Friday’s roundup: High school football and softball, Pro football and College basketball tournament results/pairings
By Richard Walker
West Lincoln’s Grayson Barkley scored on a 1-yard plunge to give the Rebels a 27-21 overtime victory win over visiting East Lincoln in a Friday night high school football thriller.
The victory gives clinches a fifth straight state playoff for West Lincoln (4-2, 4-2), which closes its regular season next Friday at Cherokee.
East Lincoln (4-2, 3-2) needs to win its regular season finale at home against Newton-Conover next week and hope for a wild card playoff berth.
Maiden (5-0, 5-), a 33-14 winner over Newton-Conover on Friday night, wrapped up the South Fork’ 2A Conference title and No. 1 playoff berth. West Lincoln gets the league’s No. 2 automatic playoff berth.
Barkley scored West Lincoln’s first touchdown and Hunter Leonhardt also had two touchdowns for the Rebels.
Austin Smith had two touchdown receptions from Tyler Mizzell, including a six-yarder with 19 seconds left in regulation that helped force overtime. Paulie Menegay scored the Mustangs’ first touchdown.
North Lincoln 42, Lincolnton 12: The visiting Knights (3-3) led 42-0 before yielding two late touchdowns to Lincolnton (1-4).
Other scores:
Maiden 33, Newton-Conover 14
Chase 50, R-S Central 49, OT
Kell 23, A.C. Reynolds 0
Conference standings for area leagues through Friday’s games, listed by conference record, overall record:
BIG SOUTH 3A
Crest 5-0, 6-0
Kings Mountain 5-0, 6-0
Ashbrook 3-2, 3-3
Huss 2-3, 2-3
Forestview 1-3, 2-3
Cramer 1-4, 1-5
North Gaston 0-5, 0-5
SOUTHWESTERN 2A
Shelby 4-1, 4-2
Burns 4-1, 4-2
Chase 3-2, 4-2
R-S Central 3-2, 4-2
South Point 3-2, 4-2
East Gaston 1-5, 1-5
East Rutherford 0-5, 0-6
SOUTH FORK 2A
Maiden 5-0, 5-0
West Lincoln 4-2, 4-2
East Lincoln 3-2, 4-2
Newton-Conover 2-3, 2-3
North Lincoln 2-3, 3-3
Lincolnton 1-4, 1-4
Bandys 1-4, 1-4
SOUTHERN PIEDMONT 1A
Pine Lake Prep 5-0, 5-0
Thomas Jefferson 5-0, 6-0
Community Davidson 4-1, 5-1
Christ the King 3-3, 3-3
Highland Tech 1-3, 1-3
Union Academy 1-4, 1-4
Bessemer City 1-4, 1-5
Cherryville 1-4, 1-5
Mtn Isl Charter 1-4, 1-5
This week’s games
(Monday)
North Gaston at Forestview
(Friday)
Bandys at West Lincoln
Bessemer City at Cherryville
Chase at South Point
Crest at Kings Mountain
East Gaston at North Gaston
Forestview at Cramer
Highland Tech at Christ the King
Huss at Ashbrook
Lincolnton at Maiden
Mountain Island Charter at Union Academy
Newton-Conover at East Lincoln
Pine Lake Prep at Community School of Davidson
R-S Central at Burns
Shelby at East Rutherford
West Lincoln at Cherokee
I-MECK 4A
Hough 6-0, 6-0
Vance 6-0, 6-0
Lake Norman 4-2, 4-2
Mallard Creek 3-3, 3-3
Mooresville 1-4, 1-4
North Meck 1-4, 1-4
Hopewell 1-5, 1-5
West Charlotte 1-5, 1-5
SOUTHWESTERN 4A
Myers Park 6-0, 6-0
Butler 5-1, 5-1
Porter Ridge 4-2, 4-2
Hickory Ridge 4-2, 4-2
Independence 2-4, 2-4
Rocky River 2-4, 2-4
East Meck 1-5, 1-5
Garinger 0-6, 0-6
SOUTHERN MECK 4A
Providence 5-0, 6-0
Olympic 5-1, 5-1
Kell 4-1, 5-1
South Meck 2-3, 3-3
Berry Academy 1-4, 2-4
West Meck 1-4, 1-5
Harding 0-5, 0-6
This week’s games
(Friday)
East Meck at Butler
Garinger at Rocky River
Harding at Berry Academy
Hopewell at West Charlote
Hough at Vance
Independence at Myers Park
Lake Norman at North Meck
Mooresville at Mallard Creek
Olympic at West Cabarrus
Porter Ridge at Hickory Ridge
Providence at Kell
West Meck at South Meck
Pro football
Former Crest High standout Jonathan Bullard will be playing pro football close to home after signing a free agent contract with the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday.
Bullard, a 2012 Crest graduate who was a two-time Big South Conference defensive player of the year, has played five NFL seasons, four with the Chicago Bears and one with the Seattle Seahawks.
A 6-foot-3, 296-pound defensive lineman, Bullard has 61 games (11 starts) of NFL experience with 92 tackles and 3 1-2 sacks. An All-SEC player at Florida, Bullard was a third round pick in the 2016 NFL draft by the Bears.
High school softball
East Lincoln 3, North Lincoln 0 (Thursday): Winning pitcher Payton Baker had an eight-hitter and Taliyah Thomas (1 single, 1 stolen base), Katelynn Crowe (1 single), Betsy Eatmon (1 single, 1 double, 2 RBIs), Jaelyn Freeston (1 single), Madison Currence (1 single, 1 double), Bailey Hardin (1 single) and Tatum Martin (1 single) led East Lincoln (5-0), which visits Bandys on Tuesday. North Lincoln was led by Ashlyn White (3 singles).
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
March 28 regional semifinals
Michigan 76, Florida State 58
UCLA 88, Alabama 78, OT
March 30 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
March 27 regional semifinals
Baylor 62, Villanova 51
Arkansas 72, Oral Roberts 70
March 29 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
March 27 regional semifinals
Oregon State 65, Loyola-Chicago 58
Houston 62, Syracuse 46
March 29 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
March 28 regional semifinals
Gonzaga 83, Creighton 65
Southern California 82, Oregon 68
March 30 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
Baylor-Houston winner vs. Gonzaga-UCLA winner, 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
March 28 regional semifinals
Stanford 89, Missouri State 62
Louisville 60, Oregon 42
March 30 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
March 27 regional semifinals
Indiana 73, N.C. State 70
Arizona 74, Texas A&M 59
March 29 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
March 27 regional semifinals
Connecticut 92, Iowa 72
Baylor 78, Michigan 75
March 29 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
March 28 regional semifinals
South Carolina 76, Georgia Tech 65
Texas 64, Maryland 61
March 30 regional final
South Carolina 62, Texas 34
FINAL FOUR
Friday’s semifinals
Stanford 66, South Carolina 65
Arizona 69, Connecticut 59
Sunday’s championship game
Stanford vs. Arizona, 6 p.m.