HS Boys Basketball Roundup: Harding upsets No. 16 West Charlotte Tuesday

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↑Freddy Johnson, Greensboro Day: legendary Greensboro coach got his 999th win in Tuesday’s 78-50 victory over Charlotte Latin. The Bengals hit 13 3-point shots and Clemson recruit John Newman had a game-high 20 points. Johnson, who has nine state championships, will try to get to 1,000 wins Saturday at the Bobby Martin Classic. Greensboro Day plays Vance at 4:30 p.m. at Winston-Salem Reynolds High School.

↑R-S Central defense: Hilltoppers held East Burke to 23 points in the first three quarters of a 74-35 win. Jacob Knox had 15 for R-S Central (2-0).

↑Independence statement: Patriots upset Sweet 16 No. 9 Olympic 64-46 behind 17 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals from Andra’ McKee. Matthew Smith (12 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks, three steals) and Jamarius Burton (11 points, four assists) had strong games for the Patriots (2-0).

↑Kody Shubert, Lincoln Charter: had 25 points, five assists in a 74-64 win over Fort Mill Comenius. Shubert, a Presbyterian signee, passed the 2,000-point mark for his career. Jehlon Johnson had six points and 10 rebounds for the Eagles.

↑Hunter Tyson, Piedmont: 6-8 senior Clemson recruit had 30 points in Tuesday’s 66-60 win over Porter Ridge. On Monday, Tyson had 29 points in a 69-60 win over Union Academy to become his school’s all-time leading scorer. Before Tuesday’s game, Tyson had 1,460 points and ranked ninth in Union County history.

↑Harding: Upset West Charlotte 44-43 in overtime at West Charlotte. The Lions (2-1) are No. 16 in the Observer’s Sweet 16 poll.

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Tuesday’s #BIG5 Performers

Devon Dotson, Trey Wertz, Providence Day: Dotson, a Kansas signee, had 28 points, four rebounds and four assists in a 69-66 win at SouthLake Christian. Wertz, a Santa Clara signee, finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. Wertz made 5-of-7 3-point attempts.

DJ Little, Gerrale Gates, Butler: Little, a Queens signee, had 32 points; Gates, a New Orleans signee, had 17 in a 78-55 win over South Meck.

Eli Lockhart, Devin Adair, West Mecklenburg: Lockhart had 22 points, 11 rebounds in a 68-59 win over Garinger. Adair added 16 points and 10 rebounds. Myron Hamilton had 15 points for the Hawks (1-1).

Tyler Nelson, Tate Johnson, Metrolina Christian: Nelson had 23 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks in a 71-51 win over Union Academy. He had 15 points and 11 rebounds in Monday’s 74-61 win over Porter Ridge. Johnson had 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists Tuesday. On Monday, he finished with 27 points, seven rebounds and hit six 3-pointers.

JC Tharrington, Blake Preston, Charlotte Christian: Tharrington, a 6-1 junior point guard, had 26 points, 10 assists and one turnover in a 83-60 win over Kings Mountain. Preston, a Liberty signee, had 17 points and 12 rebounds.

Tuesday’s Roundup

No. 1 Cox Mill 87, No. 14 Hough 45: The reigning N.C. 3A state champions made a big statement in their season-opening win against another Sweet 16 team. Cox Mill blew out to a 46-26 halftime lead. Wendell Moore had 23 points and six rebounds for Cox Mill, which will play No. 2 Providence Day Saturday at Berry High in the feature game of the Charlotte Hoops Challenge. UNC recruit Leaky Black had 15 points, five rebounds, and Khalid Davis finished with 14 points and six rebounds.

No. 2 Providence Day 69, SouthLake Christian 66: SouthLake coach Rodney Monroe, the former N.C. State star, designed a brilliant game plan to slow down the game and not allow Providence Day (4-0), which likes to play fast, to get out and run. SouthLake had a shot to tie the game at the buzzer. Isaac Suffren, a 6-3 senior, had 14 points, six rebounds and two assists for Providence Day, which made 24-of-27 free throws to hold off a late SouthLake push. SouthLake senior Madison Monroe, an Army recruit, had a game-high 29 points. Deon Haughton and Jalen Celestine had 13 each for SouthLake.

No. 3 North Mecklenburg 80, Concord Robinson 59: North Meck led by just six at the end of the third quarter but had a major push in the fourth to stay unbeaten. Tristan Maxwell had 21 points, four assists to lead the Vikings. Jae’Lyn Withers added 20 points and 17 rebounds; Chris Ford had 12 points and eight rebounds; and Vaud Worthy 11 points and 13 assists. Jason White had 17 for Robinson and Vi’Chon Means had 15.

No. 4 Butler 78, South Mecklenburg 55: The Bulldogs jumped to a 28-12 first quarter lead and won easily. Raquan Brown had 11 points for the Butler, which plays in this weekend’s Charlotte Hoops Challenge event at Berry High. South Meck’s Chris White had 23 points Tuesday.

No. 5 Charlotte Christian 83, No. 7 Kings Mountain 60: Charlotte Christian (2-0) went to Cleveland County and made a big statement, wearing down a preseason top 10 Sweet 16 team. Paul Hudson had 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Knights. Zeke Littlejohn had 29 points, including 20 in the second half for Kings Mountain. Appalachian State recruit Adrian Delph had 18 points for Kings Mountain and 14 rebounds. Kings Mountain (1-1) was playing without five of its regulars who are still on the Mountaineers football team. Kings Mountain, which joined the Observer’s Sweet 16 this week, has a state quarterfinal football game Friday.

Ardrey Kell 83, Weddington 55: Navy signee David Kasanganay had 17 points, freshman Knoah Carver had 11. Anthony Testa had a career-high nine points, making three 3-point shots for the Knights (3-0). Weddington fell to 2-1.

Gaston Day 84, Raleigh Word of God 58: Gaston Day (3-1) jumped out to a 23-12 first quarter lead and led 48-22 at halftime. College of Charleston signee Quan McCluney had 23 points, nine rebounds and a block. MJ Armstrong had 22 points, three steals, three assists and Houston signee Nate Hinton had 21 points, nine assists and four rebounds. Gaston Day plays No. 2 Providence Day at the Charlotte Hoops Challenge Friday night at Berry High School. Tipoff is 8:30 p.m.

High Point Wesleyan 83, Charlotte Country Day 48: Nationally ranked Wesleyan (5-0) led 22-5 after the first quarter. Wake Forest recruit Jaylen Hoard had 19 points. DeAngelo Epps (14) and Myles Browner (13) led Country Day (2-1).

Hopewell 75, Lake Norman Charter 71: Juniors Brice Williams (16 points) and Jalen Jones (11) led Hopewell in the win. Hopewell led 30-28 at halftime but opened up a double-digit lead in the third quarter. Connor Reed led Lake Norman Charter with 30 points on five made 3-pointers. Noah Allen made four 3-points shots for Lake Norman Charter and finished with 20 points.

Mount Pleasant 56, Gray Stone Day 36: Trey Barnhardt had 17 points and 12 rebounds to help spark Mount Pleasant to the win in its season-opener. Freshman Hunter Sloop had 11 points and 11 rebounds in his career debut, and Brandon Smith added seven points and 13 rebounds. Chase Visconni had 12 for Gray Stone.

Myers Park 56, Providence 53: The Mustangs jumped out to a 23-10 lead and held for the win. John Ingram (17 points), Jake Rutledge (16), Duwe Farris (11) and Caleb McReed (10) led Myers Park. Providence got 25 points from Tate Mulkey and 14 from Patrick Sullivan.

North Gaston 63, South Caldwell 45: Sophomore Tyrese McNeal had 19 points and junior Drew Shaw had 18 to help lead North to a 3-0 start of the road. Each player made three 3-points, and freshman LT Thomas had 11 points. North Gaston shot 17-of-21 from the free throw line. Kevin Anderson had 21 for South Caldwell.

Queens Grant 53, Covenant Day 47: Jah’Quez Sanders had 18 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. Queens Grant (1-0) jumped out to a 28-13 halftime lead and held off a late push from Covenant Day (1-3). Jeremiah Murphy finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds for Queens Grant. Drew Patterson had 24 points for Covenant Day (1-3).

This story was originally published November 22, 2017 at 12:50 AM.