Lincolnton High’s 2-sport star Sage Surratt continues assault on N.C. record books

In the midst of what could be the best year any N.C. high school two-sport athlete has ever had, Linconlton High’s Sage Surratt said he doesn’t dwell on his accomplishments or record-setting performances.

“I’m not trying to get too caught up in it,” Surratt, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound senior, said Sunday. “I’m trying to focus on playing and enjoying my last season while still trying to get back to the state (basketball) championship. I can’t get caught up in anything I’m doing, or records I’ll break, or anything like that. That will take my mind off the ultimate goal.”

Friday night, Surratt had a career-high 57 points in a 104-84 win against Bandys. He made 21-of-37 field goal attempts, 13-of-20 free throws and had 15 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. It was his third 50-point game this season, and his second 50-point game in a six-day span.

This is from a guy who in football was the Associated Press N.C. Offensive Player of the Year after setting state records for single-season catches (129) and single-season yards (2,104) as a wide receiver. Surratt also owns the state’s career records for receptions (366), receiving yards (5,926) and touchdown catches (80). Monday, he was named to the Parade All-America football team.

“It’s just truly amazing,” said Lincolnton boys’ basketball coach Bob Cowie. “As good as he is in football, he can score in so many ways (in basketball). You think of big games as a player scoring 30 or 35 points. The second game of the year, against Bandys, he scores 55. I was shocked when I looked at the scorebook. I had to read it twice. I thought it was a mistake.”

On Wednesday, Surratt will sign to play college football at Wake Forest, adding that he’s “100 percent committed” to football. But he is having quite the basketball season. According to Associated Press records, no N.C. boys’ player has ever won the wire service’s football and basketball player of the honor in the same school year.

Surratt, whose brother Chazz was AP’s football player of the year after the 2015 season, could be the first.

For the season, Surratt is averaging 37.8 points, which ranks third nationally, according to MaxPreps, which tracks high school performances nationwide. Surratt also averages 11.1 rebounds and 5.7 assists, which both rank among the top 25 in North Carolina.

In his past four games, Surratt has scored 191 points, tying a state record with four straight games of 40 or more points. He’s scored 2,619 career points and passed former Garner guard Donald Williams and former Bandys star Vernon Odom on the N.C. High School Athletic Association career scoring lists Friday night. Surratt is No. 4 all-time. The state record of 3,307 points is held by former Eastern Alamance star JamesOn Curry. And the 57 points Surratt scored Friday is the seventh-highest total recorded by an NCHSAA player.

“I think he can keep it up,” said Cowie, whose team plays at Bunker Hill Tuesday. “We want to make sure we’re doing it within what our team can accomplish. We’re looking to still win conference, the conference tournament and advance as far in the playoffs as we can. We think we’ve got a great chance and think we have one of the best teams in the state, and as Sage gets all this individual attention, we want to make sure it relates back to our team success.”

Lincolnton is 15-1 and trying to reach its first state championship game since 1993. Surratt, who transferred from rival East Lincoln before the school year, has played in the past two state 2A finals. He’s won a football championship but seeks his first title in basketball.

Surratt said the individual success is nice, but winning a state title is his goal.

“I’m just scoring in the flow of the game,” he said. “That’s not my goal to go out and hit 57. I don’t even know until somebody comes up and tells me what I had. My biggest priority has been to get to states. It’s hard to go back-to-back and lose both.

“That made me work a lot harder in the offseason and during the season to get back and get over the hump and win one. But first you have to get there. There are no guarantees.”

This story was originally published January 30, 2017 at 6:33 PM with the headline "Lincolnton High’s 2-sport star Sage Surratt continues assault on N.C. record books."