Wednesday’s roundup: Schedule changes for Charlotte 49ers and Belmont Abbey basketball, Gastonia’s Whiteside signs with new team
By Richard Walker
A look at the local sports roundup for Wednesday, November 25:
Men’s college basketball
Belmont Abbey and Charlotte have added non-conference games this weekend in what is now being called the 49ers Tip-Off Classic at Halton Arena.
Charlotte earlier in the week lost its season-opening two games when COVID-19 issues led to the cancellation of the Volunteer Classic at the University of Tennessee and Belmont Abbey’s season-opening Wednesday home game with Queens was postponed.
Queens was invited as the only NCAA Division II school in the Paradise Jam in Washington, D.C., this weekend after COVID-19 issues forced Northeastern to withdraw from the event.
Charlotte now faces East Carolina at 3 p.m. on Friday and Belmont Abbey faces East Carolina at 3 p.m. on Saturday at Halton Arena before Charlotte and Belmont Abbey meet Monday at 6 p.m. at Halton Arena in a game that was already scheduled.
Due to state and local restrictions, fans will not be permitted in Halton Arena for the event.
Appalachian State 74, Charlotte 68: The 49ers suffered their first season-opening loss since the 2009-10 season.
Appalachian State built a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter and held off a Charlotte rally.
Junior Jazmin Harris had 19 points and nine rebounds to lead Charlotte, which plays again Monday at 2 p.m. at Halton Arena against Clemson.
Elon 88, Gardner-Webb 60: Former Ashbrook standout Evonna McGill started and had seven points and seven rebounds in 10 minutes as the visiting Phoenix cruised past Gardner-Webb in the season-opener for both teams.
Alasia Smith scored 21 points to lead Gardner-Webb, which plays again at Auburn on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
High school volleyball
Kings Mountain 3, Ashbrook 0 (25-8, 25-15, 25-22 – on Tuesday): Kings Mountain improved to 4-0 behind Aaliyah Byers (19 kills, 5 service points, 8 digs), Lily Gold (7 kills, 5 service points), Paige Bagwell (19 assists, 8 service points), Ashlyn Wood (13 assists, 11 service points) and Kyann Crocker (9 digs, 16 serve receptions, 9 service points).
Kings Mountain visits Forestview in its next match next Thursday.
Pro basketball
ESPN reported on Wednesday that Gastonia’s Hassan Whiteside has signed a one-year contract with the Sacramento Kings.
Sacramento originally drafted Whiteside out of Marshall in 2010 in the second round of that year’s NBA Draft.
Whiteside attended Gastonia’s Ashbrook, Forestview and Hunter Huss high schools before blossoming as a pro prospect at Lenoir’s Patterson School.
Whiteside averaged 15.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and 2.9 blocks last season for the Portland Trail Blazers and have averaged 13.7 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in 410 career NBA games for the Kings, Miami Heat and Blazers.