed the 49ers to a road victory that ended their regular season at 17-13 and 10-8.

Big South Conference: The league’s postseason tournament is being played at Charlotte’s Bojangles’ Coliseum:

(Men)
First Round – Wednesday, March 2
Game 1: (9) North Carolina A&T 79, (8) Radford 71
Game 2: (12) Charleston Southern 79, (5) UNC Asheville 78
Game 3: (7) High Point 84, (10) Hampton 77
Game 4: (6) Campbell 75, (11) Presbyterian 72, 2 OT

Quarterfinals – Friday, March 4
Game 5: (1) Longwood 79, North Carolina A&T 65
Game 6: (4) USC Upstate 72, Charleston Southern 62
Game 7: (2) Winthrop 68, High Point 51
Game 8: (3) Gardner-Webb 54, Campbell 53

Semifinals – Saturday, March 5
Game 9: Semifinals – Longwood 79, USC Upstate 70
Game 10: Semifinals – Winthrop 76, Gardner-Webb 67

Championship – Sunday, March 6 (ESPN2)
Game 11: Championship – Longwood vs. Winthrop, noon

(Women)
First Round – Tuesday, March 1
Game 1: (8) Presbyterian 65, (9) Winthrop 60
Game 2: (5) High Point 54, (12) Charleston Southern 34
Game 3: (7) Hampton 55, (10) Radford 49
Game 4: (11) UNC Asheville 68, (6) North Carolina A&T 59

Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 3
Game 5: (1) Campbell 59, Presbyterian 56
Game 6: (4) Gardner-Webb 55, High Point 53
Game 7: (2) Longwood 70, Hampton 61
Game 8: UNC Asheville 62, (3) USC Upstate 57

Semifinals – Saturday, March 5
Game 9: Semifinals – Campbell 51, Gardner-Webb 50
Game 10: Semifinals – Longwood 66, UNC Asheville 40

Championship – Sunday, March 6 (ESPNU)
Game 11: Championship – Campbell vs. Longwood, 8:30 p.m.

Conference Carolinas tournament results:

(Men)
First Round – Sunday, February 27
#7 Lees-McRae 80, #10 Chowan 73 (at Barton)
#9 Francis Marion 90, #8 King 83 (at Mount Olive)

Second Round – Monday, February 28
#6 Barton 94, Lees-McRae 75
#5 Mount Olive 95, Francis Marion 83

Quarterfinals – Friday, March 4 (Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium – Spartanburg, S.C.)
#4 Southern Wesleyan 72, Mount Olive 55
#3 Belmont Abbey 108, Barton 73

Semifinals – Saturday, March 5 (Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium – Spartanburg, S.C.)
#1 UNC Pembroke 67, Southern Wesleyan 66
Belmont Abbey 93, #2 Emmanuel 70: No. 3 seed Belmont Abbey placed five players in double figures and shot 66.7% in the second half to upset the second-seeded team. With the win, the Crusaders (21-9) advanced to their fifth straight conference title game.

Final – Sunday, March 6 (Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium – Spartanburg, S.C.)
UNC-Pembroke vs. Belmont Abbey, 1 p.m.

(Women)
First Round – Sunday, February 27
#7 Francis Marion 76, #10 North Greenville 63 (at King)
#8 Emmanuel 72, #9 Lees-McRae 57 (at UNC Pembroke)

Second Round – Monday, February 28
Francis Marion 87, #6 King 84
Emmanuel 69, #5 UNC Pembroke 67

Quarterfinals – Friday, March 4 (Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium – Spartanburg, S.C.)
#4 Chowan 55, Emmanuel 47
Francis Marion 73, #3 Belmont Abbey 69

Semifinals – Saturday, March 5 (Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium – Spartanburg, S.C.)
#1 Barton 76, Chowan 48
Francis Marion 96, #2 Mount Olive 64

Final – Sunday, March 6 (Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium – Spartanburg, S.C.)
Barton vs. Francis Marion, 4 p.m.

The full 2022 New York Life ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament schedule:

Tuesday, March 8
First Round
2 p.m. – No. 12 Pitt vs. No. 13 Boston College (ACC Network)
4:30 p.m. – No. 10 Clemson vs. No. 15 NC State (ACC Network)
7 p.m. – No. 11 Louisville vs. No. 14 Georgia Tech (ACC Network)

Wednesday, March 9
Second Round
Noon – No. 8 Florida State vs. No. 9 Syracuse (ESPN)
2:30 p.m. – No. 5 Wake Forest vs. Pitt/Boston College winner (ESPN)
7 p.m. – No. 7 Virginia Tech vs. Clemson/NC State winner (ESPN2/ESPNU)
9:30 p.m. – No. 6 Virginia vs. Louisville/Georgia Tech winner (ESPN2)

Thursday, March 10
Quarterfinals
Noon – No. 1 Duke vs. Wednesday Noon winner (ESPN/ESPN2)
2:30 p.m. – No. 4 Miami vs. Wednesday 2:30 p.m. winner (ESPN/ESPN2)
7 p.m. – No. 2 Notre Dame vs. Wednesday 7 p.m. winner (ESPN/ESPN2)
9:30 p.m. – No. 3 North Carolina vs. Wednesday 9:30 p.m. winner (ESPN/ESPN2)

Friday, March 11
Semifinals
7 p.m. – Thursday afternoon winners (ESPN/ESPN2)
9:30 p.m. – Thursday evening winners (ESPN/ESPN2)

Saturday, March 12
Championship
8:30 p.m. – Semifinal winners (ESPN)

 

 

 

Pro basketball

Charlotte won its second straight game as guards Terry Rozier (31 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists) and LaMelo Ball (24 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists) led the Hornets to a 123-117 win over the San Antonio Spurs in front of 18,941 at Spectrum Center.

P.J. Washington (15 points, 5 rebounds), Montrezl Harrell (15 points), Cody Martin (12 points), Kelly Oubre (12 points), Miles Bridges (10 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists) and Mason Plumlee (4 points, 13 rebounds) also were key contributors for the Hornets (32-33).

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 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

Gaston College 11-14, Southwest Virginia 0-4: The Rhinos (17-0, 11-0) stayed unbeaten in the first games since receiving the first national ranking in school history (No. 8) earlier this week.

 

 

 

College softball

Cleveland Community College 13-21, Gaston College 4-6: The Yetis (3-7, 2-0) swept Gaston College in the Region 10 Division II openers for both teams.