Charlotte high school basketball team snaps 57-game losing streak that spanned 3 years
Garinger High boys basketball coach Jermaine Walker said just winning a basketball game Monday night meant everything for his team. It had been a long time since the Wildcats had done that.
Garinger beat AL Brown 48-36 on the road, and won for the first time in three years. The Wildcats snapped a 57-game losing streak, and for a team that had gone 9-103 over the past five years, hearing the buzzer sound and looking up at that scoreboard felt good.
“I always believed in this group,” Walker said. “We have some pieces. But I think it’s inspiring and frustrating at the same time because I do have high expectations for them. I go into every game thinking we’re going to win and I don’t think they do, and that’s the frustrating part.”
Walker is in his second season and was Garinger’s fourth coach in six years when he was hired. Walker has had success in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools before, coaching winning teams at the old Waddell High and Rocky River. He said coaching at Garinger has been one of his biggest challenges.
“I think for these guys, it’s all about culture,” he said. “Everything is culture. I don’t think they expect to win a lot of the time and what we’re doing is coaching culture. It’s culture over strategy and we’re talking about believing and why it’s important to have confidence. It’s very little teaching of basketball right now.”
At Garinger, athletic success has been hard to come by in most sports in the past several decades, but there have been historical moments:
▪ Garinger won the N.C. 4A state football championship in 1959. It won the N.C. 4A basketball state championship in 1989.
▪ The late Dwight Clark graduated from Garinger in 1975 before he made one of the greatest catches in NFL history with the 49ers in 1982.
▪ And the Garinger girls basketball team was a powerhouse in the early ‘90s, led by 6-foot-4 center Tiffani Johnson, who would be named to the 10-person Parade All-America team and named N.C. Ms. Basketball in 1994. Johnson went on to a career at Tennessee and the WNBA.
More often than not, however, Garinger has been on the wrong side of most box scores.
The football team, for example, snapped a 55-game losing streak in 2017, just four losses short of the N.C. record. But the good vibes didn’t last long.
In February, just hours before the team’s first game of the spring football season began, Garinger football coach Greg Fowler resigned. Garinger lost to Myers Park 49-0 that night. This fall, Garinger beat Berry 22-0 in its second game, but before that coaches tried to only play a junior varsity schedule due to limited numbers and limited players with playing experience.
The Wildcats finished the year 1-8 and forfeited their final three games.
Garinger senior basketball player Camden Jernigan said the losing grates on you but the perception is worse. And that’s why Monday’s win — any win — is so big.
“I just want to win as many games as possible,” Jernigan said. “For a while, the sports aspect has been on the lower end and we want to put it back on the map and show the city what we can do. People think (Garinger is) a bad school, that it’s a ghetto school and the kids are just bad and we don’t learn anything. We have great teachers, a great principal, but people always mistake us for the bad kids. But it’s really not like that once you get to know us for us.”
Jernigan played his first two seasons at West Charlotte before he transferred over to Garinger. He led the Wildcats in scoring at 16.3 points per game last season. This year, Jernigan and fellow seniors Shymir Dodson and Justin Moore have become the team leaders. Led by that trio, Garinger has been competitive in some games this year, like a close game with Mooresville last week and a one-point loss to N.C. Independent Schools 1A power Victory Christian on Nov. 27.
But Monday, Walker said, felt like a breakthrough, something to build on.
Garinger plays at East Mecklenburg (5-3) on Tuesday. And East Meck is undergoing a turnaround of its own. The Eagles were 2-7 last season and 3-22 the year before.
“It puts things in perspective a lot of times,” Walker said of coaching at Garinger. “A lot of times, we as coaches get caught up in the Xs and Os, not realizing there’s more to it. Some of these kids don’t know what it feels like to win and how hard you have to work to win. They think winning is easy. We are trying to really get them to understand that there’s a process and to trust the process. It’s really tough, and there are things we think kids should know and they don’t. It sounds crazy, but we work on passing in practice. We work on making layups. It’s the simple things.
“But it’s a start.”
Monday’s Boys Boxscores
CONCORD 70, CAROLINA INTERNATIONAL 45
Concord 12 17 22 19 70
Carolina Int. 6 13 11 15 45
Concord -- Johnakin Franklin 18, Kayin Thompson 13, James Smith 12, Brayden Blue 8, Justin Garland 8, Jerell Reddick 4, Da’Michael Lyerly 3, Aiden Aldridge 2, Jeremiah Howard 2
Carolina Int. -- Stitt 10, Featherstone 8, Wais 8, Solomon 7, Power 6, Phannavong 5, Brewton 1
Notable: Kayin Thompson got his first double-double of the season with 13 points & 11 rebounds. James Smith took 4 charges in the game which brings his total to 11 in 7 games. The Spiders move to 5-2 on the season and the Comets fall to 1-6.
EAST LINCOLN 56, SOUTH IREDELL 54
East Lincoln (7-0, 1-0): Landon Glezen 4, Logan Craig 3, Markell Clark 0, Palmer Crichton 11, Jeremiah Jones 6, Drew Bean 24, Keandre Walker 6, Mason Simmons 0, Jackson Fannon 2
South iredell (2-5, 1-0): Eli Ratcliff 0, Ayden Perry 5, Brayden Watson-Jones 9, Damian Stewart 0, Will Vuk 2, MJ Childress 3, Anderson Jones 17, MJ Chambers 7, Nolan Clark 3, Tatum Tucker 6, Nicky Reese 2
Of Note: East Lincoln starts the season 7-0 for the first time since the 2015-2016 season.
METROLINA CHRISTIAN 54, HICKORY GROVE 42
METROLINA CHRISTIAN 15 10 11 18 = 54
HICKORY GROVE CHRISTIAN 10 14 9 9 = 42
MCA: Wilson Jr. 17, Houston 12, Clark 11, Deluca 5, Harrist 4, Knafelz 2, Maul 2
HGCS:Metrolina - Jr. Michael Wilson Jr. 17pts, 8rbs, 2blks, 2stls, 1ast;
Notes: Metrolina Christian 7-4 (2-1) travels to Providence Day School on Friday, December 17th at 730PM.
Monday’s Girls Boxscores
EAST LINCOLN 61, SOUTH IREDELL 38
SIHS: 11 4 13 10- 38
ELHS: 15 13 20 12- 61
SIHS: Janiya Johnson 15, C. Humm 7, G. Brooks 66, K. Johnson 6, G. Hitchins 4
ELHS: Madison Bissinger 15, Ginny Overbay 12, Madison Self 10, Taliyah Thomas 10, D. Ross 3, K. Patterson 3, T.. Martin 2, A. Hege 2, G. Harpster 2, R. Ross 2
Noteables: Madison Bissinger 15 points on 5-7 shooting from behind the the 3pt line. Ginnyh Over bay recorded her 2nd straight double double with 12 pts, 15 rebs, 3 steals and 1 assist. Madison Self finished with 10 pts, 9 rebs, 1 steal and Taliyah Thomas chipped in 10 pts, 5 steals, 2 rebs, and 1 assist.
SIHS: (2-5, 0-1) Next Game vs Alexander Central 12/14/21
ELHS: (6-1,1-0) Next Game vs Statesville 12/17/21
GARINGER 73, AL BROWN 35
GARINGER 73 -- Chelsea Rivera 24 pts 6 assists 3 stls, Betsey Burnett, 20 pts 6 assists 8 stls, Jessica Worthey 19 pts 4 rebs 2 stls
Sunday’s Boys Boxscores
ARCHBISHOP WOOD 69, CHARLOTTE CHRISTIAN 60
Charlotte Christian 11 18 18 13 -- 60
Archbishop Wood 18 13 20 18 -- 69
CHARLOTTE CHRISTIAN 60 -- Cade Preston 18, Bryce Cash 15, John Lash 13, Micah Gilbert 4, Cade Nicholson 3, Gavin Peach 3, Danny Stevens 3, Ben King 1
Notable: Cade Preston made All tournament team; Cade Preston 18 Pt’s 10 Reb; Bryce Cash 15 Pt’s 5 Ast; John Lash 13 Pt’s 7 Reb
This week’s schedule
Tuesday
Queen City 3A-4A
Chambers at Hough
Mallard Creek at Hopewell
West Charlotte at West Mecklenburg
South Meck 4A
Harding at Myers Park
South Mecklenburg at Berry Academy
Southwestern 4A
Butler at Providence
Charlotte Catholic at Independence
Garinger at East Mecklenburg
Greater Metro 4 4A
A.L. Brown at Lake Norman
West Cabarrus at Cox Mill
Central Carolina 1A-2A
West Davidson at Salisbury
Western Highlands 1A-2A
Draughn at C.D. Owen
Rosman at Avery County
Yadkin Valley 1A-2A
North Stanly at Gray Stone Day
South Stanly at Mount Pleasant
Union Academy at Jay M. Robinson
Metro 8 1A
Apprentice Academy at Corvian Community (boys)
Cabarrus Charter at Carolina International School
Queens Grant Charter vs. Piedmont Community Charter (boys), at Concord Carolina Courts
Sugar Creek Charter at Bradford Prep
Nonconference
Alexander Central at South Iredell
Andrew Jackson (SC) at Cuthbertson (girls)
Anson County at Albemarle
Cannon School at United Faith Christian
Crest at Shelby
Freedom at Chase
Greater Cabarrus Stallions at Arborbrook Christian (boys)
Hibriten at Statesville
Highland Tech at Hunter Huss
Lake Norman Christian at Piedmont Classical (girls)
Lincoln Charter at Bunker Hill (girls)
Marvin Ridge at Parkwood
Moravian Prep at Comenius (boys)
Patton at East Burke
Pine Lake Prep at North Iredell
Porter Ridge at Olympic
Sun Valley at Central Academy (girls)
Thomas Jefferson Academy at Asheville Trailblazers (boys)
Weddington at Monroe
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WEDNESDAY
Western Highlands 1A-2A
Mitchell County at Madison County
Nonconference
Ardrey Kell at Weddington (girls)
Catawba Ridge (SC) at Marvin Ridge
Charlotte Elite Academy at Mountain Island Charter (boys)
Chesnee (SC) at East Rutherford
Cox Mill at Lincoln Charter (girls)
Forest Hills at Piedmont
Hibriten at Patton
Monroe at Lancaster (SC)
North Henderson at Chase
North Stanly at Concord
Pageland (SC) Central at Cuthbertson (boys)
Piedmont Community Charter at Polk County
R-S Central at Burns
South Caldwell at Draughn
Watauga at T.C. Roberson
West Iredell at Bunker Hill
West Stanly at Mount Pleasant
Woodlawn School at Langtree Charter (boys)
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THURSDAY
Queen City 3A-4A
North Mecklenburg at Mallard Creek
Nonconference
Ashe County at North Iredell
Cuthbertson at Providence
Freedom at A.C. Reynolds
Greater Cabarrus Stallions at Statesville Christian
Hough at Independence (boys)
St. Stephens at Newton-Conover
Sun Valley at Parkwood
Union Academy at Community School of Davidson (boys)
West Stanly at Montgomery Central
Gil Bowman Holiday Classic (girls)
(at Terry Sanford High)
Jack Britt vs. Westover, 4
Richmond Senior vs. Corinth Holders, 5:30
Seventy-First vs. Union Pines, 7
Terry Sanford vs. South View, 8:30
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FRIDAY
Queen City 3A-4A
Hough at West Mecklenburg
West Charlotte at Hopewell
South Meck 4A
Berry Academy at Harding
Myers Park at Ardrey Kell
Southwestern 4A
East Mecklenburg at Butler
Independence at Garinger
Rocky River at Charlotte Catholic
Greater Metro 4 4A
Cox Mill at A.L. Brown
Lake Norman at West Cabarrus
South Iredell at Hickory Ridge
Big South 3A
Ashbrook at Forestview
North Gaston at Kings Mountain
South Point at Hunter Huss
Stuart Cramer at Crest
South Piedmont 3A
Central Cabarrus at South Rowan
Concord at Jesse Carson
Lake Norman Charter at East Rowan
Northwest Cabarrus at West Rowan
Western Foothills 3A
Hickory at North Lincoln
North Iredell at St. Stephens
Statesville at East Lincoln
West Iredell at Fred T. Foard
Catawba Valley 2A
Bandys at West Lincoln
Lincolnton at Bunker Hill
Maiden at East Burke
West Caldwell at Newton-Conover
Mountain Foothills 2A
East Rutherford at Brevard
Polk County at Patton
R-S Central at Hendersonville
Central Carolina 1A-2A
North Rowan at East Davidson
South Davidson at Salisbury
West Davidson at Thomasville
South Piedmont 1A-2A
Bessemer City at Thomas Jefferson Academy
Highland Tech at Burns
Shelby at Cherryville
Western Highlands 1A-2A
C.D. Owen at Mitchell County
Draughn at Avery County
Rosman at Mountain Heritage
Yadkin Valley 1A-2A
Gray Stone Day at Union Academy
Mount Pleasant at Albemarle
South Stanly at North Stanly
Metro 8 1A
Bradford Prep at Queens Grant Charter (boys)
Cabarrus Charter at Sugar Creek Charter
Nonconference
Alexander Central at Pine Lake Prep
Arborbrook Christian at Hickory Christian (boys)
Chambers at Cannon School (boys)
Charlotte Christian at Legacy (SC) Charter (girls)
Charlotte Country Day at Rabun Gap
Christ the King at Charlotte Latin
Corvian Community at Olympic
Forsyth Home Educators at Greater Cabarrus Stallions
Fort Mill (SC) at Marvin Ridge
Greensboro Day at Covenant Day (girls)
Hickory Grove Christian at Asheville School
Lake Norman Christian at Millers Creek Christian (girls)
Metrolina Christian at Providence Day
Monroe at Sun Valley
Piedmont at Parkwood
Porter Ridge at Carmel Christian
South Caldwell at McDowell
South Charlotte Thunder at Asheville Homeschool (boys)
United Faith Christian at Greenfield School
Westchester Country Day at Gaston Day
Phenom Holiday Classic (boys)
(at Rock Hill Event and Sports Center)
4:30PM Legion Academy vs Forsyth Country Day
6:00PM Victory Christian vs Piedmont Classical
7:30PM Gaston Christian vs Weddington High School
Gil Bowman Holiday Classic (girls)
(at Terry Sanford High)
Jack Britt-Westover loser vs. Richmond Senior-Corinth Holders loser, 4
Seventy First-Union Pines loser vs. Terry Sanford-South View loser, 5:30
Jack Britt-Westover winner vs. Richmond Senior-Corinth Holders winner, 7
Seventy First-Union Pines winner vs. Terry Sanford-South View winner, 8:30
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SATURDAY
Nonconference
Charlotte Country Day at Asheville School, 12 (girls) and 1:30 (boys)
Henderson Collegiate at Lincoln Charter, 6
Hickory Grove Christian at Asheville Christian, 1 (girls) and 2:30 (boys)
Myers Park vs. Panther Creek, in Dexter Cooley Showcase at Wakefield High, 4:30
Providence Day at Ravenscroft (girls), 1
United Faith Christian at Cape Fear Christian, 11:30 a.m. (girls) and 1 (boys)
Virginia Episcopal at Covenant Day (girls), 2
Phenom Holiday Classic (boys)
(at Rock Hill Event and Sports Center)
12:00PM Legion Academy vs Liberty Heights Varsity
1:30PM Piedmont Classical vs 1 of 1 Prep
3:00PM Forsyth Country Day vs Central Cabarrus High School
4:30PM Harding High School vs Charlotte Christian
6:00PM Weddington High School vs Providence Day School
7:30PM West Charlotte High School vs Northside Christian Academy
9:00PM Ardrey Kell High School vs Gaston Christian
Beach Ball Classic
(at Myrtle Beach)
United Bank Division (girls)
(first round)
Lake Highland (FL) vs. Cardinal Newman (SC), 11:45 a.m.
Chambers vs. Keenan (SC), 1:30
DME Academy (FL) vs. Camden (SC), 3:15
Miami (FL) vs. St. Paul VI (VA), 5
John Rhodes Division (boys)
(first round)
St. Johns (DC) vs. Myrtle Beach (SC), 11:45 a.m.
First Baptist (SC) vs. McEachern (GA), 1:30
Cannon School vs. Peachtree Ridge (GA), 3:15
St. Francis (GA) vs. J.L. Mann (SC), 5
Gil Bowman Holiday Classic (girls)
(at Fayetteville State)
Seventh place game, 10:30 a.m.
Fifth place game, noon
Third place game, 1:30
Championship game, 3
Sunday
Isle of Palms Classic (boys)
(at Fort Myers, Fla.)
(first round)
Compass Prep (AZ) vs. Victory Rock Prep (FL), 1:45
Combine Academy vs. Crestwood Prep (ONT), 3:30
This story was originally published December 14, 2021 at 11:14 AM.
