Tuesday’s boys’ rewind: No. 14 Independence edges No. 15 Hickory Ridge
It may have been a mid-November high school basketball season-opener, but No. 14 Independence’s 74-71 come-from-behind boys win at No. 15 Hickory Ridge had lots of big-game energy.
And since major N.C. High School Athletic Association realignment has both schools in the 7A classification, it’s quite possible Tuesday’s game could simply be the opener to a two-part series that ends in the postseason.
“They fought for this one tonight,” Independence coach Preston Davis said of his team.
The Patriots, who were missing five players who are helping their high school’s football playoff team in its ongoing postseason run, trailed for all but a few seconds until the fourth quarter.
Junior Lusemo Macharia, plagued by foul trouble, hit a free throw with 3:32 left to give Independence its first lead — since early in the first quarter — at 62-61.
Hickory Ridge would reclaim the lead 14 seconds later and tied the score at 65, then 71 before the Patriots took charge.
Macharia hit two more free throws with 8.6 second left and had a critical block of a potential tying 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left.
He got plenty of help as Sawyer Fike hit two fourth-quarter 3-pointers in the final 2:41 and Dylan McFarland hit three throws and Laurence Black one in the final 1:04.
“This group is talented,” said Davis, who used seven of his nine active players. “We’re got a little bit of toughness. Even though we’re missing some football guys, I told them they were good enough to win tonight.”
Christan Jones, who transferred to Independence after scoring 1,288 points in his first two high school seasons at Mountain Island Charter, led the Patriots with 21 points on Tuesday. Macharia added 12, Fike and Black 11 each and Caden Podrick nine.
They needed all of that production as Hickory Ridge’s Travien Williams had a game-high 25 points. Braylen Hill (12 points) and Rodney Gidney (11 points) also were big contributors.
The Ragin’ Bulls led by a game-high 50-41 with 4:17 left in the third quarter before Independence rallied.
“We have a really, really tough schedule but we’re excited about the challenge,” said Davis, whose team next plays in Athens, Ga., against Adamsville, Ala., Minor and later plays non-league games against Providence Day, New Hanover and Myers Park and others before opening its Meck Power Six 7A/8A schedule in a league that features defending state champion North Mecklenburg in early January.
Tuesday’s #BIG5 boys’ top performers
Nolan Ericson, Mooresville: In an 80-77 win over Hough, Ericson made nine 3-point shots and finished with 33 points and two steals.
Joseph Kapsiak, Charlotte Catholic: In an 80-72 win over Cannon School, Kapsiak had a career high 28 points.
Nolan Lowery, Country Day: Lowery had a game-high 17 points in a 83-54 win over South Charlotte.
Collin McConneyhead, Lake Norman Charter: McConneyhead had a game-high 28 points in a 75-54 win over Mount Pleasant.
Dylan Morrison, Ardrey Kell: Morrison had a career-high 17 points in a 60-56 overtime win over Cuthbertson, which is coached by former Ardrey Kell assistant O’Neil Palmer.
Tuesday’s boys’ box scores
NO. 11 CHAMBERS 66, NO. 4 MYERS PARK 64
Chambers 14 15 16 21 — 66
Myers Park 16 17 19 12 — 64
Notable: Quentel Young made the game-winning layup for Chambers
GASTON DAY 63, NO. 7 CARMEL CHRISTIAN 56
Carmel Christian 9 8 18 21 — 56
Gaston Day 12 18 12 21 — 63
CARMEL CHRISTIAN 56 — James Wood 17pts , Hunter 13
NO. 10 HOUGH 80, HOUGH 77
Mooresville 14 20 20 26 — 80
Hough 15 21 21 20 — 77
MOORESVILLE 80 — Nolan Ericson 33, Jordan Walton 15, Eian Bailey 11, Christian Wilson 11,Taurean McKinnon 7, Chase McDonald 3.
Notable: For Mooresville, Ericson had two steals and made nine threes. Walton had two steals. Eian Bailey had seven rebounds and two steals. Wilson had six rebounds. McKinnon had four steals. Record: Mooresville 1-0
NO. 14 INDEPENDENCE 74, NO. 15 HICKORY RIDGE 71
Independence 18 17 19 20 — 74
Hickory Ridge 22 15 22 12 — 71
INDEPENDENCE 74 — Lusemo Macharia 12, McFarland 6, Christan Jones 21, Sawyer Fike 11, Smith 4, Laurence Black 11, Podrick 9.
HICKORY RIDGE 71 — Braylen Hill 11, Durant 4, S. Birkemeier 4, Rodney Gidney 11, Travien Williams 25, Amari Winters 10, Davis 3.
Records: Independence 1-0; Hickory Ridge 0-1
NO. 16 CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC 80, CANNON SCHOOL 72
Catholic 19 18 18 25 — 80
Cannon 14 18 24 16 — 72
CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC 80 — Joseph Kapsiak 28, Jack Siegel 20, Mack Jordan 16, Houser 7, Hodes 3, M. Kapsiak 2, Shepard 2
CANNON SCHOOL 72 — DJ Rogers 26, Sean Nix 21, Brezeault 6, Steinhour 8, Underwood 5, Lowery 1, Smith 2, Weaks 3
ARDREY KELL 60, CUTHBERTSON 56 Ardrey Kell 8 11 17 14 10 — 60
Cuthbertson 8 11 14 17 6 — 56
ARDREY KELL 60 — Dylan Morrison 18, Braden Suggs 17, Donnie Jones 14, Cole Stankavage 7, Ethan Gramaglia 3, Jayden Washington 2
CUTHBERTSON 56 — Malone 6, Nali 10, Gunby 4, Cheek 13, Webb 6, Smith 7, Nelson 10 Records: Ardrey Kell 1-1
BALLANTYNE RIDGE 64, PIEDMONT 51 Ballantyne Ridge 10 15 22 17 — 64
Piedmont 15 10 8 8 — 51 BALLANTYNE RIDGE 64 — AJ Sanner 10, Jaelen King 10, Jimmy Neubauer 16, Cam Sapon 11, Flory 8
CHARLOTTE CHRISTIAN 82 , SOUTHLAKE CHRISTIAN 76 Charlotte Christian 23 14 20 25 — 92 SouthLake Christian Academy 13 15 31 19 — 76 CHARLOTTE CHRISTIAN 92 — Marshall Nicholson 28, Adam Miller 16, Austin Bradway 10, Saul Lieberman 6, Carter Burns 6, Silas Jackson 4, Dax Gill 4, Matty Carroll 3, Zach Violette 3, Lamar Horne 2 SOUTHLAKE CHRISTIAN 76 — Mason 27, Johnson 19, Paige 12, Cameron 6, Remesal 4, Stubbs 2, Payne 1 Notable: Marshall Nicholson scored 28 points and made 6 three pointers. Austin Bradway recorded a double double with 10 points and 11 rebounds and had 4 steals. Records: Charlotte Christian 2-0; SouthLake Christian Academy 3-3
CHARLOTTE LATIN 82, WEST STANLY 42
Charlotte Latin 7 24 23 28 — 82
West Stanly 7 12 13 10 — 42
CHARLOTTE LATIN 82 — Emory Chaney 17, Alex Dauska 17, Ethan Warren 11, Hollmeyer 7, Spicer 7, White 6, Wilson 6, Diaz 4, Templeton 4, Brunnemer 2, Smith 1
WEST STANLY 42 — Cade Hinson 15, Crisco 8, Yow 5, Rivera 4, Carelock 3, Faile 3, Eudy 2, Deme 2
Records: West Stanly 0-2; Latin 1-0
Notable: .Latin will host Metrolina Christian Thursday evening while West Stanly will travel to North Stanly on Friday.
CHARLOTTE COUNTRY DAY 83, SOUTH CHARLOTTE 54
Charlotte Country Day 19 18 30 16 — 83
South Charlotte 12 13 18 11 — 54
COUNTRY DAY 83 — Nolan Lowery 17, Joe Youakim 16, Peter Richardson 14, Emery Roberts 9, Hunter Blythe 6, Jabari Spruill 6, Hob Mulford 4, Zach Harris 3, Phil Brosseau 2, Ben Harker 2, Cole Zouzoulas 2, Henry Apostolopoulas 2
SOUTH CHARLOTTE 54 — Kern 9, LeCroix 8, Long 8, Porter 7, N. Miller 6, Yandle 6,, A. Miller 5, Pierce 3, Hall 2
FOREST HILLS 78, ALBEMARLE 58
Forest Hills 28 17 15 19–78
Albemarle 14 13 16 14–58
FOREST HILLS 78 — K.J Chambers 9, Makhi Massey 4, Jah’Marion Mingo 11, Landon Blakeney 7, Amari Melton 22, Truth Rorie 13, Ny’heem Covington 4, T.J Parker 7, Matthew Florentino 1, Simeon Parker 2
ALBEMARLE 58 — Carr 5, Jackson 5, Pratt 12, Beavers 15, Horne 10, Thomas 2, Quick 4, Wall 8
GARINGER 66, SUGAR CREEK CHARTER 63
GARINGER 66 — Lawler 18, Hunter 14 J. Soup 7 W. Henderson 6
Records: Garinger 1-1; Sugar Creek 0-3
HICKORY GROVE 59, GREATER CABARRUS 36
Greater Cabarrus 13 8 8 7 — 36
Hickory Grove 19 13 14 13 — 59
GREATER CABARRUS 36 — Xavier Deleeuw 12, Crump 7, Griffin 5, Oldham 4, Barker 4, White 3, Pracht 1
HICKORY GROVE 59 — Caleb Nelson 13, Tristan Nelson 11, Darrick Milo Jr 11, Kiser 9, Sturdivant 9, Bradley 5
Records: GCAA 3-2; HG 2-0
Notable: Hickory Grove will travel to Wilmington this weekend to play a back to back: at Coastal Christian, Friday, 7 pm and Saturday at 2:30 at Cape Fear Academy.
LAKE NORMAN CHARTER 75, MOUNT PLEASANT 54
Lake Norman Charter 18 16 21 20 — 75
Mount Pleasant 12 13 15 14 — 54
LAKE NORMAN CHARTER 75 — Collin McConneyhead 28, Kam Davis- 15, Isaiah Carter 6, Langston Holder 6, Jake Wozniak 6, Cam Roberts 5, Drew Nelson 5, Alex Massey 3
MOUNT PLEASANT 54 — Cooper Perkins 30, Silas Lowder 12, Christian Wrenn, 5, Luke Burris, 4, Noah Allred 3 Notable: Lake Norman Charter got a big game from its background. Junior guard Collin McConneyhead had 28 points and freshman guard Cam Davis, in his first varsity game, had 15.
NORTH LINCOLN 72, LINCOLN CHARTER 61
North Lincoln 20 17 18 17 — 72
Lincoln Charter 15 10 17 19 — 61
NORTH LINCOLN 72 — Nick Whitener 19, Ty Chandler 17, Carter Abernethy 15, Beckett Rinkus 10, Ben Heavner 8, Canyon Keilman 3 Records: North Lincoln 1-0; Lincoln Charter 0-1
Thursday’s games
Steve Smith Classic at West Mecklenburg High, 6 p.m. – This is a two-night event, using West Meck’s two gyms Thursday night for four games and Garinger High for two contests Friday. Thursday’s highlight will pit powerhouse Davidson Day against national power Oak Hill (VA) Academy, at 8 p.m. But a 6:30 p.m. contest between Ambassador Christian and defending 1A state champ Corvian Community also is an attraction.
The full schedule
(Unless otherwise noted, all matchups are girls-boys doubleheaders, with girls’ games at 6 p.m. and boys’ games following)
Wednesday
Mecklenburg nonconference
Jackson Day at Langtree Charter
Lake Norman Charter at Weddington (boys only), 6 pm.
Statesville at Lake Norman Charter (girls only), 6 p.m.
Area nonconference
Ashbrook at Bessemer City (girls only), 6 p.m..
North Gaston at Cherryville
Porter Ridge at Forest Hills
Sun Valley at Parkwood (girls, 5:30 p.m.; boys, 7 p.m.)
Union Academy at Uwharrie Charter (girls, 6:30 p.m.; boys, 8 p.m..)
Thursday
Steve Smith Classic
(at West Mecklenburg)
Yng Dreamerz vs. High Point Wesleyan (boys), 6 p.m.
Ambassador Christian vs. Corvian Community (boys), 6:30 p.m. (auxiliary gym)
Davidson Day vs. Oak Hill, VA (boys), 8 p.m.
Rocky River vs. Chambers (girls), 8:30 p.m. (auxiliary gym)
Mecklenburg nonconference
Bonnie Cone Leadership at N.C. School of Science & Math/Morganton (girls, 5:30 p.m; boys, 7 p.m.)
Butler at West Cabarrus
Cabarrus Stallions at Charlotte Christian (girls, 5:30 p.m.; boys, 7 p.m.)
Community School of Davidson at Mooresville (girls only), 6 p.m.
Covenant Day at Ambassador Christian (girls only), 5:30 p.m.
High Point Wesleyan at Carmel Christian (boys only), 7 p.m.‘
Pine Lake Prep at Independence (girls only), 6 p.m.
Metrolina Christian at Charlotte Latin (girls, 5:30 p.m.; boys, 7 p.m.)
West Charlotte at Gasringer (girls only), 6 p.m.
Area nonconference
Arborbrook Christian at Grace Christian (boys only), 5:30 p.m.
Burns at South Point
Maiden at Forestview
Mount Pleasant at Concord
Mountain Island Charter at North Hills Christian (girls only), 5 p.m.
Northwest Cabarrus at A.L. Brown
Spartanburg Day at Gaston Day (girls only), 6 p.m.
Tabernacle Christian at Statesville Christian (girls only), 5:15 p.m.
Walnut Grove Christian at Gaston Day (boys only), 7 p.m.
Westminster Catawba at First Presbyterian (girls, 5:30 p.m.; boys, 7 p.m.)
Friday
George Lynch Invitational
(at Myers Park High)
(boys) New Hanover vs. Harrells Christian, 5 p.m. (auxiliary gym)
(girls) Myers Park vs. Queens Grant Charter, 5 p.m.
(boys) Moravian Prep vs. Academy of Central Florida, 6:30 p.m. (auxiliary gym)
(boys) Providence Day vs. Christ School, 6:30 p.m.
(boys) Tennessee Collegiate vs. Combine Academy, 8 p.m. (auxiliary gym)
(boys) Myers Park vs. Davidson Day, 8 p.m.
Steve Smith Classic (boys)
(at Garinger High)
Garinger vs. Rocky River, 6 p.m.
Ambassador Christian vs. Oak Hill (VA), 8 p.m.
Mecklenburg nonconference
Arborbrook Christian at Jackson Day (boys only), 5:30 p.m.
Ardrey Kell at Marvin Ridge
Ashbrook at Berry Academy
Charlotte Country Day at Forsyth Country Day (girls, 5:30 p.m.; boys, 7 p.m.)
Charlotte Latin at Charlotte Catholic
Community School of Davidson at West Rowan
East Mecklenburg at South Mecklenburg
Harding at West Mecklenburg
Hickory Grove Christian at Coastal Christian (girls, 5:30 p.m.; boys, 7 p.m.)
Hough at Lincolnton
Independence at Cuthbertson (girls only), 6 p.m.
Jay M. Robinson at Olympic
Mooresville at Christ the King (girls only), 6 p.m.
Palisades at Chambers
Parkwood at Ballantyne Ridge
Piedmont Community Charter at Lake Norman Charter
Porter Ridge at Providence
SouthLake Christian at Cape Fear Academy (girls, 5:30 p.m.; boys, 7 p.m.)
Union Prep at Socrates Academy (boys only), 4:45 p.m.
Weddington at Hopewell
Area nonconference
Cannon School at Winston-Salem Christian (girls, 5:30 p.m.; boys, 7 p.m.)
Carolina International at Cuthbertson (boys only), 7:30 p.m.
Cherryville at Lake Lure Classical (girls, 5 p.m.; boys, 6:30 p.m.)
Concord Academy at Sanford Grace Christian (girls, 5:30 p.m.; boys, 7 p.m.)
East Gaston at Chase
Forestview at Bessemer City
Gaston Christian at Carolina Day (girls, 5:15 p.m.; boys, 6:45 p.m.)
Gaston Day at Caldwell Academy (girls, 5:30 p.m.; boys, 7 p.m.)
Hickory Ridge at Lake Norman
Hunter Huss at Fort Mill
Newton-Conover at North Iredell
NorthPoint Christian at Metrolina Christian (girls, 3 p.m.; boys, 4:30 p.m.)
Patton at West Lincoln (girls, 6:30 p.m.; boys, 8 p.m.)
Piedmont at Jesse Carson
South Stanly at Central Academy
Stuart Cramer at North Gaston
Surry Central at South Iredell
Union Academy at South Rowan
Westminster Catawba at Walnut Grove Christian (boys only), 7 p.m.
Wilkes Central at West Iredell
Saturday
George Lynch Invitational
(at Myers Park High)
(boys) Garinger vs. Cardinal Gibbons, 11:30 a.m. (auxiliary gym)
(boys) Carmel Christian vs. Asheville Christian, noon
(girls) Mallard Creek vs. Concord Academy, 1 p.m. (auxiliary gym)
(boys) Moravian Prep vs. Phoenix Montessori, 1:30 p.m.
(girls) North Mecklenburg vs. North Lincoln, 2:30 p.m. (auxiliary gym)
(boys) Greensboro Day vs. Tennessee Collegiate, 3 p.m.
(boys) Chambers vs. New Hanover, 4 p.m. (auxiliary gym)
(boys) Christ School vs. Academy of Central Florida, 4:30 p.m.
(boys) Mooresville vs. Indian Land, 5:30 p.m. (auxiliary gym)
(boys) Providence Day vs. Concord Academy, 6 p.m.
(boys) Queens Grant Charter vs. Gaston Christian, 7 p.m. (auxiliary gym)
(boys) Myers Park vs. Olympic, 7:30 p.m.
(boys) The Burlington School vs. Winston-Salem Christian, 8:30 p.m. (auxiliary gym)
Spectrum Center Doubleheader
Cuthbertson vs. Pine Lake Prep (girls game, 3:30 p.m.; boys game to follow)
NOTE: Games will be played following Charlotte Hornets-Los Angeles Clippers 1 p.m.contest
Cabco Tipoff
(at Cox Mill High)
(girls) Concord vs. Cox Mill, 9 a.m.
(girls) Hickory Ridge vs. Northwest Cabarrus, 10:30 a.m.
(boys) Hickory Ridge vs. Northwest Cabarrus, noon
(girls) Jay M. Robinson vs. West Cabarrus, 1:30 p.m.
(boys) Jay M. Robinson vs. West Cabarrus, 3:30 p.m.
(girls) Central Cabarrus vs. Mount Pleasant, 5 p.m.
(boys) Central Cabarrus vs. Mount Pleasant, 6:30 p.m.
(boys) Concord vs. Cox Mill, 8 p.m.
Area nonconference
Charlotte Country Day at Cary Academy (girls, 11 a.m.; boys, 12:30 p.m.)
Covenant Day at Forsyth Country Day (girls, noon’ boys, 1:30 p.m.)
Hickory Grove Christian at Cape Fear Academy (girls, 1 p.m.; boys, 2:30 p.m.)
Independence vs. Adamsville (AL) Minor (boys only), in Peach State Explosion at Cedar Shoals (GA) High, 1:30 p.m.
South Charlotte Thunder at Chatham Home School (girls, 3 p.m.; boys, 4:30 p.m.)
SouthLake Christian at Coastal Christian (girls, 11 a.m.; boys, 12:30 p.m.)
This story was originally published November 18, 2025 at 11:16 PM.