Wednesday’s HS Rewind: East Meck, Butler set up Friday showdown; No. 6 Richmond falls
By Steve Lyttle and
Langston Wertz Jr.
Pinecrest made four key free throws in the final 31 seconds Wednesday night and handed Richmond Senior its first boys’ basketball setback of the season, 80-76.
The host Patriots clinched the victory when sophomore Jullien Cole made two foul shots with 4.6 seconds left, giving Pinecrest its final points.
Richmond Senior, which set a school record by winning its first 15 games of the season, trailed 78-74 after Pinecrest’s Kelvyn Harrington sank two foul shots with 31.8 seconds remaining.
The Raiders answered when Paul McNeil scored on a tip-in with 13.3 seconds left, cutting the deficit to 78-76.
Richmond Senior had one more chance, after Pinecrest’s J.J. Goins missed a free throw with 8 seconds left. But the Raiders’ Jamarion Wall missed the go-ahead 3-pointer seconds later, and Richmond Senior fouled Cole. He answered with the two final points from the foul line.
The outcome left a tie atop the Sandhills 3A-4A Conference. Richmond Senior (15-1) and Pinecrest (12-4) are each 5-1 in league play.
Pinecrest had won three in a row against the Raiders until absorbing a 68-40 setback last month at Richmond Senior.
The two teams are not scheduled to play each other again during the regular season.
-- Steve Lyttle
Wednesday’s Capsules
BOYS
Southwestern 4A
East Mecklenburg 61, Charlotte Catholic 55 ... The Eagles (13-6, 6-1) moved a half-game ahead of Rocky River in the conference lead and knocked the Cougars (11-8, 5-2) into third place. Jonah Lawrence led the way with 20 points, making 4-of-6 from 3-point range). Jordon Nevill added 16 and Kanye Johnson scored 14 for the Eagles.
Big South 3A
Crest 85, Kings Mountain 82 ... The visiting Chargers rallied from a big early deficit and prevailed, in a game matching teams with unbeaten conference records. The Mountaineers (9-6, 6-1) led by 12 points in the third quarter, but Crest went on an 11-0 run, narrowed the gap to 62-61 after three. The Chargers made key free throws down the stretch.
Stuart Cramer 75, Hunter Huss 50 ... Will Kelly scored 40 points and added eight rebounds, five assists and four steals for the victorious Storm (14-3, 5-3). Jacob Joyner added 21 points and five rebounds.
Yadkin Valley 1A
Jay M. Robinson 61, North Stanly 56 ... The Bulldogs led most of the way and opened a two-game lead over the Comets. Jay M. Robinson is 14-2, 6-0, while North Stanly falls to 5-2, 11-6.
GIRLS
Catawba Shores 1A-2A
Lincoln Charter 60, Langtree Charter 37 ... Maddie Lusk’s 20 points lifted the Eagles (14-6, 6-0) past the Lions (14-4, 2-3). Lauren Horton added 17 for Lincoln Charter.
Wednesday’s #BIG5 Top Boys Performers
Ty Black, Butler: game-high 24 points in a 66-50 win over Providence. Zion McDuffie had 15 points and Peyton Scott added 10.
Kyler Harris, Porter Ridge: game-high 25 points in a 73-64 win over Monroe.
Will Kelly, Stuart Cramer: 40 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals in a 75-50 wiin over Hunter Huss.
Jonah Lawrence, East Mecklenburg: team-high 20 points in a 61-55 win over Charlotte Catholic. East Meck (13-6, 6-1) won its fifth straight game, and beat a Catholic team (11-8, 5-2) that had won six of its past seven games. East Meck will host Butler (8-8, 5-2) Friday for first place in the Southwestern 4A.
Quay Watson, Hopewell: career-high36 points in a 73-55 win over Olympic. The Trojans have won four of their past five games.
Wednesday’s #BIG5 Girls Top Performers
Eva Butler, Providence: 15 points, six rebounds, six assists, four steals in a 63-33 win over Butler.
Delanie Hill, Providence: 10 points, 10 assists, four rebounds in a 63-33 win over Butler.
Hailey McFadden, East Lincoln: fourth double-double of the season in a 58-16 win over North Lincoln. She finished with 16 points, 14 rebounds, six steals, three blocks and an assist.
Macy Rummage, Bandys: team-high 22 points in a 71-69 win over Bunker Hill.
Saniya Wilson, Kings Mountain: 25 points, six rebounds, five assists in a 62-57 win over Crest.
Charlotte Latin sweeps CISAA swim championships
Charlotte Latin’s girls swim team
Charlotte Latin’s boys ran away with their 11th straight CISAA swim championship Wednesday night and the girls hung on for a narrow win.
The boys had 345.50 points, well ahead of second place Providence Day (316) and Cannon School (255.5). The Latin girls finished with 284 points, just one more than Providence Day. Charlotte Country Day (269) was third.
Latin freshman Lila Connor won three events. She won the 200 and 500 freestyles and swam on the 400-freestyle relay team.
Full results below
▪ The NCISAA state finals will be held in Greensboro Monday, Feb. 14
Charlotte Latin’s boys swim team won the CISAA championship Wednesday
Wednesday’s Boys Boxscores
BUTLER 66, PROVIDENCE 50
Butler: 17 19 15 15 | 66
Providence: 16 10 9 15 | 50
Butler: Ty Black 24, Zion McDuffie 15, Peyton Scott 10, Ty Showalter 7, Bryce Heath 3, Aaron Colbert 3, Steph Soutzos 2, Troy Lewis 2
Providence: Jamel Van Rensalier 15, Bryce Taylor 11, Clayton Gaither 10, Howell 4, Detenber 3, Singletary 3, McGee 2, Levy 2
Notes: Butler moves to 8-8 (5-2). Providence moves to 3-10 (1-5). Butler plays at East Mecklenburg on Friday.
EAST LINCOLN 80, NORTH LINCOLN 69
East Lincoln 16 27 18 19 -- 80
North Lincoln 12 23 17 17 -- 69
East Lincoln 80--Logan Craig 21, Drew Bean 14, Palmer Crichton 11, Keandre Walker 10, Jeremiah Jones 9, Markall Clark 8, Eric Runyan 6
North Lincoln 69--Reed King 17, Jack Waggoner 10, Connor Carson 9, Luke Custer 9, Kellan Karr 9, Nate Lykins 8, Iverson Snell 4, Matt Heavner 1
North Lincoln 9-8 overall (3-4 conference)
Of Note: With the win the Mustangs hold the career series against the Knights 35-7 dating back to the 2003 season. East Lincoln is currently 16-2 and 8-0 in the Western Foothills 3A Conference and in 1st place.
EAST MECKLENBURG 61, CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC 55
Charlotte Catholic 22 10 17 6 -- 55
East Meck 18 8 14 21 -- 61
CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC 55 -- Pat Tivnan 25, Josh Williams 16, Rossitch 8, Thomas 5, Kernodle 1
EAST MECKLENBURG 61 -- Jonah Lawrence 20, Jordon Nevill 16, Kanye Johnson 14, White 4, Guy 4, Truitt 3
ELHS: Hailey McFadden 16, Madison Self 11, K. Patterson 5, G. Overbay 5, R. Ross 5, T. Thomas 5, M. Bissinger 3, G. Harpster 3, M. Maggs 2, A. Hege 2, K.Campo 1
NLHS: M. Dymes 5, H. Hagler 4, J. Franz 3, A. Soto 2, A. Cada 2
Noteables: Hailey McFadden recorded her 4th Double Double on the season with 16 pts and 14 rebounds while adding 6 steals, 3 blocks and 1 assist. Madison Self recorded her 9th Double Double of the season with 11 pts, and 13 rebounds while adding 6 steals 1 block and 1 assist
Raven Ross chipped in 5 pts, 6 rebs, 4 steals, 4 assists and 1 block
ELHS: (15-2, 7-0) Next Game vs West Iredell 1/28/22
NLHS: (3-13, 1-7) Next Game vs North Iredell 1/28/22
Notable: Balanced night of scoring and great team play. Eva Butler with 4 steals, 6 assists and 6 rebounds. Delanie Hill with a double double - 10 pts and 10 assists. She also added 4 rebounds. Kendal Webb had 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Kendall Roess 7 rebounds and Lindsey Nolan 8 rebounds.
Records: Providence: 11-5 (6-1)
Thursday’s Schedule
all matchups are girls-boys doubleheaders, starting at 5:30 p.m., unless otherwise noted
Thursday
Greater Metro 4 4A
Lake Norman at Mooresville
Northwestern 3A-4A
Watauga at South Caldwell
South Piedmont 3A
Northwest Cabarrus at Central Cabarrus
West Rowan at Concord (boys)
Mountain Foothills 2A
East Rutherford at Brevard (boys)
Southern Piedmont 1A-2A
Bessemer City at Cherryville
Yadkin Valley 1A-2A
Albemarle at Gray Stone Day
Nonconference
Gaston Christian at Forsyth Country Day
Jay M. Robinson at Harding
Lake Norman Christian at Piedmont Classical
North Hills Christian at Covenant Classical
Queens Grant Charter at Providence (boys), 6:15
South Mecklenburg at Hough
West Mecklenburg at Olympic (boys)
This story was originally published January 26, 2022 at 11:21 PM.
Langston Wertz Jr. is an award-winning sports journalist who has worked at the Observer since 1988. He’s covered everything from Final Fours and NFL to video games and Britney Spears. Wertz -- a West Charlotte High and UNC grad -- is the rare person who can answer “Charlotte,” when you ask, “What city are you from.”Support my work with a digital subscription
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