Thursday’s boys roundup: No. 2 North Meck’s free throw shooting help it advance past NW Guilford

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↑Robinson 3-point shooting: the reigning N.C. 3A state champion Bulldogs shot 10-for-21 from the 3-point line in a 89-74 win at North Buncombe in the second round of the playoffs Thursday. Robinson also outrebounded North Buncombe 47-28.

↑Zion Williamson, Spartanburg Day: This guy is bucket-list good. You have to see him once. Here’s Thursday’s highlight reel. Oh, before you watch, now this: UNC coach Roy Williams, who saw Williamson play earlier this week, was back again Thursday. Spartanburg Day beat Trinity Byrnes 72-67 in the semifinals. Williamson had 37 points, 14 rebounds, five steals and four blocks. Spartanburg Day will play Christian Academy in Saturday’s state final, at 12:30 at the Sumter Civic Center.

↑Cade O’Connell, Lake Norman Charter: junior is slated to be the school’s starting quarterback next fall. He was in a serious car accident Thursday afternoon that closed part of Old Statesville Road. He was in a Jeep, according to sources, that flipped on its hood. Via a private communications site, the school informed students that O’Connell’s prognosis was good Thursday afternoon. Thursday night, he got several showings of support from students as Lake Norman Charter got 24 points from Grayson Hickert, 19 from Troy Cracknell and 16 from Connor Reed in a 71-49 win over Wheatmore to reach the Sweet 16 for the fifth straight season.

↑Nas Tyson, Forest Hills: steal and coast-to-coast layup as time expired gave the Yellow Jackets a 81-79 win over Salisbury and a berth in the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight year. Tyson finished with 27 points. Jai Rorie had 21, Jaleel McLaughlin had 13 and Tyrese Barbour 11 for Forest Hills. Trell Baker had 27 for Salisbury and Trey Oates had 25. Video below:

Thursday’s #BIG5 Performers

Lavar Batts, Concord Robinson: VCU recruit had 25 points, 12 assists and five rebounds against North Buncombe. He made 5-of-8 3-point attempts. Batts finished the game with 2,111 career points to break the Cabarrus County record of 2,092 held by Kelsee Cheek.

Sage Surratt, Lincolnton; Cameron Dollar, East Lincoln: Surratt had 31 points, 10 rebounds, six assists in a second round win over East Lincoln, his old school. Dollar, playing his final high school game, had a memorable outing against his good friend: 42 points, eight rebounds. Dollar will play football for Charlotte’s 49ers next fall.

Quay Kimble, Shelby: 41 points in a 69-65 win over Thomasville. Yes, he scored 59 percent of his team’s points.

Ryan Schwieger, Weddington: school-record 43 points, plus 14 rebounds for Princeton signee in a 74-59 win over rival Marvin Ridge. Weddington will play Concord Robinson at home Saturday at 7 in a game that will match two of the state’s top 10 seniors: No. 7 Schwieger and No. 1 Lavar Batts of Robinson.

Jaden Springer, Rocky River: freshman erupted for 39 points in an 87-59 win at Greensboro Dudley in the second round of the 4A playoffs. Mikey Maddox added 19 for the Ravens (18-10), who will play at unbeaten Butler Saturday night.

Thursday’s Roundup

No. 1 Butler 108, Richmond Senior 88: Butler coach Myron Lowery promised his team wouldn’t slow the ball down against high-scoring Richmond Senior, which had topped 100 points 17 times. But Lowery also said he didn’t plan on giving up 100 points, either. Butler scored 100 plus, didn’t allow it, and won easily to advance to Saturday’s third round at home against Southwestern 4A rival Rocky River. Junior guard D.J. Little had a career-high 32 points. Jah’Lil Carter had 22 and Tarique Stowe added 10. Leon Ziegler, who had 42 points in Tuesday’s 123-118 win over Vance, finished with 38 for the Raiders.

No. 2 North Meck 90, Northwest Guilford 76: Vikings made 13-of-13 free throw attempts in the final 82 seconds to help seal the win. Jalen Lowery had 28 points and seven rebounds. Tristan Maxwell had 17 points. Jae’Lyn Withers had 13 points, seven rebounds; Terrell Sherman had 11 rebounds and junior point guard Vaud Worthy had nine points and nine assists.

No. 12 Lincoln Charter 76, Mountain Island Charter 49: Lincoln Charter outscored Mountain Island 23-2 in a decisive second quarter in a game where all five starters scored in double figures. Jehlon Johnson had 16 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks. London England had 14 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

Community School of Davidson 81, Queens Grant 66: senior guard Joey Knox made 12-of-15 2-point shots and 3-of-6 3s to score 34 points and lead his team to third round of the playoffs for the first time. CSD sophomore Brandon Ellington had 10 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two steals.

This story was originally published February 23, 2017 at 11:24 PM with the headline "Thursday’s boys roundup: No. 2 North Meck’s free throw shooting help it advance past NW Guilford."