West Charlotte shakes off slow start, shakes off Harding at Hoops Challenge
.jpeg "West Charlotte’s Kaharri Coleman dunks during Friday’s game with Harding at the Charlotte Hoops Challenge at Harding High School in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025")
West Charlotte sophomore Chacho Womack said there’s something different about this Lions team, certainly different than what fans have seen from the previous two.
“It’s our brotherhood,” he said after Friday’s 77-57 win over Harding at the Charlotte Hoops Challenge. “We have more chemistry than last year. We kind of grew up together, and we mix better than other teams.”
None of the current players was on the team when West Charlotte won the N.C. 3A state championship in 2021 and reached the state semifinals in 2022. But in the past two seasons, coach Jacoby Davis’ Lions have not roared very much, going 8-19 and 10-15.
This year? He’s got a balanced, hungry team, and added one of the nation’s best sophomores in Kaharri Coleman, who transferred from Harding.
Friday night at Harding, Coleman had 13 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and two assists against his old team, but it was Womack who stole the show with 27 points on 7-of-12 shooting. He made 11 of 15 free throws, and added four rebounds and three assists.
But despite those two great performances, West Charlotte (2-0) was in a dogfight early with the Rams (2-1), who came out awfully confident.
West Charlotte shot 34 percent in the first half, when it led 36-33.
Harding shot 45 percent overall in the first two quarters, including 63 percent from 3-point range, led by Henry Kingston, who had a game-high 27 points and three rebounds. Kingston made 5 of 6 3-point attempts.
The Rams were convinced they were primed for a big upset.
“We started out kind of slow,” Womack said. “I’m not sure what it was, but toward the end, we really pushed it. I mean, once we figured it out, we made a run.”
In the second half, West Charlotte forced Harding into 29 percent shooting, while it found the basket at a high clip, making 15 of 19 shots.
Besides Womack and Coleman, West Charlotte got big games from Jkhai Wade (15 points, six rebounds) and Amen AC-Pressley (10 points, four rebounds, three assists).
The Lions outscored Harding 41-24 in the second half to put the game away.
“They gave us a push,” Womack said. “And this win was kind of a big deal. They were talking crazy. So yeah, it was a good win.”
Note: Get complete coverage from The Charlotte Hoops Challenge and other area tournaments plus Saturday’s schedule, at this link.
This story was originally published November 28, 2025 at 10:08 PM.
