Tuesday’s Roundup: JC Tharrington, Christian whip Country Day in CISAA showdown

Elevator

↑Mallard Creek: The Mavericks got 21 points from Demetri Dixon and upset Hough 67-62. Mallard Creek (5-10, 1-5 I-MECK) won for the fifth time in its past six games. Hough (9-7, 3-3) got 18 points from Myles Washington and 12 from Beau Maye.

↑Lincolnton defense: Wolves beat North Lincoln 77-43, allowing just 16 points in the first half. Robbie Cowie had 19 for Lincolnton (12-2, 5-1).

↑Jai Rorie, Nas Tyson, Marshville Forest Hills: Players combined for 53 points in a 72-48 win over Mount Pleasant (9-6, 1-1 Rocky River). Rorie had 27 points and Tyson 26 for the Yellow Jackets (12-1, 2-0), the No. 5 ranked team in the Sweet 16.

↑Statesville Christian: after a 15-0 start, the Lions had lost three of four, including Saturday’s 64-32 loss to state power The Burlington School. But Statesville Christian bounced back Tuesday, holding Hickory Christian to four points in the second quarter. Breenan Settle (21 points), Christian Bailey (16), Scott Harvey (13) and Marcus Henderson (13) led the Lions (17-3).

↑Alex Cluff, D’Marco Small, Pine Lake Prep: 23 points, 10 rebounds for Cluff, 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists, five steals for Small in a 76-66 win over Mountain Island Charter.

↑Grant Williams, Providence Day/Tennessee: Williams, a former two-time Charlotte Observer player of the year, had a career-high 37 points and seven rebounds for the Volunteers in a nationally televised SEC win over Vanderbilt Tuesday.

Links to more content

Tuesday’s boys basketball capsules

Tuesday’s girls roundup: #BIG5 performers, Elevator, Country Day blows past rival Charlotte Christian

Tuesday’s girls basketball summaries

NC Preps All-State private school football team

Statewide media basketball poll, other statewide polls

Tuesday’s #BIG5 Performers

Fletcher Abee, Morganton Freedom: career-high 40 points, on nine made 3-point shots in a 81-52 win over Alexander Central. Freedom made 16 3-pointers for the game and Abee passed the 1,000-point mark for his career. Abee also tied the school-record for most made 3s in a game.

Devon Dotson, Trey Wertz, Isaac Suffren, Providence Day: Chargers’ Big 3 had big games in a 76-62 CISAA conference win over Charlotte Latin that ended a two-game losing streak: 22 points, seven assists, five rebounds for Dotson; 20 points, 10 rebounds, five assists for Wertz; and 19 points, 11 rebounds, three assists for Suffren.

Jalen Harris, Olympic: 6-4 senior had 26 points, 10 rebounds in a 63-59 win over Ardrey Kell in a game between first and second place teams in the SoMeck. Harris has scholarship offers from Stetson and Radford.

Andra McKee, Jamarius Burton, Independence: 25 points, nine rebounds, four steals for McKee; 17 points, four rebounds and one huge defensive suggestion from Burton in a 75-74 win over Rocky River in the game of the night (more below).

Brice Williams, Zack Dixon, Hopewell: Williams, a 6-7 junior, had 32 points in an 86-82 double-overtime win over Lake Norman. Dixon, a 6-2 senior, had 22.

Sweet 16 Spotlight

No. 2 Independence 75, No. 7 Rocky River 74: Playing in front of a huge crowd at Rocky River, Independence got down by nine points at halftime and rallied by playing better defense. Coach Preston Davis also tossed a couple zone presses at the Ravens, which he said helped.

Finally, Jamarius Burton, playing in front of a UMass coach, hit two free throws with less than a minute left to put Independence up 75-73. After Rocky River hit a free throw, Independence missed two free throws with 19.5 seconds left. So down a point, Rocky River had a chance to win on its final possession. In a timeout, Burton made a suggestion to play a 1-3-1 zone. Davis said he made the decision to trust his player. The zone Burton suggested so befuddled the Ravens that they couldn’t get a game-winning shot attempt off. Raja Milton got a steal to end the game.

Jaden Springer had 27 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks for Rocky River (11-4, 4-2). Teammate D-Stone Dubar had 20 for the Ravens, who lost a chance to tie for first place in the Southwestern 4A. Independence (15-1, 6-0) won its sixth straight game.

“These kids just got stops and we made plays at the end,” Davis said. “We got to the basket and we got a big lift from a couple kids, like sophomore Anthony Allen, who gave us two big (3-point shots) early in the second half. They did a good job of being mentally tough and fighting through. I got a technical arguing a call, but the kids responded. They kept fighting and kept working. In a rivalry game like that, there’s a lot of chirping going on between players and they never lost focus.”

No. 3 Concord Cox Mill 78, Concord 38: Wendell Moore had 26 points, seven rebounds and UNC signee Rechon Black had 22 points, eight rebounds in an easy win. Concord trailed 42-16 at halftime.

No. 4 Butler 84, Garinger 38: Butler senior DJ Little scored 12 points and got his 1,000th career point in the win. Butler (14-2, 4-2 Southwestern 4A) won its eighth game in a row by outscoring Garinger 42-10 in the second half. Jordan McPhatter had 18 and Jalen Gibson 14 for the Bulldogs.

No. 6 Hickory 68, Watauga 35: Hickory (11-1) got 20 points from Jaquan Thurman in an easy win. Hickory led 17-4 after the first quarter and 40-15 at half. Bryant Greene had 16 for Watauga.

No. 14 Olympic 63, Ardrey Kell 59, OT: Ardrey Kell got a big defensive stop to send the game into overtime. But Olympic (13-3, 5-0 SoMeck) won in a battle for first place in the league. Kameron Flynn had 19, Luke Stankavage had 17 and David Kasaganay 16 for Ardrey Kell (13-4, 4-2).

No. 15 Lincoln Charter 87, Bessemer City 54: Presbyterian signee Kody Shubert had 22 points, seven assists and Jackson Gabriel had 17 points, five assists in an easy win for the reigning 1A state champs. Lincoln Charter (13-3, 2-0 Southern Piedmont) led 24-7 after the first quarter.

Tuesday’s Roundup

Concord Cannon 63, Covenant Day 44: Cannon got 23 points, 15 rebounds from nationally ranked senior Jairus Hamilton in an easy win. Cannon led 18-8 after the first quarter and 35-17 at halftime. Drew Patterson had 24 for Covenant Day.

Concord First Assembly 71, Northside Christian 51: 6-8 sophomore Cheick Traore had 15 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks in a solid win. First Assembly outscored Northside 20-10 in a decisive third quarter. Stephen Edoka had six points, 11 rebounds for CFA, which also got 14 points and five assists from Eli Cupples. John Jones (15 points) and Jon Hicklin (13) led Northside.

West Charlotte 68, Mooresville 42: Patrick Williams had 22 points and Cartier Jernigan (13) and Devontez Walker (12) were also in double-figures for the Lions. West Charlotte busted the game open with an 18-5 run in the third quarter.

By The Numbers

5-10: Lincoln Charter’s Jackson Gabriel made 5-of-10 3-point shots against Bessemer City.

5: All five Gaston Day starters sat out the Spartans’ 70-50 win over Rock Hill’s Westminster Catawba School. The starters -- Nate Hinton, Quan McCluney, John Crump, MJ Armstrong and Demi Adelekun -- did not dress and sat on the team bench in team sweats. The players were not hurt and were not being disciplined. Ja’kai Belton, a junior guard, had 25 points, five assists, four steals and made 5-of-8 3-point shots. He had 18 points in the first quarter. Junior Dylan Bowen had 22 points, three steals and made 6-of-8 3-point shots.

25: Points scored by Charlotte Christian junior JC Tharrington, a game-high, in a 73-38 win over rival Charlotte Country Day. Tharrington, who scored 18 points in the third quarter, played middle school ball at Country Day. Tharrington and the Knights, No. 13 in the Observer’s Sweet 16, have a Friday showdown at No. 10 Providence Day Friday.

29: East Lincoln beat West Lincoln 96-60 Tuesday, behind 27 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals from Kabian McClendon. East Lincoln (11-4, 5-1) has won 29 straight games over West (1-12, 0-6). The streak dates to the 2004-05 season.

30: Connor Reed of Lake Norman Charter scored at least 30 points for the second time this season. He had 30 points, on 7-of-11 3-point shooting, in an 80-65 win over Catawba Bandys Tuesday. Reed has topped 20 points 10 times this season. Tuesday, he also had six steals, five rebounds, two assists and two blocks.

Move of the night

Rocky River lost to Independence in a battle of Sweet 16 teams in front of a sold-out crowd at home, but not before sophomore guard Jaden Springer put on a move that audibly left a fan screaming, “Oh my God.”

Watch (hat tip: Chris Hemphill, 8 Balla)

This story was originally published January 10, 2018 at 12:51 AM with the headline "Tuesday’s Roundup: JC Tharrington, Christian whip Country Day in CISAA showdown."