Saturday’s Boys Rewind: Cannon School upsets Providence Day; Carmel, Latin advance
Che Roth started explaining how a 16-14 team like his Cannon School boys’ basketball squad could reach the final four in the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association’s 4A playoffs.
He started talking about the injuries, the three-week break forced by COVID-19 protocols, and then he stopped, and smiled.
“The big thing is that our guys never quit believing in themselves,” Roth said Saturday evening, after his team outlasted Providence Day 72-66 in an overtime quarterfinal contest.
Cannon School, the sixth seed in 4A, advances to Tuesday’s state semifinals and a game at second-seeded Greensboro Day (31-7). The Cougars upset No. 3 seed Providence Day Saturday and took down the CISAA regular-season champions.
“There really has been a fun part to this season,” Roth said. “The belief in our locker room has never wavered. The attitudes have been off the charts.”
The Cougars were 6-9 on Dec. 21, before hitting their COVID shutdown. They’ve gone 10-5 since then.
Roth said different players have stepped up at different times during the late-season surge.
Saturday night, it was sophomore Austin Swartz, who missed part of the regular season with a knee injury.
Providence Day’s Riley Allenspach had tied the game at 59-all with a 3-point field goal in the final minute of regulation. Each team missed a shot down the stretch, forcing overtime.
In the four extra minutes, Swartz took over. He hit a 3-pointer with 2:31 left, giving Cannon School a 62-60 lead. He scored on a short jump shot 22 seconds later, then hit four free throws down the stretch.
In all, Swartz scored nine of his team’s 13 points in overtime.
Senior forward D.J. Nix, who will play at Cornell next season, said the Cougars were fazed by the need for overtime.
“We’ve been in these kinds of spots this season,” Nix said. “Coach likes to talk about the next-man-up mentality. That’s how we try to operate.”
Now that the Cougars are reasonably healthy and rolling, Roth said his team wants to keep playing.
“We’re in the final four,” he said. “We’ll go up to Greensboro on Tuesday night and work hard to reach the finals. I know our guys believe in themselves.”
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle
PHOTOS: Cannon School at Providence Day
Saturday’s NCISAA Scores
Class 4A
Saturday’s quarterfinals
Carmel Christian 80, Christ School 39
Charlotte Latin 58, Covenant Day 43
Cannon School 72, Providence Day 66 (OT)
Greensboro Day 55, Charlotte Christian 33
Tuesday’s semifinals
Charlotte Latin (23-3) at Carmel Christian (24-3)
Cannon School (15-14) at Greensboro Day (31-3)
Class 3A
Saturday’s quarterfinals
Cary Christian 63, Asheville School 62
High Point Christian 93, Calvary Day 63
Concord Academy 65, SouthLake Christian 62
Cape Fear Academy 63, Forsyth Country Day 48
Tuesday’s semifinals
High Point Christian (21-7) at Cary Christian (21-8)
Concord Academy (15-16) at Cape Fear Academy (19-3)
Class 2A
Saturday’s quarterfinals
The Burlington School 96, Freedom Christian 70
Wayne Country Day 59, Northside Christian 57
Gaston Day 64, Northwood Temple 56
Trinity Academy 78, Westminster Catawba 59
Tuesday’s semifinals
Wayne Country Day (25-7) at The Burlington School (21-6)
Gaston Day (27-3) at Trinity Academy (25-3)
Class 1A
Saturday’s quarterfinals
Greenfield School 72, Lawrence Academy 31
Crossroads Christian 82, Ridgecroft School 34
Sanford Grace Christian 103, Cape Fear Christian 73
United Faith Christian 75, Victory Christian 60
Tuesday’s semifinals
Sanford Grace Christian (27-4) at United Faith Christian (16-7)
Crossroads Christian (19-7) at Greenfield School (25-5)
Saturday’s Boys Boxscores
CARMEL CHRISTIAN 80, CHRIST SCHOOL 39
CCS: 21 17 24 18 -- 80
Chr: 11 9 13 6 -- 39
CARMEL CHRISTIAN 80 -- Cade Tyson 13, Nyles Howard 13, Santana Smith 12, Luke Krawczyk 11, Siler 8, Threatt 7, I. Howard 5, B. Smith 4, Arias 4, Bean 3
CHRIST SCHOOL 39 -- Emanuel Richards 26, Meyers 4, Pethel 3, Robinson 2, Cokley 2, Bowe 1, Cancel 1
CHARLOTTE LATIN 58, COVENANT DAY 43
CD 8 9 13 13--43
CL 15 16 15 12--58
COVENANT DAY 43 --Marcus Brown 13, Jahmir Brown 12, Ufochukwu 6, Marcus 4, Boyce 4, Rivens 3, Anderson 1
CHARLOTTE LATIN 58 --Ned Hull 24, Sean Rose 13, Haughton 9, Jones 6, Lavitt 6
Game Notes:The Hawks won in the quarterfinals of the NCISAA state tournament at home against the Lions of Covenant Day. Latin was led by Ned Hull 24 points/5 rebounds and Sean Rose 13 points/5 rebounds. The Lions were led by Marcus Brown 13 points and Jahmir Brown 12 points. The Hawks will play Tuesday in the Final Four against the winner of Carmel Christian/Christ School.
Records: Latin 23-3 Covenant Day 16-16
GASTON DAY 64, NORTHWOOD TEMPLE 56
Gaston Day 17 9 19 19 64
Northwood Temple 16 19 15 6 56
GASTON DAY 64 -- Chris Britt 26, Evan Montanari 22, Colin Fayed 7, Callum Richard 4, Chase Owens 3, Kurt Hunter 2
NORTHWOOD TEMPLE 56 -- Harris 26, Keziah 11, Wolf 9, Killens-McIntyre 4, Shoe 2, Moore 2, Harris 2
Record: 27-3
Next Game: Tuesday, 2/22 @ Trinity Academy of Raleigh
TRINITY ACADEMY 78, WESTMINSTER CATAWBA 59
Westminster Catawba: 13-13-25-8: 59
Trinity Academy: 21-23-16-18: 78
WESTMINSTER CATAWBA 59 -- Kenyon Addie 9, Derek Bradley 11, Richard Black lll 19, N. Clarke 7, Jalen Booker 10, Kenan 3
TRINITY ACADEMY 78 -- Trevor Barrett 11, Zach Sloan 17, Kevon Vanderhorst 18, Noah Ross 20, Barker 4, Perez 8
Records: Westminster 15-17
Notable: Westminster Catawba made it to the Elite 8 for the third time under third year coach Ed Addie but could not get past a tough Trinity Academy team that has (4) Division 1 recruits Noah Ross-UNCW, Sam Perez-High Point, Zach Sloan (undecided) and Kevon Vanderhorst (undecided).
UNITED FAITH 73, VICTORY CHRISTIAN 40
United Faith 16 15 19 23 -- 73
Victory Christian 2 12 13 13 -- 40
UNITED FAITH 73 -- Xavier McKelvey 20, Alex Bates 12, Landon Johnson 8, Camyl Witherspoon 7
VICTORY CHRISTIAN 40 -- JP Rodriguez 18, Tyler Chapin 5, Justin Whitfield 5
Records: United Faith: 17-7; Victory Christian: 3-20
