4-5-22 roundup: College basketball and baseball, Pro basketball, golf and soccer, High school baseball and softball, Middle school baseball and girls soccer
By Richard Walker
Gastonia’s Harold Varner III will tee off at 1:08 p.m. on Thursday in his first career appearance at the prestigious Master’s golf tournament in Augusta, Ga.
A 2008 Forestview High graduate, Varner qualified through his high world golf ranking (currently No. 40) and he is paired with Sergio Garcia and Thomas Pieters.
Varner’s ranking soared with a second international victory in February with a 90-foot putt for eagle on the final hole to take the Saudi International at King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia.
A 2012 East Carolina graduate where Varner was a three-time all-conference performer and league player of the year as a senior, Varner’s has been on the PGA tour since 2015.
College baseball
After an impressive 4-1 week against top Region 10 competition, Gaston College’s baseball team continues to climb in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II polls. The Rhinos (30-2) moved up to No. 2 in thejbb.net poll – it’s highest ranking in history – and remained at No. 4 in the NJCAA poll while also receiving its first-ever No. 1 vote in that poll in addition to improving from No. 5 to No. 4 in the PBR Juco poll. With 30 victories, Gaston College is the first team in Division II to reach that win total.
Gaston College hosts Region 10 Division II rival Cleveland Community College on Wednesday at 6 p.m. then plays at Guilford Tech in a three-game series this weekend.
Obituary
Former Charlotte 49ers head coach and Charlotte Hornets assistant coach Lee Rose has died at 85.
Rose was Charlotte 49ers head coach during the most successful run in the history of the 49ers men’s basketball program and was an assistant coach for the two winningest Hornets’ teams in history.
For the 49ers, Rose led the school to a 72-18 record in three years as head coach highlighted by taking the school to the 1976 NIT title game and to the 1977 Final Four. In 1977, Rose was named the 1977 Sporting News National Coach of the Year after leading Charlotte to a 28-5 record that included wins over No. 17 Central Michigan, No. 5 Syracuse and No. 1 Michigan during the NCAA Tournament.
By advancing to the Final Four, Charlotte became the initial first-year conference champion to do so. That 1977 team included the most acclaimed player in school history, Cedric “Cornbread” Maxwell, in addition to standouts Lew Massey, Chad Kinch and Melvin Watkins.
Rose was elected to the Charlotte 49ers Athletics Hall of Fame in 2020 as a member of its inaugural class.
When he left Charlotte after the 1977-78 season, Rose coached at Purdue and South Florida before embarking on a 10-year career as a NBA assistant coach that included working in Charlotte for head coaches Dave Cowens, Paul Silas and Larry Brown.
In the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons, the Hornets won 54 and 51 games, respectively, for the highest single-season win totals in franchise history.
Rose and his wife, Eleanor have two sons, Mike and Mark. Mike and his wife, Kari live in Charlotte and have two children: Lee and Kristi. Mark and his wife, Denise live in Tampa, Fla. and have two sons: James and Zan.
High school baseball
(Tuesday’s results)
Ashbrook at Cramer (ppd., Thursday)
Huss at Forestview (ppd., Wednesday)
South Point at Kings Mountain (ppd., Wednesday)
Cherryville at East Gaston (ppd., Wednesday)
Highland Tech at Burns (ppd., no date)
Hickory at East Lincoln (ppd., Wednesday)
West Lincoln at Maiden (ppd., no date)
Mountain Island Charter at Pine Lake Prep (ppd., Wednesday)
Gaston Christian at Hickory Grove Christian (ppd., no date)
Upcoming schedule:
(Wednesday)
Huss at Forestview
South Point at Kings Mountain
Bessemer City at Thomas Jefferson
Cherryville at East Gaston
Hickory at East Lincoln
Mountain Island Charter at Pine Lake Prep
Lincoln Charter at Langtree Charter
Bandys at East Lincoln (ppd., April 13)
Berry at Huss
Shelby at Ashbrook
(Thursday)
Ashbrook at Cramer
Burns at Highland Tech
East Gaston at Cherryville
Gaston Christian at Metrolina Christian
Gaston Day at Concord Academy
Lincoln Charter at Bunker Hill
(Friday)
Cramer at Ashbrook
Forestview at Huss
Kings Mountain at South Point
North Gaston at Crest
Thomas Jefferson at Bessemer City
East Lincoln at Statesville
North Lincoln at Hickory
Bunker Hill at West Lincoln
Lincolnton at Bandys
Langtree Charter at Lincoln Charter
Pine Lake Prep at Mountain Island Charter
High school softball
(Tuesday’s results)
Cramer at Forestview (ppd.)
Huss at Ashbrook (ppd.)
Kings Mountain at Crest (ppd.)
South Point at North Gaston (ppd.)
Bessemer City at Thomas Jefferson (ppd.)
Cherryville at East Gaston (ppd.)
Highland Tech at Burns (ppd.)
Hickory at East Lincoln (ppd.)
Statesville at North Lincoln (ppd.)
Newton-Conover at Lincolnton, DH (ppd.)
West Lincoln at Maiden (ppd.)
Langtree Charter at Lincoln Charter (ppd.)
Mountain Island Charter at Pine Lake Prep (ppd.)
Upcoming schedule:
(Wednesday)
Lincoln Charter at Maiden
Hopewell at East Lincoln
Shelby at Forestview
South Iredell at North Lincoln
(Thursday)
Burns at Highland Tech
East Gaston at Cherryville
(Friday)
Cramer at South Point
Crest at Ashbrook
Forestview at North Gaston
Kings Mountain at Huss
Thomas Jefferson at Bessemer City
East Lincoln at Statesville
North Lincoln at Hickory
Bunker Hill at West Lincoln
Lincolnton at Bandys
Lincoln Charter at Langtree Charter
Pine Lake Prep at Mountain Island Charter
Middle school baseball
Gaston County Conference standings through Monday:
Chavis 4-0
Stanley 4-0
Belmont 3-0
Mount Holly 3-0
W.C. Friday 2-1
Bessemer City 1-2
Cramerton 1-2
Grier 0-3
Holbrook 0-3
Southwest 0-3
York Chester 0-4
(Thursday’s games)
Cramerton at Bessemer City
W.C. Friday at Belmont
Grier at York Chester
Holbrook at Stanley
Mount Holly at Southwest
Middle school girls soccer
Gaston County Conference standings through Monday:
Belmont 3-0
Cramerton 3-0
W.C. Friday 3-0
Stanley 3-1
Mount Holly 2-1
Chavis 2-2
Bessemer City 1-2
Holbrook 1-2
Grier 0-3
Southwest 0-3
York Chester 0-4
(Thursday’s games)
Cramerton at Bessemer City
W.C. Friday at Belmont
Grier at York Chester
Holbrook at Stanley
Mount Holly at Southwest
Pro basketball
With three games left in the regular season, the Charlotte Hornets need to find out how to fix their defense after a second straight loss in which they yielded 144 points.
On Tuesday night, it was the host Miami Heat who blistered the Hornets defense in a 144-115 victory.
The Miami victory also came in a contest in which Charlotte started strong with a pair of 10-point first quarter leads at 12-2 and 14-4.
Miles Bridges (29 points, 6 rebounds), LaMelo Ball (18 points, 5 rebounds, 14 assists), Terry Rozier (16 points, 6 assists) and P.J. Washington (13 points, 6 rebounds) led Charlotte (40-39).
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 (W 125-114)
APRIL
Sat. 2 at Philadelphia (L 114-144)
Tue. 5 at Miami (L 115-144)
Thu. 7 ORLANDO 7:00
Fri. 8 at Chicago 8:00
Sun. 10 WASHINGTON 3:30
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 2, at Philadelphia (L 0-2)
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