Friday’s boys’ rewind: Butler beats East Meck, is 8-0 for first time in 8 years
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- Butler reaches 8-0 for first time since 2017 with 64-48 win over East Meck.
- Senior guard Terrance Badio scores a career-high 26 points to spark rally.
- Butler prepares for Providence and Hickory Ridge before Ardrey Kell Holiday tournament.
The last time Butler High’s boys basketball team got off to an 8-0 start, current head coach Patrick King was a Bulldogs assistant coach, and current Butler JV coach and varsity assistant Chase Barnette was a Bulldogs player.
On Friday at longtime rival East Mecklenburg, Butler matched the feat of that eventual 30-1 2017 N.C. Class 4A runner-up team with a hard-earned 64-48 win.
“Our guys love coming over to this gym,” said King, now in his sixth season as Butler’s head coach. “We’ve had lots of battles with them.”
And while Friday night’s final score might not indicate it, the game — played in front of a packed house — was challenging until the Bulldogs pulled away in the second half behind 6-foot-2 senior guard Terrance Badio.
Badio finished with a career-high 26 points; He had five points in the first quarter, seven in the second, 10 in the third and four in the fourth.
Kellan Worthy added 10 points, Elijah Shine eight, Ian Tomlinson seven and Isaiah White six with double-figure rebounds and several blocked shots for the Bulldogs.
“The team is really coming together right now,” said King, who has games next week against Providence and Hickory Ridge before playing in the Ardrey Kell Holiday tournament. “Practice is a joy. The guys are buying into what we’re trying to build this year.”
East Mecklenburg (3-5) led briefly in the first quarter — the last time at 18-16 — before Butler forged an 18-all tie after the opening period.
The Bulldogs led the entire second quarter before taking a 33-28 halftime advantage.
Badio’s 10-point third quarter improved the lead to 53-38 and the Bulldogs led by 10 or more the entire final period.
East Mecklenburg was led by Nixon Wright’s 17 points.
Marvin Ridge stays hot
Marvin Ridge beat Union County rival Piedmont, 78-42, on Friday, its fifth straight win.
The Mavericks have won their last three games by 30 or more points.
Matthew Rivlin led Marvin Ridge with 18 points. He has college offers from Berry, Guilford and Lynchburg. Henry Smith had 13 points, Fleet Payne 12, and DJ Smith had 10 assists.
Friday’s #BIG5 boys’ top performers
Terrance Badio, Butler: Badio had a team-high and career-high 26 points in a 64-48 win over CMS rival East Mecklenburg.
Zeke Battier, Providence Day: Battier had a team-high 25 points in a 57-54 win over Carmel Christian. Providence Day (7-4) won its sixth straight game.
Jaylen Byers, Hough: Byers had 14 points, seven steals in a 76-31 win over Statesville.
Jaxon Dollar, East Lincoln: In a 67-58 win over Bandys, Dollar had 24 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Jaleel Smith, Hunter Huss: Smith had 40 points, eight rebounds, five steals and two assists in an 81-68 win over archrival Ashbrook in Gaston County. Smith made 14 of 21 free throws.
Friday’s boys’ box scores
NO. 3 CONCORD ACADEMY 76, SOUTHLAKE CHRISTIAN 38
Concord Academy 18 16 22 20 — 76
SouthLake 11 6 13 8 — 38
CONCORD ACADEMY 76 — Jonas Agyeman 19, James Minlend 11, Cruz Miller 10, Tyzhir Dyer 9, Mata Vidakovic 8, Brylee Austin 7, Jordan Pierce 5, Romain Boyer 5, Lincoln Raper 2
SOUTHLAKE 38 — Dillon Mason 12, Jalen Paige 10, Cal Stubbs 10, Anderson Johnson 6
NO. 5 QUEEN’S GRANT 79, SUGAR CREEK CHARTER 40
Queen’s Grant 25 26 16 12 — 79
Sugar Creek Charter 7 14 13 6 — 40
QUEEN’S GRANT 79 — Scott 4, Montgomery 8, Mekhi Allen 11, Chase Smith 31, McSweeney 8, DeBerry 7, Mustaf 2, Jackson 8
SUGAR CREEK 40 — Derek Thomas 14, Jaquise Giles 13, Brooks 1, Lewis 4, Wossa 7, Shaw 1
NO. 7 MOORESVILLE 69, ROCKY RIVER 53
Mooresville 15 18 20 16 — 69
Rocky River 19 4 13 17 — 59
MOORESVILLE 69 — Christian Wilson 18, Nolan Ericson 11, Qua Bailey 9, Eian Bailey 8, Jordan Walton 5, Taurean McKinnon 5, Carson Schaen 5, Tyler Morrison 4, Chanse Bost 2, Kevin Cornelius 2.
Notable: Wilson had 5 assists and 4 steals. Bailey had 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Walton had 7 assists and 4 steals. McKinnon had 6 rebounds and 3 steals. Schaen had 5 rebounds. Record: Mooresville 7-1
NO. 8 PROVIDENCE DAY 57, CARMEL CHRISTIAN 54
Carmel Christian 12 9 22 11 — 54
Providence Day 12 13 18 14 — 57
CARMEL CHRISTIAN 54 — James Wood 18, Logan Johnson 12
PROVIDENCE DAY 57 — Zeke Battier 25, C Parker 17, Bradley 9, Williams 4, Haynes 2
Records: Carmel 5-7; Providence Day 7-4
NO. 9 BUTLER 64, EAST MECKLENBURG 48
Butler 18 15 20 11 — 64
East Meck 18 10 10 10 — 48
BUTLER 64 —Terrance Badio 26, Kellan Worthy 10, Ian Tomlinson 9, Elijah Shine 8, Isaiah White 6, James Vastis 4, M’lyk Bloomfield 1
EAST MECKLENBURG 48 — Nixon Wright 17, Toro 8, Buzzard 8, Peterkin 5, Caldwell 3, Thompson 3, Boswell 2, Puff 2 Notes: Butler moves to 8-0. Butler takes on Providence at home on Tuesday.
NO. 16 CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC 59, WEDDINGTON 40
Charlotte Catholic 22 10 8 19 — 59
Weddington 7 11 8 14 — 40
CATHOLIC 59 — Jack Siegel 21, Joseph Kapsiak 16, Mack Jordan 13, Woeste 4, Shepard 3, Houser 2
WEDDINGTON 40 — Trey Jefferson 10, Muteb 7, Cain 7, Werdann 6, Barbier 5, Batt 3, Ford 2
CHARLOTTE LATIN 74, SPARTANBURG DAY 30
Spartanburg Day 11 9 3 7 — 40
Charlotte Latin 22 35 8 9 — 74
SPARTANBURG DAY 40 — Deuce Williams 17, Hyde 3, Taylor 3, T.Williams 3, Barr 2, Henderson 2
CHARLOTTE LATIN 74 — Alex Dauska 14, Ethan Warren 12, Emory Chaney 10, Nick Smith 10, Chapman 6, Diaz 5, Jones 4, Hollmeyer 4, Templeton 3, Wilson 2, White 2, Latta 2
Records: Spartanburg Day 2-3, Latin 7-3
EAST LINCOLN 67, BANDYS 58
East Lincoln 21 9 23 14 — 67
Bandys 12 11 7 28 — 58
EAST LINCOLN 67 — Christian Atkins 17, Gavin Heaberlin 7, Davis Beam 0, Jaxon Dollar 24, Tyson Maggs 0, Brayden Miller 6, Grant Lawless 11, Gaige Ikard 2, Parker Frisk 0, Walker Stone 0, Brandon Bolinger 0
BANDYS 58 — Brady Swett 9, Evan Habschied 3, Evan Robinson 23, Kayden Henrickson 15, Issac Crouse 2, Simeon Gard 6
Records: East Lincoln 4-0, 2-0; Bandys 5-1, 0-1
HOUGH 76, STATESVILLE 31
Hough 27 23 15 11 — 76
Statesville 3 11 9 8 — 31
HOUGH 76 — Jaylen Byers 14, John Slusher 14, Tre Ratliff 10, Christian Coleman 11, Stamey 8, Funderburk 6, Spear 6, Seder 3, Lydeka 2, Beshears 2
Records: Hough 3-2 Statesville 2-6
METROLINA CHRISTIAN 50, WESTMINSTER CATAWBA 45
WESTMINSTER CATAWBA 45 — Ryder Henderson 16, Gannon Parker 11, MJ Littlejohn 10, Quinn 3, Spatola 3, Fleming 2
METROLINA CHRISTIAN — Wilson 4, Secrest 3, Rickey Torrence 14, Gadd 8, Depp 6, Brayden Kirlayson 12
Records: Westminster Catawba 12-3; Metrolina Christian 8-3
VICTORY CHRISTIAN 66, CHARLOTTE COUNTRY DAY 63
Victory Christian 24 15 12 15 — 66
Country Day 13 15 13 20 — 63
COUNTRY DAY 66 — Jojo Youakim 23, Hunter Blythe 14, Mulford 9, Roberts 8, Richardson 3, Brosseau 3, Spruill 2, Lowery 1
Notable: Victory won behind 24 points, five assists from Deshawn Coulter, plus 14 points from Ron Rank.
Records: Victory 4-12
Saturday’s games
Central Cabarrus (1-4) vs. Cannon School (3-7), in Ish Smith Showcase at Central Cabarrus, 8:30 p.m. – The teams’ records aren’t gaudy, but this game has an interesting backstory. Cannon School is coached by Jim Baker, who made Central Cabarrus a state power for several seasons before leaving for Cannon School before the 2024-25 campaign. Baker’s Central Cabarrus teams were 107-3 over four seasons.
His Cannon team has only one senior and is led by Sean Nix (21.0 ppg). Central Cabarrus’ Parker Watkins scored 28 points in a Tuesday loss to Butler.
Independence (5-2) vs. New Hanover (4-1), in East-West Challenge, at Hopewell, 6:30 p.m. – The East-West Challenge is a series of six games (one Friday, five Saturday) pitting Charlotte-area teams against top squads from the eastern part of the state. Independence faces last year’s 4A runner-up. Kellum Brown, a 6-5 forward, leads the Wildcats with 27.6 points and 10.6 rebounds a game. Independence, in the midst of a rugged early-season schedule, is led by Christian Jones (14.3 ppg) and Laurence Black (13.9 ppg).
North Mecklenburg (5-0) vs. Duncan (SC) Byrnes (4-1), in I-85 Showcase at Franklin County (GA) High, 2:30 p.m. – North Mecklenburg and Concord Academy will be playing Saturday in this event. North Meck’s opponent, Byrnes, lost 79-70 to Independence last Saturday. Junior point guard Colt Fowler is averaging 27.2 points and a staggering 11.0 assists per game. North Mecklenburg looked solid in Tuesday’s 94-68 romp over West Cabarrus, with Exzavier Young scoring 25 points and Ashton Pierce adding 18.
Saturday’s schedule
East-West Challenge (boys)
(at Hopewell High)
Corvian Community vs. Middle Creek, 2 p.m.
Harding 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.
I-85 Showcase (boys)
(at Franklin County, GA, High)
(games involving area teams)
North Mecklenburg vs. Duncan (SC) Byrnes, 2:30 p.m.
Concord Academy vs. Roebuck (SC) Dorman, 8:30 p.m.
Nonconference
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.
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 12, 2025 at 11:07 PM.
