Butler High duo among Charlotte Observer prep basketball players of the week
Butler High’s Gerrale Gates and D.J. Little are the Charlotte Observer boys high school basketball players of the week.
The pair sparked one of the biggest regular-season wins in recent school history in Saturday’s 73-72 overtime win over N.C. Independent state power Cannon School. Gates, a 6-foot-6 New Orleans signee finished with 25 points, 12 rebounds. Little had 23 points, four rebounds, two assists, one block and a steal. In Tuesday’s 78-55 win over South Meck, Little had 32 points and Gates had 17.
Other selections:
Dami Adelekun, Gaston Day: 6-foot-8 junior had 24 points, 23 rebounds, four blocks in a feature Charlotte Hoops Challenge game with Providence Day Friday.
Devon Dotson, Trey Wertz, Isaac Suffren, Providence Day: In games last week against SouthLake Christian, NCISAA 2A state semifinalist Gaston Day and NCHSAA 3A state champ Cox Mill, Dotson averaged 21.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists; Wertz averaged 20.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists; and Suffren averaged 16.6 points, 6.3 rebounds.
London England, Levontae Knox, Lincoln Charter: England had 22 points, 12 rebounds and five steals in Saturday’s 99-94 overtime over reigning N.C. 4A state champ Southwest Guilford. Knox had 26 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and six steals for the reigning N.C. 1A state champions.
Donovan Gregory, Carmel Christian: 31 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block in a 71-67 win over St. Francis Academy at the Holiday Hoopsgiving tournament in Georgia Saturday.
Wendell Moore Jr., Cox Mill: National top 30 recruit in the class of 2019 sparked a 64-59 win over Providence Day in a battle of the two top ranked teams in the Observer’s Sweet 16 poll Saturday. Moore had 27 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks.
JC Tharrington, Blake Preston, Charlotte Christian: Tharrington had 24 points nine assists Saturday in a 75-47 win over Holy Innocents Epsicopal at the Holiday Hoopsgiving event in Georgia. He had 26 points, 10 assists in a win over then No. 7 Kings Mountain last week. Preston averaged 16 points and 16 rebounds in Georgia and had 17 points, 12 rebounds at Kings Mountain.
Girls Players of the Week
Kennedy Boyd, Providence Day: after scoring a career-high 27 points in Friday’s win over Sweet 16 No. 5 South Mecklenburg, Boyd topped that with 29 points, eight rebounds against Butler Saturday morning. Boyd is a UNC recruit.
Mallorie Haines, Catawba Bandys: freshman had 28 points, a game-high, in a 58-43 win over Hickory St. Stephens last Monday. Haines made five 3-point shots and only played three quarters in her season-debut. A day later, she had a school-record 48 points, 10 rebounds and nine steals, including the game-winning shot, in a 66-65 win over Claremont Bunker Hill.
Michela Lane, Michaela Dixon, Butler: Lane had 18 points, 12 rebounds and made 9-of-13 shots in a 56-50 upset win over then No. 7 Providence Day at the Charlotte Hoops Challenge. Dixon had 17 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks. She made 5-of-8 shots.
Michelle Ojo, Journey Muhammad, Ardrey Kell: Ojo, a 6-foot freshman, had 17 points, 12 rebounds and three steals as the Knights, then ranked No. 2 in the Sweet 16, took down No. 1 Mallard Creek 54-43 at the Charlotte Hoops Challenge Saturday. Muhammad, a 5-4 senior, made 4-of-10 3-point attempts and finished with 16 points, four rebounds and an assist. She played all 32 minutes.
Jessica Timmons, North Mecklenburg: game-high 23 points plus nine assists in a 77-50 win over Independence in the championship game of the Leroy Holden Challenge Saturday. In her past three games, Timmons has scored 95 points.
This story was originally published November 27, 2017 at 6:26 PM with the headline "Butler High duo among Charlotte Observer prep basketball players of the week."