Tuesday’s boys’ rewind: No. 16 Catholic holds off South Meck on wild night
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Catholic holds off South Mecklenburg 66-60 after withstanding late Sabres surge.
- Catholic moves to 6-1; seniors and sophomore Mack Jordan seal road victory Tuesday.
- Concord Academy shocks No.1 Gaston Christian 68-52; Marvin Ridge routs Myers Park.
Separated by less than two miles, Charlotte Catholic and South Mecklenburg are among the closest rivals by proximity in Mecklenburg County.
The two schools renewed their boys basketball rivalry for the sixth time since the 2021-22 season on Tuesday night with Catholic, No. 16 in the latest Charlotte Observer Sweet 16 poll, taking a hard-earned 66-60 road victory.
The Cougars, who improved to 6-1 this season, built a 10-point in the first half and were ahead by a game-high 17 points (51-34) with 3:26 left in the third quarter.
But South Mecklenburg responded with a 22-5 surge to tie the score at 56 with 4:39 to play before Catholic regained its footing and came away with the win.
“You play these non-conference games so you can get ready for conference play,” said 18th-year Catholic head coach Mike King, whose team opens its Southern Carolina 6A/7A Conference play on Friday at Weddington. “This game is always something extra for us since we’re so close and some of our players play summer ball together.
“Give coach Mac (Sabres coach Christopher McDonald) credit. They battled and made us work for it.”
Down the stretch, seniors Joseph Kopsiak, Jack Siegel and Luke Woaste and sophomore Mack Jordan made plays to allow Catholic to escape with the victory.
Jordan’s driving layup with 4:19 to play gave the Cougars the lead for good and Siegel and Kopsiak hit two free throws each in the final 1:03 to keep their team comfortably ahead.
South Mecklenburg, which opens its Greater Charlotte 7A/8A Conference play in January, fell to 3-6 against a challenging schedule.
Senior veterans Jim Gatehouse (21 points) and Ben Houpt (15 points) led the Sabres.
“Those two guys are really good players and we’re fortunate to get a win over here,” said King, whose team has split the six meetings between the two schools in the last five seasons.
Wild Tuesday with buzzer-beaters, upsets
Tuesday had a lot going on.
Concord Academy upset No. 1 Gaston Christian (scroll down), Marvin Ridge blew out No. 7 Myers Park (scroll down) and Calvary Day upset No. 4 Davidson Day, dropping the Patriots to 7-5 on the season.
Westminster Catawba’s Gannon Parker and Carmel Christian’s Logan Johnson hit buzzer-beaters, and Johnson’s was from near mid-court.
And, finally, West Meck beat Stuart Cramer, 74-34, behind 20 points from RJ Grier, 13 from Ari Walkup and 10 from Josiah Bridges. West Meck (5-3) has won three in a row under coach Chris Ewell. The Hawks were 0-25 last season, 7-17 in 2023-24 and 2-23 in 2022-23.
This is a pretty big story.
Concord Academy stuns No. 1 Gaston Christian
Concord Academy, No. 3 in The Observer’s Sweet 16, used a big second and third quarter push to take down No. 1 Gaston Christian Tuesday night.
Concord Academy won 68-52, by outscoring Gaston Christian 47-27 in the middle two quarters. Lincoln Raper (22 points), Cruz Miller (12), James Minlend (12) and Mata Vidakovic (11) led Concord Academy, which held Gaston Christian star Cameron Newman to six points.
Gaston Christian (13-1) was led by 12 poits from Jaishawn Woods.
Marvin Ridge blows past No. 7 Myers Park
In one of the biggest upsets of the season, Marvin Ridge blew away Myers Park, 88-57, at home Tuesday.
With college coaches in attendance from Hampden Sydney, Guilford and Wofford, Marvin Ridge jumped out to a 26-6 first quarter lead and never let up.
The Mavericks were led by 24 points from senior Henry Smith, 21 from sophomore Fleet Payne, 18 from senior Matthew Rivlin and 13 from junior Mac Habenicht.
Tuesday’s #BIG5 boys’ top performers
Alex Dauska, Charlotte Latin: In a 76-64 win over Piedmont, Dauska had a game-high 28 points. Charlotte Latin won its fourth straight game. Piedmont’s Bryan Little had 27.
Collin McConneyhead, Lake Norman Charter: In a 69-66 win over Kings Mountain, McConneyhead had 29 points, a game-high.
Gannon Parker, Westminster Catawba: Parker hit a buzzer-beater in a 51-49 win over SouthLake Christian to open conference play. Parker finished with 11 points.
Lincoln Raper, Concord Academy: Raper had a game-high 22 points to lead Concord Academy to a decisive 68-52 win over Sweet 16 No. 1 Gaston Christian.
Braden Suggs, Ardrey Kell: Suggs had a game-high 20 points in a 68-49 win over Porter Ridge.
Tuesday’s boys’ box scores
(Includes Observer Sweet 16 rankings)
NO. 2 NORTH MECKLENBURG 94, WEST CABARRUS 68
West Cabarrus 21 12 25 10 — 68
North Meck 20 24 18 27 — 94
WEST CABARRUS 68 — Camari McCrae 18, Barack Jones 16, Kanari Caldwell 14, Haynes 6, Malachi B 6, Pharrel B 5, Kederric L. 2, Jeremiah A. 1
NORTH MECK 94 — Exzavier Young 25, Ashton Pierce 18, Wilson Estwick 14, DJ Lindsey 10, White 6, Johnson 4, Oates 3, Lewandowski 3, Davis 3, Franks 2, Pack 2, Gary 2
NO. 3 CONCORD ACADEMY 68, NO. 1 GASTON CHRISTIAN 52
Concord Academy 5 25 22 16 — 68
Gaston Christian 11 13 14 14 — 52
CONCORD ACADEMY 68 — Lincoln Raper 22, Cruz Miller 12, James Minlend 12, Mata Vidakovic 11, Agyeman 6, Boyer 3, Austin 2
GASTON CHRISTIAN 52 — Jaishawn Woods 12, Luparia 9, Southern 8, Milner 7, Duhon 6, Newman 6, Makoi 4
Records: Concord Academy 11-1; Gaston Christian 13-1
NO. 5 QUEEN’S GRANT 75, PIEDMONT COMMUNITY CHARTER 50
QGHS 11 13 26 25 — 75
PCC 16 12 5 19 — 50
QGHS 75 — Scott 2, Bobby Montgomery 14, Mekhi Allen 17, Chase Smith 25, McSweeney 1, Cannon DeBerry 10, Mustaf 2, Jackson 4
PCC 50 — Austin 1, Henry Peprah 15, TJ Biggers 16, Eli Grant 12, Grove 3, Turner 1, Lindgren 2
NO. 7 MOORESVILLE 67, COX MILL 56
Mooresville 28 17 11 11 — 67
Cox Mill 10 14 14 18 — 56
MOORESVILLE 67 — Qua Bailey 15, Christian Wilson 14, Walton 8, McKinnon 6, Bost 5, Morrison 5, Bailey 4, Schaen 3, Ericson 3, Cornelius 2, McDonald 2
Notable: Qua Bailey had seven rebounds for Mooresville. Eian Bailey had five rebounds and five assists
Record: Mooresville 5-1
MARVIN RIDGE 88, NO. 11 MYERS PARK 57
MARVIN RIDGE 88 — Henry Smith 24, Fleet Payne 21, Matthew Rivlin 18, Mac Habenicht 13
CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC 66, NO. 16 SOUTH MECKLENBURG 60
South Meck 14 11 23 12 — 60
Catholic 16 19 18 13 — 66
SOUTH MECK 60 — Jim Gatehouse 21, B. Houpt 16, Chudgar 7
CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC 66 — Jack Siegel 21, Kupsick 17, Jordan 15
Records: South Meck 3-6; Catholic 5-1
ARDREY KELL 68, PORTER RIDGE 49
Ardrey Kell 10 24 18 16 — 68
Porter Ridge 8 17 15 9 — 49
ARDREY KELL 68 — Braden Suggs 20, Dylan Morrison 19, Craft 9, Nelson 8, Stankavage 6, Burhans 6
PORTER RIDGE 49 — Johnson 5, Moweshan 5, Osei 3, Dotson 3, McCain 9, Adams 3, Elmore 14, Sullivan 5
Records: Ardrey Kell 6-2
Notable: Ardrey Kell’s Asa Nelson had a career-high eight points.
CARMEL CHRISTIAN 46, CANNON SCHOOL 43
Carmel 9 9 10 18 — 46
Cannon 10 15 10 13 — 43
CARMEL 46 — James Wood 14, Myles Vick 11
CHARLOTTE COUNTRY DAY 70, ST. JOSEPH’S 40
Country Day 14 16 21 19 — 70
St. Joseph’s 14 6 21 19 — 40
COUNTRY DAY 70 — Phil Brosseau 14, Nolan Lowery 14, Emory Roberts 13, Pete Richardson 13, Youakim 7, Spruill 5, Harker 3, Mulford 2
ST. JOSEPH’S 40 — Green 11, Bears 11, Peterson 6, Carr 5, Hood 5
Notable: Country Day win third straight road game to improve to 6-4.
CHARLOTTE LATIN 76, PIEDMONT 64
Piedmont 10 12 25 17 — 64
Charlotte Latin 23 19 10 24 — 76
PIEDMONT 64 — Bryan Little 27, Will Staton 11, Laszlo 8, Ofori 7, Church 6, Covington 3, Smith 2
CHARLOTTE LATIN 76 — Alex Dauska 28, Emory Chaney 18, Ethan Warren 10, Jones 6, Spicer 5, White 3
EAST LINCOLN 62, NEWTON-CONOVER 52
East Lincoln 13 22 10 17 — 62
Newton 12 12 12 16 — 52
EAST LINCOLN 62 — Christian Atkins 14, Heaberlin 3, Beam 8, Jaxon Dollar 15, Miller 4, Lawless 9, Ikard 9
NEWTON 52 — Kingston Lineberger 21, Geddes 9, Mitchell 5, Braxton Eckward 15, Derr 2
Records: East Lincoln 3-0; Newton 4-2
LAKE NORMAN CHARTER 69, KINGS MOUNTAIN 66
Lake Norman Charter 12 15 23 19 — 69
Kings Mountain 21 12 18 15 — 66
LAKE NORMAN CHARTER 69 — Collin McConneyhead 29, Kam Davis 12, Bennett Love 12, Isaiah Carter 11, Frierson 3, Roberts 2
KINGS MOUNTAIN 66 — C. Dixon 16, E. Daniel 12, M. Daniel 11, Tate 9, Hutchens 8, Hill 4, Bell 4, Jarrett 2
METROLINA CHRISTIAN 65, LEE PARK PREP 52
Metrolina 8 14 22 21 — 65
Lee Park 9 17 12 14 — 52
METROLINA 65 — Tyler Gadd 24, Rickey Torrence 20, Wilson 8, Kirbyson 6, Reeder 4, Depp 3
LEE PARK 52 — Cole O’Donoghue 20, Isaac Watkins 14, Arant 8, Albertyn 7, Griffin 3
Records: Metrolina 7-3; Lee Park 3-5
NORTH LINCOLN 81, MAIDEN 68
North Lincoln 21 17 20 23 — 81
Maiden 18 17 13 20 — 68
NORTH LINCOLN 81 — Carter Abernathy 24, Nick Whitener 19, Ben Heavner 17, Beckett Rinkus 10, Chandler 8, Mincey 3
Records: North Lincoln 4-1; Maiden 0-1
WESTMINSTER CATAWBA 51, SOUTHLAKE CHRISTIAN 49
Westminster 14 12 11 14 — 51
SouthLake 9 13 13 14 —49
WESTMINSTER CATAWBA 51 — MJ Littlejohn 15, Gannon Parker 11, Guess III 9, Henderson 6, Fleming 5, Quinn 3, Spatola 2
SOUTHLAKE CHRISTIAN 49 — Dillon Mason 21, Johnson 9, Cameron 3, Jalen Paige 13, Stubbs 3
Records: Westminster 12-2; SouthLake 8-5
Upcoming schedule
Wednesday
Non-conference
Cuthbertson at Forestview
Highland Tech at Central Academy
Indian Land (SC) at Piedmont (girls only), 6 p.m.
Jackson Day at Bradford Prep
Lincolnton at Lake Norman Charter
Nation Ford (SC) at Providence
North Gaston at West Lincoln (girls only), 6 p.m.
Northwest Cabarrus at Butler
Tasmania National Team at Providence Day (girls only), 6 p.m.
Union Academy at Central Pageland (SC)
Weddington at North Mecklenburg (girls only), 6 p.m.
Thursday
Western Foothills 4A/5A
North Lincoln at West Iredell
Non-conference
Brisbane (Australia) Aussie Travelers at Davidson Day (boys only), 6 p.m.
Carmel Christian at Charlotte Christian (girls only), 5 p.m.
Forsyth Home Educations at South Charlotte Thunder (girls only), 6 p.m.
Garinger at Independence (girls only), 6:30 p.m.
Hough at Davie County
Mountain Island Charter at East Gaston
Parkwood at Central Pageland (SC)
Socrates Academy at Union Day (boys only), 4 p.m.
South Charlotte Thunder at Arborbrook Christian (boys only), 6:30 p.m.
South Point at Forest Hills
Statesville Christian at Millers Creek Christian (girls, 5 p.m.; boys, 6:30 p.m.)
Friday
Barefoot Classic
(at Providence Day)
(girls) Providence Day vs. South Caldwell, 6:30 p.m.
(boys) Providence Day vs. Carmel Christian, 8 p.m.
Greater Metro 6A/7A
A.L. Brown at Harding
Central Cabarrus at Hickory Ridge
Olympic at Cox Mill
West Cabarrus at Berry Academy
Southern Carolina 6A/7A
Cuthbertson at Porter Ridge
Marvin Ridge at Piedmont
Weddington at Charlotte Catholic
Big South 5A/6A
Ashbrook at Hunter Huss
Crest at Kings Mountain
North Gaston at Forestview
Rocky River 4A/5A
Central Academy at West Stanly (girls, 5:30 p.m.; boys, 7 p.m.)
Mount Pleasant at Anson County (girls, 5:30 p.m.; boys, 7 p.m.)
Parkwood at Forest Hills
South Piedmont 4A/5A
Concord at West Rowan
Jay M. Robinson at East Rowan
Salisbury at Jesse Carson
South Rowan at Northwest Cabarrus
Western Foothills 4A/5A
Bandys at East Lincoln
Maiden at Bunker Hill
Newton-Conover at Hickory
Metrolina Athletic Conference
Concord Academy at SouthLake Christian (girls, 5:30 p.m.; boys, 7 p.m.)
Hickory Grove Christian at Gaston Christian (girls, 5:30 p.m.; boys, 7 p.m.)
Metrolina Christian at Westminster Catawba (girls, 5:30 p.m.; boys, 7 p.m.)
Southern Piedmont 2A/3A/4A
Cherryville at Highland Tech
Lincolnton at Burns
Shelby at West Lincoln (girls, 5:30 p.m.; boys, 7 p.m.)
Catawba Shores 2A/3A/4A
Bradford Prep at Langtree Charter
Community School of Davidson at Lake Norman Charter
Corvian Community at Lincoln Charter
Catawba River 1A/2A/3A
Piedmont Community Charter at Jackson Day
Sugar Creek Charter at Queens Grant Charter (girls, 5:30 p.m.; boys, 7 p.m.)
Yadkin Valley 1A/2A/3A
Math & Science Academy of Charlotte at North Stanly
Non-conference
Ambassador Christian vs. Moravian Prep (boys only), in Turkey Hopps Classic at Knoxville (TN) Webb High, 7:30 p.m.
Asheville Christian at Covenant Day (girls only), 5 p.m.
Ballantyne Ridge at South Iredell
Bradford Academy at Statesville Christian (girls, 5:30 p.m.; boys, 7 p.m.)
Butler at East Mecklenburg
Cabarrus Stallions at Forsyth Home Educators
Caldwell Academy at Davidson Day (boys only), 6:30 p.m.
Carolina International at Thomas Jefferson Academy
Charlotte Christian at Forsyth Country Day (girls, 5:30 p.m.; boys, 7 p.m.)
Garinger at Palisades
Gaston Day at Burlington Christian (girls, 5:30 p.m.; boys, 7 p.m.)
Lake Norman at West Forsyth
North Buncombe at South Point
North Hills Christian at Mountain Island Charter
Pine Lake Prep at A.C. Reynolds
Providence at Myers Park
Rocky River at Mooresville
Spartanburg Day at Charlotte Latin
Statesville at Hough
Sun Valley at Albemarle
Union Academy at Christ the King
Victory Christian at Charlotte Country Day (girls, 5:30 p.m.; boys, 7 p.m.)
West Mecklenburg at Clover (SC)
Saturday
East-West Challenge (boys)
(at Hopewell High)
Harding vs. Middle Creek, 2 p.m.
Hopewell vs. Jack Britt, 3:30 p.m.
Chambers vs. Millbrook, 5 p.m.
Independence vs. New Hanover, 6:30 p.m.
West Charlotte vs. Panther Creek, 8 p.m.
Myers Park Classic (girls)
Providence vs. West Charlotte, 1 p.m.
Myers Park vs. Palisades, 2:30 p.m.
Lake Norman vs. Ardrey Kell, 4 p.m.
Ish Smith Showcase
(at Central Cabarrus High)
(boys) West Cabarrus vs. Mount Pleasant, 11:30 a.m.
(girls) Butler vs. Central Cabarrus, 1 p.m.
(girls) Concord Academy vs. Hickory Ridge, 2:30 p.m.
(girls) North Mecklenburg vs. Terry Sanford, 4 p.m.
(boys) Jesse Carson vs. Mallard Creek, 5:30 p.m.
(boys) Hickory Ridge vs. Concord, 7 p.m.
(boys) Central Cabarrus vs. Cannon School, 8:30 p.m.
828 Showcase
(at Maiden High)
(girls) East Lincoln vs. Stuart Cramer, 1:30 p.m.
(boys) East Lincoln vs. East Rutherford, 3 p.m.
(boys) Hickory vs. Gaston Christian, 4:30 p.m.
(girls) Maiden vs. West Cabarrus, 6 p.m.
(boys) Maiden vs. Fort Mill (SC), 7:30 p.m.
She Got Game Classic (girls)
(at St. James School, Washington)
(games involving area teams)
Mallard Creek vs. Newport News (VA) Menchville, 12:20 p.m.
Cannon School vs. Kissimmee (FL) Central Pointe Christian, 2:15 p.m.
Non-conference
Ambassador Christian vs. Knoxville (TN) Webb, in Turkey Hardwood Classic at Webb High, 8 p.m.
Charlotte Country Day at Charlotte Catholic (boys only), 4 p.m.
Concord Academy vs. Dorman (SC) (boys), in I-85 Showcase at Franklin (GA) County High, 8:30 p.m.
Gray Collegiate (SC) at Davidson Day (boys only), 4:30 p.m.
Pine Lake Prep at T.C. Roberson (boys only), 4:30 p.m.
This story was originally published December 9, 2025 at 11:06 PM.
