Thursday’s Rewind: Mecklenburg boys flex NCHSAA playoff muscle, send 6 to Western Elite 8
Top-ranked and top-seeded North Mecklenburg sat out the first round of the 4A state boys’ basketball playoffs, but the Vikings showed no rust Thursday night.
North Mecklenburg, coming off a first-round playoff bye, hit on all cylinders in the first quarter, scoring 29 points and building a lead that carried the Vikings past visiting South Mecklenburg 89-68.
It was a big night for Mecklenburg County teams. Six advanced to the third round of Saturday’s N.C. High School Athletic Association playoffs. North Meck will be joined Saturay by Ardrey Kell, Hough, Independence, Olympic and Vance.
At North Meck, Vikings coach Duane Lewis said he was pleased with his team’s effort.
“We talk about it all the time,” Lewis said of his team’s No. 1 seed. “We tell our team that the other guys will be coming at them hard. We can’t afford any ‘off’ nights.”
And while the Sabres (13-12) showed plenty of grit and cut a big deficit to 11 points late in the third quarter, North Mecklenburg (27-1) was able to step on the gas and pull away.
“At this time of year, everybody is playing hard,” Lewis said. “And beating a No. 1 seed can make another team’s season.”
“They played well,” Lewis said of the Sabres. “They didn’t quit. That’s what we expect from every team we play.”
The next team North Mecklenburg plays will be Greensboro Grimsley, at home Saturday night in the third round.
South Mecklenburg trailed only 10-8 halfway through the first quarter after a Matthew Kupreanik layup, but the Vikings outscored the Sabres 19-7 for the rest of the quarter. That surge included three three-point field goals by senior Tristan Maxwell.
North Mecklenburg led 42-23 at halftime, but the Sabres cut the gap to 58-47 with 43 seconds left in the third quarter after a 10-0 run. But Trayden Williams, who led the Vikings with 22 points, hit a three-pointer with 17 seconds left in the period. South Mecklenburg never got close again.
THREE WHO MATTERED
Trayden Williams, North Mecklenburg: A senior, Williams scored a game-high 22 points and forced at least a half-dozen Sabre turnovers with his strong defensive play.
Tristan Maxwell, North Mecklenburg: His 21 points came in the first three quarters and included five three-pointers.
Bo Davidson, South Mecklenburg: A senior forward, Davidson came off the bench and hit four three-pointers, finishing with 13 points.
WORTH MENTIONING
▪ The Vikings forced 12 first-half South Mecklenburg turnovers but played a clean game defensively. The Sabres didn’t get to the foul line until the third quarter.
▪ Both teams shot well. North Mecklenburg hit 33-of-62 from the floor for 53 percent. South Mecklenburg shot 50 percent, making 26-of-52. The Sabres were sharp in the second half, shooting 55 percent (16-of-29).
▪ The Vikings held South Mecklenburg’s season-long scoring leader, Joseph Ferrante, to eight points -- about five points below his season average.
THEY SAID IT
“Trayden (Williams) is a major force on defense. His pressure allows our wings to anticipate. He’s as good as it gets on the defensive end of the floor.” -- North Mecklenburg coach Duane Lewis.
What’s next?
South Mecklenburg, which started four seniors and a junior (Ferrante) reached the second round of the playoffs. North Mecklenburg is home against Greensboro Grimsley at 7 p.m. Saturday in the third round.
QUICK LINKS
Thursday’s second round scores, Saturday’s schedule
Private school star is boys player of the week
Charter school star is girls player of the week
Cox Mill overcomes player loss, tragedy to advance to third round
Elevator
↑Donovan Atwell, Lake Norman Charter: 6-5 sophomore broke the school-record for made 3-pointers against Franklin. He has 184. Atwell made six 3s and sored 22 points in a 78-51 win.
↑Ardrey Kell boys: beat Harding to reach third round for the third straight year.
↑Charlotte Catholic defense: Cougars didn’t allow Central Cabarrus to score more than 10 points in any quarter of its 71-35 second round win.
↑Independence: Patriots (21-7) won their 10th straight game, 62-54 over Richmond Senior in the third round of the NC 4A playoffs. Anthony Allen had 16 for Independence. Junior Nygie Stroman had 31 for Richmond (20-9)
↑Mecklenburg County girls: four of the eight remaining 4A Western teams are from Charlotte: Providence, North Meck, Mallard Creek and Vance.
Best Thing I Heard About Thursday
In the Raleigh-area, Green Hope senior Tyler Trexler has been battling cancer. In Thursday’s playoff 88-55 loss to Garner, the teams arranged for Trexler to get a bucket in his final high school game.
Thursday’s #BIG5 Girls Top Performers
Mariah Barrie, Central Cabarrus: 20 points, six rebounds in a 58-45 win over Southwest Guilford. Teammates Ja’el Miller (16 points, five rebounds, five assists) and Aniyah Tate (13 points, 13 rebounds) had big games.
Nevaeh Brown, Samyha Suffren, Mallard Creek: combined for 44 points -- 22 each -- in an 81-55 win over Independence. Braylyn Milton had 20 for the Patriots.
Chyna Cornwell, Newton-Conover: 25 points, 17 rebounds in a 71-28 win over Bandys.
Neveah Farmer, North Mecklenburg: 17 points, two assists and two steals in a 74-63 win over Myers Park in 4A. Jessica Timmons (13 points, 10 rebounds, four steals, four assists), Alonna Dunlap (16 points, seven rebounds) and Zoey Henderson (10 points, three steals) had strong games.
Nyla McGill, Providence: 13 points, nine assists, seven rebounds, five steals ina 56-46 win over Hickory Ridige. She scored her 1,000th career point and got her 500th career assist in the win. She already has more than 500 career rebounds.
Thursday’s #BIG5 Boys Top Performers
James Freeman, Freedom: 26 points in a 78-56 win over Greensboro Dudley .Teammate Bradley Davis added 20.
Troy Fulton, Sam Cogan, Lincoln Charter: combied for 47 points in a 85-68 winover Union Academy. Fulton had 25 points and Cogan 22 for Lincoln Charter (26-2).
Trey Green, Vance: 29 points for the freshman in a 88-78 win over Winston-Salem Glenn.
Beau Maye, Hough: 27 points, 11 rebounds in a 63-54 win over Winston-Salem Reynolds.
Evan Smith, Ardrey Kell: game-high 18 points for the sophomore in a 53-45 win over SoMECK 7 rival Harding. Kobe Funderburk had 16 for the Rams.
NCIAA all-star game tips Saturday
The rosters for the 2020 N.C. private school all-star game have been announced. The boys and girls all-star games will be played Saturday, Feb. 29 at Providence Day.
The girls game will start at 1 p.m., followed by the boys approximately at 2:30. Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for students and kids under 8 are free.
Head coaches and athletic directors from across the state nominated 100 players for consideration for the game, then a selected committee narrowed the teams.
EAST BOYS: Christian Bailey, Greensboro Day; Dji Bailey, Greenfield School (Wake Forest); Kaleb Brooks, Wesleyan Christian; Todd Burt Jr., Trinity Christian; Jaylon Gibson, Grace Christian (Wake Forest); Cam Hayes, Greensboro Day (N.C. State); Creighton Lebo, Greenfield; Zavian McLean, Village Christian (Columbia); Cason Pierce, Greensboro Day; Myljael Poteat, The Burlington School (Rice); Aymoric Tossaint, Freedom Christian; Trey Pittman, Greenfiled; Carson McCorkle, Greensboro Day, injured (Virginia). Coach: Tim McKenna, Durham Academy
WEST BOYS: Will Coble, Davidson Day; Garrett Hien, First Assembly (Furman); Myles Hunter, Carmel Christian (Youngstown State); CJ Huntley, Davidson Day (App State); Randy Johnson, Charlotte Latin (Holy Cross); Peter Lash, Charlotte Christian; Ambaka Le Gregam, First Assembly (Presbyterian); Tyler McKinney, Asheville Christian (Lincoln Memorial); Jaden Seymour, Northside Christian; Seth Smith, Victory Christian; Jackson Threadgill, Davidson Day (Charlotte); Cheick Traore, First Assembly (Youngstown State). Coach: Chris Berger, Charlotte Latin
EAST GIRLS: Marissa Lee, Lee Christian; Christa Dutton, North Raleigh Christian; Hadiya Balser, O’Neal; Deri Akdeniz, Rabun Gap; Chloe Kernan, Cape Fear (Washington University); Kelly Baker, Ravenscroft; Emily Hayman, Ravenscroft; Macy Fredericksen, Ravenscroft; Shelby Woods, Cary Christian (Meredith); Noni Russell, Fayetteville Christian; Aileen Marquez, Rabun Gap. Coach: Lulu Brase, O’Neal School
WEST GIRLS: Viktoria McCue, Covenant Day; Nina-Simone Clark, Providence Day; Emma Coles, Charlotte Christian; Kailey Smith, Providence Day; Kennedy Grier, Charlotte Country Day; Morgan Kelson, Providence Day (Claflin); Aniyah Vanhook, Burlington School; Grace Godwin, Providence Day; Triniti Lockhart, First Assembly; Andi Levitz, Providence Day; MiLeia Owens, Providence Day; Caroline Sikkink, Asheville Christian; Molina Williams, Burlington School (Charlotte). Coach: Tavores Vanhook, Burlington School
This story was originally published February 28, 2020 at 2:59 AM.
