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Tuesday’s roundup: College football, High school soccer, softball and football, Middle schools and College basketball tournament results

By Richard Walker

Former Shelby High standout Calvin Camp (20) celebrates his touchdown last season at North Texas. [charlotte49ers.com photo]
Charlotte 49ers head coach Will Healy can’t wait to get back on the field with his team as a 15-session spring practice will begin on Thursday.

But Healy has learned through nine game postponements or cancellations last fall and some recent contact tracing issues that nothing is guaranteed.

“We’re excited about getting back out on the field,” Healy said in a Tuesday zoom news conference. “The offseason conditioning sessions have been unbelieveable. The players have put in a lot of hard work. We’ve got a long way to go.”

Five local products are on the 49ers’ roster – and each could make contributions this season to a team that expects to have fierce competition at several positions.

Three of the local products are coming off injuries as linebacker Prince Bemah (Huss 2019) graduate returns after missing the season with knee surgery and Calvin Camp (Shelby 2017) and Cameron Dollar (East Lincoln 2017) are back after being slowed by foot injuries late last season.

Also on the Charlotte roster are offensive linemen Gage Welborn (East Lincoln 2018) and D.J. Bagwell (Kings Mountain 2020).

“Prince Bemah looks great,” said Healy, who says Bemah likely will be in his linebacker rotation. “He’s recovered really well.”

Bemah, who will be a redshirt sophomore, also is changing his uniform number from 18 to 25.

Former East Lincoln standout Cameron Dollar (4) scores a touchdown for Charlotte last season at Florida Atlantic

Camp had emerged as a key performer on special teams and in the running back rotation before injuring his foot in the last game of the year on Dec. 1.

“He’s out there running around and doing well,” Healy said of Camp, who 201 all-purpose yardage and scored a touchdown in the 49-21 win Oct. 10 at North Texas.

Camp, a redshirt, also has changed jersey numbers – from 20 to 5.

Dollar also was injured in the Western Kentucky game and recently was kept away from the program due to contact tracing issues.

“I’m sure he’ll be ready to get back at it,” Healy said of Dollar, who caught 10 passes for 178 yards and three touchdowns in six games (three starts) last season.

Welborn played in three games as a reserve lineman last season.

“Gage has put himself in a position where he can helps us win some ballgames,” Healy said of Welborn, who will be a redshirt junior.

And Bagwell has had to deal with personal loss as his father Brent Bagwell, a former N.C. State player and longtime college and high school football coach, died from COVID-19 complications on Jan. 27.

“I’m proud of him,” Healy said of Bagwell, who will be a redshirt freshman. “He’s been through a lot and our prayers have been with him.”

Two pressing issues for Healy determining what he’ll be doing at quarterback and running back.

Three-year starting quarterback Chris Reynolds could be pushed by transfer James Foster, a redshirt sophomore who is a former four-star high school recruit for Texas A&M who transferred to Charlotte late last fall.

Camp is in the running back competition with Iowa transfer Shadrick Byrd, UNC-Pembroke transfer McKinley Nelson, sophomore Chavon McEachern, redshirt freshman Elijah Turner and early freshman enrollee Chavion Smith from Statesville.

Prince Bemah

Charlotte, which went 2-4 overall and 2-2 in Conference USA last season, opens its 2021 schedule with the school’s first-ever home game against an ACC school. Here’s the full schedule:

Sept. 4 Duke
Sept. 11 Gardner-Webb
Sept. 18 at Georgia State
Sept. 25 Middle Tennessee
Oct. 2 at Illinois
Oct. 9 at Florida International
Oct. 16 BYE
Oct. 23 Florida Atlantic
Oct. 30 at Western Kentucky
Nov. 6 Rice
Nov. 13 at Louisiana Tech
Nov. 20 Marshall
Nov. 27 at Old Dominion

 

High school football

This week’s games:
(Thursday)
Bessemer City at Thomas Jefferson
Burns at Crest
Cherryille at Christ the King, 3 p.m.
Community School of Davidson at Mountain Island Charter
Kings Mountain at Forestview
South Point at Shelby
Union Academy at Highland Tech
(Friday)
Ashbrook at North Gaston
East Lincoln at West Lincoln
East Rutherford at East Gaston
Huss at Cramer
Maiden at Newton-Conover
North Lincoln at Lincolnton

High school JV football

Shelby 42, South Point 0

 

High school girls soccer

Crest 2, Shelby 1: Kalee Varga scored one goal and assisted Cadence Walker with the game-winner with less than five minutes to play for Crest, which got standout defensive play from Emma Harrill, Olivia-Claire Wall and Hannah Merritt. The Chargers (5-1, 4-1) visit Kings Mountain on Monday at 5 p.m. in their next game.

Thomas Jefferson 9, Highland Tech 0

Christ the King 11, Cherryville 0

East Gaston 9, East Rutherford 0

East Lincoln 6, West Lincoln 0

 

High school softball

Cherryville 8, Highland Tech 2: Winning pitcher Raegon Nowoweicki struck out 15 and had a RBI and Aleigha Whisnant (1 hit, 2 RBIs), Rileigh Kiser (2-4), Amber Roach (1 hit), Elizabeth Levine (1 hit) and Faith Anthony (1 hit) also had big offensive games for Cherryville (2-4, 1-0).

East Lincoln 7, North Lincoln 2: Winning pitcher Payton Baker recorded her 200th career strikeout for East Lincoln (4-0), whose offense was lad by Taliyah Thomas (3 hits, home run, 5 RBIs, 1 stolen base), Betsy Eatmon (1 hit), Katie Hogue (2 hits), Jaelyn Freeston (1 double), Bailey Hardin (1 hit), Tori Venters (1 hit). North Lincoln (2-3) was led by Ashlyn White (1 hit), Kendall Harwood (1 hit), Clare Grace Dellinger (1 double, 1 RBI), Morgan McCaslin (2 hits, double, 1 RBI) and Lilly Stump (1 hit). North Lincoln visits East Lincoln on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

Hickory Grove Christian 3, Gaston Christian 2

Mountain Island Charter 10, Queen’s Grant 0

 

Middle school softball

Cramerton 13, Belmont 2 (5 innings): Cailey Evans (2 hits, 3 runs), winning pitcher Kayla Johnson (2 hits, 3 runs), Madison Bridges (1 hit, 2 RBI), Taylyn Ledford (1 hit, 2 RBIs) and Lily Cabe (2-run home run, 3 runs) led the Cramerton offense, Johnson struck out nine in the complete game victory Allie Osborne and Mary Claire Cupp were defensive standouts.

Southwest 27, Grier 5

Chavis 18 – Holbrook 1 (3 innings): Winning pitcher Krista Davis struck out eight and went two for two with a home run and four RBIs for Chavis. Other offensive standouts for the Wolverines were Ava Miller (1-1, home run, 3 RBIs), Chloee Stroupe (1-1, home run, 2 RBIs), Kennedy Weathers (1-1, RBI), Landry Beam (1 hit) and Lexi McSwain (1 hit).

Stanley 20, Bessemer City 5

Standings after Tuesday’s games:

Gaston County
-Division I
Mount Holly 3-0, 3-0
Holbrook 2-1, 2-2
Cramerton 2-1, 3-1
Southwest 1-2, 1-2
Grier 0-4, 0-4
-Division II
Chavis 3-0, 4-0
Belmont 2-1, 2-2
Stanley 2-2, 2-2
W.C. Friday 1-2, 1-2
Bessemer City 0-3, 0-3

Wednesday’s game
Belmont at Bessemer City

Thursday’s games
Mount Holly at Southwest
Cramerton at Holbrook
York Chester at Belmont
Chavis at W.C. Friday
(End of regular season)

 

Middle school boys soccer

Belmont 6, York Chester 0: Isaac Contreras (2 goals), Brandon Cunningham (1 goal), Zeke Pruitt (1 goal), Dominic Feduniec (1 goal), Ty Cunningham (1 goal), defenders Aiden Crill, Justin Koehler, Landon King, Bennet Nixon, Garrett Tidd and goalkeeper Luke Wesolowski led Belmont (5-0), which didn’t yield a goal this season.

Standings:

Gaston County
-Division I
Holbrook 2-1, 2-2
Cramerton 3-0, 4-0
Grier 2-2, 2-2
Mount Holly 1-2, 1-2
Southwest 0-3, 0-3
-Division II
Belmont 4-0, 5-0
Stanley 3-1, 3-1
W.C. Friday 1-2, 1-2
Chavis 0-2-1, 0-3-1
York Chester 0-3-1, 0-3-1

Thursday’s games
Southwest at Mount Holly
Holbrook at Cramerton
W.C. Friday at Chavis
(End of regular season)

 

College men’s basketball

2021 NCAA basketball tournament results and pairings:

East Region
March 18 opening round
UCLA 86, Michigan State 80, OT
Texas Southern 60, Mount St. Mary’s 52

March 20 first round
Michigan 82, Texas Southern 66
LSU 76, St. Bonaventure 61
Colorado 96, Georgetown 73
Florida State 64, UNC-Greensboro 54
UCLA 73, BYU 62
Abilene Christian 53, Texas 52
Maryland 63, Connecticut 54
Alabama 68, Iona 55

March 22 second round
Michigan 86, LSU 78
Florida State 71, Colorado 53
UCLA 67, Abilene Christian 47
Alabama 96, Maryland 77

Sunday regional semifinals
Michigan 76, Florida State 58
UCLA 88, Alabama 78, OT

Tuesday regional final
UCLA 51, Michigan 49

South Region
March 19 first round
Baylor 79, Hartford 55
Wisconsin 85, North Carolina 62
Villanova 73, Winthrop 63
North Texas 78, Purdue 69, OT
Texas Tech 65, Utah State 53
Arkansas 85, Colgate 68
Florida 75, Virginia Tech 70, OT
Oral Roberts 75, Ohio State 72, OT

March 21 second round
Baylor 76, Wisconsin 63
Villanova 84, North Texas 61
Arkansas 68, Texas Tech 66
Oral Roberts 81, Florida 78

Saturday regional semifinals
Baylor 62, Villanova 51
Arkansas 72, Oral Roberts 70

Monday regional final
Baylor 81, Arkansas 72

Midwest Region
March 19 first round
Illinois 78, Drexel 49
Loyola-Chicago 71, Georgia Tech 60
Oregon State 70, Tennessee 56
Oklahoma State 69, Liberty 60
Syracuse 78, San Diego State 62
West Virginia 84, Morehead State 67
Rutgers 60, Clemson 56
Houston 87, Cleveland State 56

March 21 second round
Loyola-Chicago 71, Illinois 58
Oregon State 80, Oklahoma State 70
Syracuse 75, West Virginia 72
Houston 63, Rutgers 60

Saturday regional semifinals
Oregon State 65, Loyola-Chicago 58
Houston 62, Syracuse 46

Monday regional final
Houston 67, Oregon State 61

West Region
March 18 opening round
Drake 53, Wichita State 52
Norfolk State 54, Appalachian State 53

March 20 first round
Gonzaga 98, Norfolk State 55
Oklahoma 72, Missouri 68
Creighton 63, UC-Santa Barbara 62
Ohio U. 62, Virginia 58
Southern California 72, Drake 56
Kansas 93, Eastern Washington 84
Oregon advances over VCU, no contest (COVID protocols)
Iowa 86, Grand Canyon 74

March 22 second round
Gonzaga 87, Oklahoma 71
Creighton 72, Ohio U. 58
Southern California 85, Kansas 51
Oregon 95, Iowa 80

Sunday regional semifinals
Gonzaga 83, Creighton 65
Southern California 82, Oregon 68

Tuesday’s regional final
Gonzaga 85, Southern California 66

FINAL FOUR

Saturday’s semifinals
Baylor vs. Houston, 5:14 p.m.
Gonzaga vs. UCLA, 8:34 p.m.

Monday’s championship game
9 p.m.

College women’s basketball

2021 NCAA basketball tournament results and pairings:

ALAMO Region
March 21 first round
Stanford 87, Utah Valley 44
Oklahoma State 84, Wake Forest 61

March 22 first round
Missouri State 70, UC Davis 51
Wright State 66, Arkansas 62
Oregon 67, South Dakota 47
Georgia 67, Drexel 53
Northwestern 62, Central Florida 51
Louisville 74, Marist 43

March 23 second round
Stanford 73, Oklahoma State 62

March 24 second round
Missouri State 64, Wright State 39
Oregon 57, Georgia 50
Louisville 62, Northwestern 53

Sunday’s regional semifinals
Stanford 89, Missouri State 62
Louisville 60, Oregon 42

Tuesday’s regional final
Stanford 78, Oregon 63

MERCADO Region
March 21 first round
N.C. State 79, North Carolina A&T 58
South Florida 57, Washington State 53

March 22 first round
Belmont 64, Gonzaga 59
Indiana 63, VCU 32
BYU 69, Rutgers 66
Arizona 79, Stony Brook 44
Iowa State 79, Michigan State 75
Texas A&M 84, Troy 80

March 23 second round
N.C. State 79, South Florida 67

March 24 second round
Indiana 70, Belmont 48
Arizona 52, BYU 46
Texas A&M 84, Iowa State 82, OT

Saturday’s regional semifinals
Indiana 73, N.C. State 70
Arizona 74, Texas A&M 59

Monday’s regional final
Arizona 66, Indiana 53

RIVER WALK Region
March 21 first round
Connecticut 102, High Point 59
Syracuse 72, South Dakota State 55
Iowa 87, Central Michigan 72
Kentucky 71, Idaho State 63
Michigan 87, Florida Gulf Coast 66
Tennessee 87, Middle Tennessee 62
Virginia Tech 70, Marquette 63
Baylor 101, Jackson State 52

March 22 second round
Connecticut 83, Syracuse 47
Iowa 86, Kentucky 72
Michigan 70, Tennessee 55
Baylor 90, Virginia Tech 48

Saturday’s regional semifinals
Connecticut 92, Iowa 72
Baylor 78, Michigan 75

Monday’s regional final
Connecticut 69, Baylor 67

HEMISFAIR Region
March 21 first round
South Carolina 79, Mercer 53
Oregon State 83, Florida State 59
Georgia Tech 54, Stephen F. Austin 52, OT
West Virginia 77, Lehigh 53

March 22 first round
Texas 81, Bradley 62
UCLA 69, Wyoming 48
Alabama 80, North Carolina 71
Maryland 98, Mount St. Mary’s 45

March 23 second round
South Carolina 59, Oregon State 42
Georgia Tech 73, West Virginia 56

March 24 second round
Texas 71, UCLA 62
Maryland 100, Alabama 64

Sunday’s regional semifinals
South Carolina 76, Georgia Tech 65
Texas 64, Maryland 61

Tuesday’s regional final
South Carolina 62, Texas 34

FINAL FOUR

Friday’s semifinals
Stanford vs. South Carolina, 6 p.m.
Arizona vs. Connecticut, 9:30 p.m.

Sunday’s championship game
6 p.m.