Elevator

Today's big game: Kennedy Charter vs. Northside at 6:50 tonight could be the best high school game in Charlotte this year (read more at obsprepspot.blogspot.com). UP

Today's boys' semifinals: Tournament organizers probably should've put together pairings so Northside and Kennedy Charter could only meet in the final. DOWN

Tournament field: Organizers are on the right track this year after two off seasons. The boys' field, especially, is really strong. UP

Ticket prices: Students 18-and-under get in for $6. That's a good day of ball for the price of one regular-season ticket. UP

Results and Pairings

Tuesday's boys' scores: Kennedy Charter 97, Queens Grant 63; Northside 64, Forestview 44; Mooresville 57, Ardrey Kell 47; Davidson Day 73, First Assembly 47.

Today's boys' semifinals at Bojangles' Coliseum: Kennedy Charter vs. Northside, 6:50 p.m.; Mooresville vs. Davidson Day, 8:30 p.m.

Today's boys' consolations: Queens Grant vs. Forestview, 10:40 a.m.; Ardrey Kell vs. First Assembly, 1:50 p.m.

Tuesday's girls' scores: Hickory Ridge 55, Queens Grant 39; Berry 44, Anson 42; Forestview 43, Hough 41; Ardrey Kell 63, Covenant Day 30.

Today's girls' semifinals: Hickory Ridge vs. Berry, 3:30 p.m.; Forestview vs. Ardrey Kell, 5:10 p.m.

Today's girls' consolations: Queens Grant vs. Anson County, 9 a.m.; Hough vs. Covenant Day, 12:10 p.m.

Tuesday's Top Performers

Christelle Shembo, Ardrey Kell girls: Wake Forest recruit shot 70 percent from the field and scored 16 points to go with 8 rebounds, 6 steals and 3 assists in 63-30 win over Covenant Day.

Tia Evans and Jordan Strode, Hickory Ridge girls: Evans had 24 points and 8 rebounds in 55-39 win over Queens Grant. Strode, a 1,000-point career scorer, had a triple-double: 19 points, 11 rebounds, 11 steals.

Essence Baucom, Berry girls: Alabama-Birmingham recruit had 17 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds in 44-42 win over Anson Senior.

Dre Howell, Mooresville: 14 points, 6 rebounds, 5 steals, 4 assists in 57-47 win over Ardrey Kell.

Notes/Observations

Former Charlotte 49ers star Henry Williams is an assistant coach at Hough, where his daughter, Kristen, is a sophomore guard.

Tournament organizers really need to consider changing the schedule a little. Putting two girls' games back-to-back in the 3:30 and 5:10 time slots has really taken away from the afternoon momentum the past few years. I might play all the girls' games first and then the boys, until the final day, when the girls' championship would come before the boys'.

If this tournament is going to keep the current local-only format, which is fine, it needs to get the big-name local schools. If, say, West Charlotte, Olympic and United Faith were here on the boys' side, and Myers Park, Charlotte Christian and Providence Day's girls were here, too, this would be quite a stellar field.

Really impressed with how well coached Ardrey Kell's girls are. They ran plays to perfection and played great team defense. ... The college-size floor caused some endurance problems for many players, but I loved seeing the kids play with the extra room.

Tuesday's Rewind

Kennedy Charter 97, Queens Grant 63: Unbeaten Kennedy Charter started slow against Queens Grant, slowed by a zone defense, but the Eagles pulled away behind 17 points each from Donte' Clark, J.J. Douglas and Shaquille Cherry.

Queens Grant got 18 points each from Kriston Beasley and Trey Brown.

Northside Christian 64, Forestview 44: Northside gave up 22 points in the second quarter and led only by three in the first half as Forestview rallied from a 15-point early deficit. In the second half, Northside's defense caused Forestview all kinds of problems. The Jaguars scored only 15 points and shot 32 percent.

Northside got 17 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists from Lawrence Cooks and 16 points, 4 steals and 3 assists from Davon Bell. Forestview's Sean Spencer had 13 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals.

Hickory Ridge girls 55, Queens Grant 39: Hickory Ridge's defense held Queens Grant to single-digit scoring in three of four quarters in a relatively easy win. Hickory Ridge led 33-13 at halftime and was led by 24 points and 8 rebounds from Kiana Davis. Queens Grant got 13 points and four rebounds from Crystal Siamos.

Berry girls 44, Anson Senior 42: Berry rallied to gain a late edge, helped along with a technical foul on Anson for calling a timeout when the Bearcats had none.

Still Anson had a chance to tie the game with 0.04 seconds left, but Bearcats guard Jillian Murray (15 points, 9 steals, 5 rebounds) missed her first free throw. She missed the second intentionally but Berry got the rebound.

Gastonia Forestview girls 43, Hough 41: Forestview's Bre Armstrong hit a driving layup with less than five seconds left to lift her team to the win. Hough had a chance to tie but turned it over on its final possession.

Armstrong finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. Julia Brown led Hough with 18 points and 18 rebounds.

Ardrey Kell girls 63, Covenant Day 30: Ardrey Kell held Covenant Day to 23 percent shooting in an easy first-round win.