Thursday’s roundup: College football, Pro baseball, HIgh school football and softball, Middle schools and College basketball
By Richard Walker
South Point High’s all-time leading receiver will be moving on to another college.
Ray Rose announced via his twitter account at 6:09 p.m. on Thursday that he was entering the transfer portal and leaving the University of North Carolina football program.
A 6-foot-1, 215-pound wide receiver, Rose played in one game during the 2020 season and wasn’t listed among the eight receivers in a three-position spring depth chart by 247sports.com for ongoing spring practice sessions.
Rose was rated a four-star prospect ranked coming out of South Point High School and was considered North Carolina’s No. 10-rated high school player and the nation’s 11th-ranked wide receiver according to the rivals.com recruiting service.
At South Point, where he also played basketball and ran track, Rose set school records for career receptions (87), receiving yards (1,797) and touchdown catches (28).
Pro baseball
The first-year Gastonia Honey Hunters drafted six players in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball after a spring tryout.
They are infielder Jordan Howard, pitchers William Kirwan, A.J. Markel and Ian Schweppe, outfielder Will Johnson and catcher Luis Touron.
Howard played at Georgia Southern and Lee, Tenn., University, Kirwan at Pittsburgh, Merkel at Oklahoma Baptist, Johnson at Georgia State, Eastern Kentucky and in the Independent League, Touron in an Independent League and Schweppe at Southern Maryland and Roanoke College.
High school football
Here’s this week’s full area high school football schedule:
(Friday)
Bandys at West Lincoln
Cherryville at Thomas Jefferson
Christ the King at Bessemer City
Cramer at Ashbrook
East Gaston at Burns
East Rutherford at Chase
Forestview at Huss
Highland Tech at Community School of Davidson
Maiden at East Lincoln
Mountain Island Charter at Pine Lake Prep
Newton-Conover at North Lincoln
R-S Central at South Point
(Saturday)
Kings Mountain at Shelby
North Gaston at Crest
High school softball
East Lincoln 10, Lincolnton 0: Winning pitcher Payton Baker, Katelynn Crowe (1 triple, 2 RBIs), Betsy Eatmon (1 double, 2 RBIs), Katie Hogue (1 single, 1 RBI) and Bailey Hardin (1 double, 2 RBIs) led East Lincoln (3-0), which visits North Lincoln next Tuesday and hosts North Lincoln next Thursday.
High school JV football
Shelby at Kings Mountain: Postponed to Friday, 6:30 p.m.
Crest at North Gaston: Postponed to Friday, 6 p.m.
High school boys soccer
NCHSAA regional finals results and state finals pairings:
1A
East – #9 Franklin Academy 3, #7 Voyager Academy 2
West – #9 Pine Lake Prep 1, #3 Community School of Davidson 0
Final – #9 Franklin Academy Patriots (9-1-0) vs. #9 Pine Lake Prep Pride (13-2-1), Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Koka Booth Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary
2A
East – #10 Croatan 2, #16 Richlands 0
West – #1 Hibriten 2, #7 Ledford 0
Final – #10 Croatan Cougars (16-0-0) vs. #1 Hibriten Panthers (18-0-0), Friday at 7 p.m. at Koka Booth Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary
3A
East – #2 New Hanover 3, #4 Southern Alamance 0
West – #3 Weddington 3, #16 Hickory 2
Final – #2 New Hanover Wildcats (15-0-0) vs. #3 Weddington Warriors (15-1-1), Saturday at 6 p.m. at Koka Booth Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary
4A
East – #8 Cardinal Gibbons 2, #10 Apex 1
West – #1 Myers Park 1, #2 Northwest Guilford 0
Final – #8 Cardinal Gibbons Crusaders (13-2-1) vs. #1 Myers Park Mustangs (12-0-1), Saturday at 11 a.m. at Koka Booth Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary
High school lacrosse
Boys 1A/2A/3A – Saturday at 6 p.m at Cardinal Gibbons HS, Raleigh
#6 East Chapel Hill Wildcats (10-4) vs. #5 Marvin Ridge Mavericks (14-3)
Boys 4A – Friday at 7 p.m. at Cardinal Gibbons HS, Raleigh
#5 Cardinal Gibbons Crusaders (16-0) vs. #5 Hough Huskies (13-2)
Girls Open – Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Cardinal Gibbons HS, Raleigh
#3 East Chapel Hill Wildcats (15-2) vs. #1 Weddington Warriors (17-1)
Middle school boys soccer
Belmont 6, Holbrook 0: Isaac Contreras (3 goals), Landon King (1 goal), Patrick Blee (1 goal), Zeke Pruitt (1 goal), goalkeeper Luke Wesolowski and defenders King, Aiden Crill, Justin Koehler and Bennet Nixon led Belmont (3-0), which host Chavis on Monday in its next game.
Middle school football
Tri-County standings (through March 24)
Shelby 4-0
East Rutherford 4-1
Crest 3-1
Burns 3-2
Chase 1-3
R-S Central 1-4
Kings Mountain 0-5
Wednesday’s games
Crest at Burns
Kings Mountain at Chase
R-S Central at Shelby
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 vs. Florida State, 5 p.m.
UCLA vs. Alabama, 7:15 p.m.
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 vs. Villanova, 5:15 p.m.
Arkansas vs. Oral Roberts, 7:25 p.m.
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
Loyola-Chicago vs. Oregon State, 2:40 p.m.
Syracuse vs. Houston, 9:55 p.m.
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 vs. Creighton, 2:10 p.m.
Southern California vs. Oregon, 9:45 p.m.
NIT pairings and results at Comerica Center in Frisco, Tex. and University of North Texas Coliseum in Denton, Tex.:
March 17 first round
Richmond 76, Toledo 66
Western Kentucky 69, Saint Mary’s, Cal. 67
March 18 first round
N.C. State 75, Davidson 61
Boise State 85, SMU 84
March 19 first round
Colorado State 75, Buffalo 73
Louisiana Tech 70, Mississippi 61
March 20 first round
Memphis 71, Dayton 60
Mississippi State 74, Saint Louis 68
Thursday’s quarterfinals
Colorado State 65, N.C. State 61
Memphis 59, Boise State 56
Mississippi State 68, Richmond 67
Louisiana Tech 72, Western Kentucky 67
March 27 semifinals
Colorado State (20-6) vs. Memphis (18-7), noon or 3 p.m.
Mississippi State (17-14) vs. Louisiana Tech (23-7), noon or 3 p.m.
March 28 championship game
noon
The NCAA Division II Elite Eight at Evansville, Ind., results and pairings:
Wednesday’s quarterfinals
#4 Lincoln Memorial 90, #5 Colorado School of Mines 76
#1 West Texas A&M 97, #8 Daemen 83
#2 Northwest Missouri State (25-2) 98, #7 West Liberty 77
#3 Flagler 70, Truman 69
Thursday’s semifinals
#1 West Texas A&M 87, #4 Lincoln Memorial 86
#2 Northwest Missouri State 77, #3 Flagler 46
Saturday’s championship game
#1 West Texas A&M (19-2) vs. #2 Northwest Missouri State (27-2), Noon
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
Tuesday second round
Stanford 73, Oklahoma State 62
Wednesday second round
Missouri State 64, Wright State 39
Oregon 57, Georgia 50
Louisville 62, Northwestern 53
Sunday’s regional semifinals
Stanford vs. Missouri State, 3 p.m.
Oregon vs. Louisville winner, 5 p.m.
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
Tuesday second round
N.C. State 79, South Florida 67
Wednesday second round
Indiana 70, Belmont 48
Arizona 52, BYU 46
Texas A&M 84, Iowa State 82, OT
Saturday’s regional semifinals
N.C. State vs. Indiana, 6 p.m.
Arizona vs. Texas A&M, 8 p.m.
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 vs. Iowa, 1 p.m.
Michigan vs. Baylor, 3 p.m.
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
Tuesday second round
South Carolina 59, Oregon State 42
Georgia Tech 73, West Virginia 56
Wednesday second round
Texas 71, UCLA 62
Maryland 100, Alabama 64
Sunday’s regional semifinals
South Carolina vs. Georgia Tech, 1 p.m.
Texas vs. Maryland, 9 p.m.
The NCAA Division II Elite Eight at Columbus, Ohio, results and pairings:
Tuesday’s quarterfinals
#2 Lander 88, #7 Azusa Pacific 76
#3 Drury 74, #6 Charleston, W.Va. 66
#1 Lubbock Christian 66, #8 Daemen 49
#5 Central Missouri 65, #4 Belmont Abbey 42
Wednesday’s semifinals
#3 Drury 74, #2 Lander 65
#1 Lubbock Christian 63, #5 Central Missouri 61
Friday’s championship game
#3 Drury (24-1) vs. #1 Lubbock Christian (22-0), 8 p.m.