Thursday’s roundup: College basketball, Prep basketball, football and soccer
By Richard Walker
Belmont Abbey swept a basketball doubleheader Thursday that puts both of the school’s teams into Sunday’s Conference Carolinas championship games.
The Lady Crusaders defeated King 68-59 in the women’s semifinal game in the opener, then the Crusaders rallied from a halftime deficit against Chowan to win 70-58 in the men’s semifinal in the nightcap.
Belmont Abbey will host Barton in the women’s championship on Sunday at 2 p.m. while the men’s team will visit Emmanuel on Sunday for a 4 p.m. game.
In the Lady Crusaders victory, Brittany Autry had 22 points and nine rebounds and Irelynn Davisson added 14 points and two steals as Belmont Abbey won its 17th straight game.
Belmont Abbey will hosting its first Conference Carolinas tournament game since it hosted the entire tournament in 1993.
The Lady Crusaders are 7-5 in previous championship game appearances, winning in 1990, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 while losing in 1992, 1995, 1996, 2005 and 2019.
In Barton, the Abbey women face the only team to beat them; Barton won 83-72 in Belmont on Jan. 15 before the Lady Crusaders started their long winning streak the next night with a 65-53 home win over Barton.
In the Crusaders’ men’s victory, upstart Chowan led 27-22 at halftime before Belmont Abbey dominated the second half to take the 12-point victory.
Sean Halloran scored 18 points, Charles Solomon 10, Quest Aldridge nine and Malik Tucker and Mario Lacy, Jr., eight apiece.
Chowan, the sixth-seeded team in the tournament, had upset Southern Wesleyan 79-75 in Tuesday’s quarterfinals.
The Crusaders are 3-3 all-time in tournament championship games, with each of the losses coming in the last three seasons. Belmont Abbey had won its first three Conference Carolinas championship game appearances in 2002, 2003 and 2013.
Here are the women’s tournament pairings and results:
Tuesday’s quarterfinals
#1 Belmont Abbey 82, #8 Lees-McRae 47
#4 King 81, #5 North Greenville 52
#6 Mount Olive 63, #3 Emmanuel 59
#2 Barton 82, #7 Chowan 58
Thursday’s semifinals
#1 Belmont Abbey 68, #4 King 59
#2 Barton 66, #6 Mount Olive 64
Sunday championship
#2 Barton at #1 Belmont Abbey, 2 p.m.
Here are the men’s tournament pairings and results:
Tuesday’s quarterfinals
#1 Emmanuel 93, #8 King 68
#4 North Greenville 93, #5 Lees-McRae 88
#6 Chowan 79, #3 Southern Wesleyan 75
#2 Belmont Abbey 63, #7 Mount Olive 61
Thursday’s semifinals
#1 Emmanuel 89, #4 North Greenville 72
#2 Belmont Abbey 70, #6 Chowan 58
Sunday championship
#2 Belmont Abbey at #1 Emmanuel, 4 p.m.
High school football
Friday’s games:
Burns at Chase
Christ the King at Mountain Island Charter
Crest at Cramer
East Lincoln at Lincolnton
Kings Mountain at North Gaston, ppd. to a later date
West Mecklenburg at North Lincoln
Pine Lake Prep at Cherryville
Shelby at R-S Central
South Point at East Gaston
Union Academy at Bessemer City
West Lincoln at Maiden
Saturday’s game:
Ashbrook at Forestview, 2 p.m. at Cramer
High school JV football
South Point 21, East Gaston 13
High school basketball
Here are the full N.C. High School Athletic Association state championship game pairings for Saturday:
1A girls
Saturday, 1 p.m at Wheatmore High School
Princeton Bulldogs (15-0) VS. Murphy Bulldogs (16-2)
2A girls
Saturday, 1 p.m. at Providence Grove High School
Farmville Central Jaguars (14-0) VS. Shelby Golden Lions (17-0)
3A girls
Saturday, 6 p.m. at Providence Grove High School
Asheboro Blue Comets (14-0) VS. China Grove Carson Cougars (18-0)
4A girls
Saturday, 10:30 a.m. at Wheatmore High School
Garner Trojans (16-0) VS. Charlotte Vance Cougars (11-0)
1A boys
Saturday, 3:30 p.m at Wheatmore High School
Wilson Prep Tigers (7-2) VS. Lincoln Charter Eagles (16-2)
2A boys
Saturday, 3:30 p.m. at Providence Grove High School
Farmville Central Jaguars (14-0) VS. Hendersonville Bearcats (17-0)
3A boys
Saturday, 10:30 a.m. at Providence Grove High School
Pittsboro Northwood Chargers (14-2) VS. Weddington Warriors (17-0)
4A boys
Saturday, 6 p.m. at Wheatmore High School
Raleigh Millbrook Wildcats (18-0) VS. Charlotte Kell Knights (10-0)
Here’s a look at the S.C. High School League playoffs:
5A boys
Saturday’s final at USC-Aiken, 7:30 p.m.
Dorman vs. River Bluff
4A boys
Saturday’s final at USC-Aiken, noon
South Pointe vs. Hilton Head
3A boys
Saturday’s final at USC-Aiken, 3 p.m.
Seneca vs. Marlboro County
2A boys
Friday’s final at USC-Aiken, 7:30 p.m.
Christ School Episcopal vs. Wade Hampton
1A boys
Wednesday’s final at USC-Aiken, 3 p.m.
Southside Christian 66, Scott’s Branch 45
5A girls
Friday’s final at USC-Aiken, noon
Clover vs. Sumter
High school soccer
Forestview 8, Huss 0
Shelby 5, East Rutherford 1
Lincoln Charter 2, Highland Tech 0
Thomas Jefferson 6, Bessemer City 1
College basketball
Big South men’s tournament results and pairings:
Feb. 27 first round
#7 Hampton 67, #10 Presbyterian 65
#8 High Point 65, #9 USC Upstate 60
Monday’s quarterfinals
#1 Winthrop 83, #8 High Point 54
#5 Longwood 77, #4 UNC Asheville 61
#2 Radford 67, #7 Hampton 52
#3 Campbell 63, #6 Gardner-Webb 57
Thursday’s semifinals
#3 Campbell 78, #2 Radford 60
#1 Winthrop 82, #5 Longwood 61
Sunday championship
#3 Campbell at #1 Winthrop, Noon (ESPN)
Big South women’s tournament pairings:
Saturday’s first round
#10 Charleston Southern (4-14) at #7 UNC Asheville (9-10), Noon
#9 USC Upstate (5-11) at #8 Winthrop (5-15), 4 p.m.
Monday’s quarterfinals
#8/9 winner at #1 High Point (17-3), 6 p.m.
#5 Presbyterian (10-8) at #4 Gardner-Webb (10-7), 7 p.m.
#7/10 winner at #2 Campbell (11-4), 6 p.m.
#6 Radford (9-9) at #3 Longwood (12-6), 7 p.m.
March 11 semifinals
at higher seeded teams
March 14 championship
at highest remaining seed, 2 p.m.