Saturday’s prep rewind: West Charlotte, Queen’s Grant, Ambassador score big wins
West Charlotte, Queen’s Grant Charter and Carmel Christian scored big boys’ basketball victories Saturday in Martin Luther King holiday weekend showcase events across the Charlotte area.
West Charlotte (12-2), ranked fourth in The Observer’s Sweet 16, trounced Durham’s Hillside 64-36 in the finale of the five-game Peace Basketball Showcase on the Lions’ home floor.
Meanwhile, No. 2 Queen’s Grant Charter (20-3) pulled away from Butler 55-34 in the Phenom Hoops MLK Showcase at Carmel Christian, in the first-ever meeting of the two southeast Charlotte schools.
And Carmel Christian finished the MLK Showcase on its floor by downing Independence 82-73.
West Charlotte cruises
Kaharri Coleman scored 20 points, leading the Lions to a lopsided victory. West Charlotte built a 16-8 first-quarter lead, but Hillside narrowed the gap to 29-25 at the half.
The Lions then outscored the Hornets (8-5) 18-8 in the third quarter and held Hillside to three points in the final period.
Jkhai Wade (12 points) and Amen “AC” Pressley (10) also scored in double figures for the Lions. Manny Pulliam had 13 points for Hillside.
(Boys) Indian Land (SC) 83, Rocky River 50: The Warriors (12-6) outscored the Ravens (7-11) 25-9 in the second quarter for a 41-18 halftime lead and coasted.
(Girls) West Charlotte 69, Hillside 54: Chloe Stitt hit a three-point shot from the corner just nine seconds into the game, and the Lions scored a victory. Hillside tied the game after Stitt’s shot, but Brianne Moultrie scored a basket and free throw, and Paris Reaves connected on a 3-pointer, giving the Lions a 9-3 lead. They extended the margin to 17-8 after the first quarter and 42-20 at the half.
Phenom Hoops Showcase
(Boys) No. 2 Queen’s Grant Charter 55, No. 15 Butler 34: The Stallions piled up a 33-17 rebounding margin in their big victory over the Bulldogs (12-4).
The two schools are separated by 4.1 miles, but it was the first time they’ve met on the basketball court.
Mekhi Allen and Chase Smith each had 12 points and eight rebounds, and Preston Scott had 10 assists to go with his 10 points. Scott was named the game’s most valuable player.
Elijah Shine scored 10 points for Butler.
(Boys) Carmel Christian 82, Independence 73: Playing before a full house, the host Cougars (11-9) outscored the Patriots (9-6) 31-20 in a wide-open third quarter for a 70-52 lead.
Logan Johnson was nearly unstoppable for Carmel Christian, scoring 29 points and earning the game’s most valuable player award.
James Wood added 22 points, and Hunter Gid scored 16.
Christian Jones led Independence with 16 points.
Carmel Christian outrebounded the Patriots 26-22.
(Boys) East Mecklenburg 53, Clover (SC) 38: Nixon Wright had a double-double, with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and the Eagles (10-7) pulled away from the Blue Eagles (12-6).
Wright also had two blocks and two steals in earning most valuable player honors for the game.
Jordan Buzzard and Zavon Funderburk each added 12 points for East Mecklenburg.
Jayden Parks led Clover with 11 points and six rebounds.
(Boys) Ambassador Christian 73, High Point Wesleyan 51: R.J. Moore poured in 26 points and added six rebounds, three assists and two steals, as the Lions (12-10) downed the Trojans (10-11).
Ambassador Christian jumped to a 26-9 first-quarter lead and was never threatened. Tyler Brown had a double-double, with 11 points and 10 rebounds. He also had three assists and two steals. Braden Miller (12 points) and Jeremiah Jones-Franklin (10) also scored in double figures.
Hoopsville MLK Classic
(at Chambers High)
(Girls) West Mecklenburg 34, Sugar Creek Charter 24: The Hawks (3-13) jumped to a 14-2 first-quarter lead and hung on. Eriyana Anthony scored 10 points for Sugar Creek Charter (8-7).
(Boys) Pine Lake Prep 72, Sugar Creek Charter 30
(Boys) Orangeburg-Wilkinson (SC) 77, Carolina International 42: Kyran Glover scored 23 points, and Jordan McGahee added 14 points and 12 rebounds as the Bruins (9-5) trounced the Comets (4-11).
Craze Sports MLK Showcase
(at Jackson Day)
(Girls) Indian Land (SC) 59, Garinger 33: The Warriors (4-11) opened a 24-3 lead at halftime, before the Wildcats (4-9) settled down and played nearly even with Indian Land in the second half.
(Girls) Butler 70, Scotland County 23: Brianna Campbell scored 19 points, hitting 5 of 8 from three-point range, and added eight rebounds for the Bulldogs (8-7). Hannah Moss added 18 points. The Scots fell to 1-13.
(Boys) Hough 83, Legion Collegiate (SC) 52: One night after upsetting powerhouse North Mecklenburg, Hough avoided any letdown with a lopsided victory. John Slusher and Nolan Lydeka each scored 13 points, and Jaylen Byers and Tre Ratliff each added 10. The Huskies are now 12-3. Maddy Cottman topped Legion Collegiate with 16 points.
(Girls) Charlotte Catholic 44, Hough 35
Other games
(Boys) Greensboro Day 55, Davidson Day 54: The host Patriots (14-10) fell just short against the state’s top-ranked team. Greensboro Day is now 26-2.
(Boys) Reidsville 82, Lincolnton 59: Reidsville’s Dionte Neal became the school’s all-time scoring leader, totaling 30 points. He now has 2,284 points in his career. Neal also had 10 assists. Paul Cauthen totaled 24 points and 10 rebounds.
The Wolves (10-6) held their own in the first half, trailing the Rams (10-1) 39-36 at intermission. But Reidsville surged in the second half.
(Girls) Lincolnton 67, Reidsville 28
(Boys) Providence 62, Southern Lee 52: The Panthers (7-8) won in the Lee County MLK Showcase.
(Boys) South Charlotte Thunder 74, Providence Athletic Club (SC) 62: Jack Porter had 15 points and nine rebounds, and Aaron Miller added 13 points and five assists as the Thunder (13-5) won in Columbia.
(Girls) South Charlotte Thunder 28, Providence Athletic Club (SC) 18
(Girls) Victory Christian 30, Rabun Gap School (GA) 26: Layla Lee scored a career-high 14 points and Aylin Villareal added eight points for Victory Christian (9-10).
(Boys) Lab Univ. Prep 112, Axton (VA) Carlisle 40 (in the Hupe MLK Classic at Hargrave Military School in Virginia)
Saturday’s #BIG5 top performers
Brianna Campbell (Butler): Campbell hit 5 of 8 shots from three-point range, scoring 19 points and leading the Bulldogs to a 70-23 rout of Scotland County in the Craze Sports MLK Showcase at Jackson Day.
Kaharri Coleman (West Charlotte): Coleman’s 20 points helped the Lions throttle Durham’s Hillside High 64-36 in the Peace Basketball Showcase at West Charlotte.
Logan Johnson (Carmel Christian): Johnson poured in 29 points as his team held off Independence 82-73 in the Phenom Hoops MLK Showcase at Carmel Christian.
R.J. Moore (Ambassador Christian): Moore scored 26 points as Ambassador Christian trounced High Point Wesleyan 73-51 in the Phenom Hoops MLK Showcase at Carmel Christian.
Preston Scott (Queen’s Grant Charter): Scott had 10 points and 10 rebounds in his team’s 55-34 trouncing of Butler in the Phenom Hoops MLK Showcase at Carmel Christian.
Saturday’s boys’ box scores
No. 4 West Charlotte 64, Hillside 36
Hillside 8 17 8 3 – 36
West Charlotte 16 13 18 17 – 64
HILLSIDE 36 – Everett 2, Manny Pulliam 13, Trice 1, Bonner 5, Williamson 4, Bowens 8, Reeves 3
WEST CHARLOTTE 64 – Kaharri Coleman 20, Womack 9, Amen “AC” Pressley 10, Jkhai Wade 12, Hill 2, Cross 6, Richardson 2, Brown 1, Williams 2
Records: Hillside 8-5, West Charlotte 12-2.
Hough 83, Legion Collegiate 52
Hough 21 24 19 19 – 83
Legion Collegiate 12 14 9 17 – 52
HOUGH 83 – John Slusher 13, Nolan Lydeka 13, Jaylen Byers 10, Tre Ratliff 10, Coleman 7, Burnett 7, Funderburk 5, Shapard 5, Swartzendruber 5, Beshears 5, Sedell 2
LEGION COLLEGIATE 52 – Maddox Cottman 16, Byrd 8, Jeudy 7, Siuta 6, Brozak 5, Justin 3, Walker 2, Torres 2.
Record: Hough 12-3
East Mecklenburg 53, Clover 38
East Mecklenburg 16 13 13 11 – 53
Clover 14 7 11 6 – 38
EAST MECKLENBURG 53 – Nixon Wright 11, Ruff 2, Zavion Funderburk 12, Caldwell 9, Ramirez-Toro 6, Thompson 0, Walker 1, Coleman 0, Jordan Buzzard 12
CLOVER 38 – Potts 9, Hickman 5, Jayden Parks 11, Feemster 7, Frantz 0, Gordon 0, McIlwain 2, Danksak 0, Shealey 0, Pinti 2, Hill 2
Ambassador Christian 73, High Point Wesleyan 52
Ambassador Christian 26 15 12 20 – 73
High Point Wesleyan 9 17 8 17 – 51
AMBASSADOR CHRISTIAN 73 – R.J. Moore 26, King 7, Dixon 3, Kelly 3, Haney 1, Gonzalez 0, Jeremiah Jones-Franklin 10, Tyler Brown 11, Braden Miller 12
HIGH POINT WESLEYAN 52 – Rausch 0, Young 3, Owen Hancock 18, Nick Keith 17, Brooke 0, Dobyns 0, Tyson Thompson 13, Hunley 0.
No. 2 Queen’s Grant Charter 55, No. 16 Butler 34
Queen’s Grant 18 14 12 11 – 55
Butler 7 11 5 11 – 34
QUEEN’S GRANT CHARTER 55 – O’Neill 0, Montgomery III 3, Preston Scott 10, Mekhi Allen 12, Jackson 2, White 3, Cannon DeBerry 11, McSweeney 2, Chase Smith 12
BUTLER 34 – Bloomfield 6, Boyd 0, Ross 6, Tomlinson 6, White 2, Martinez 0, Elijah Shine 10, Worthy 4, Nelson 0
Carmel Christian 82, Independence 73
Carmel Christian 22 17 31 12 – 82
Independence 12 20 20 21 – 73
CARMEL CHRISTIAN 82 – Haggerty 8, James Wood 22, Griffin 5, Logan Johnson 29, Kaminski 0, Gutierrez 2, Noch 0, Hunter Gid 16, Riebe 0
INDEPENDENCE 73 – Macharia 8, McFarland 7, Christian Jones 16, Fike 6, King Rhodes 13, Black 8, Powell 6, Bodrick 0, Neely 6, Allen-Waters 3, Campo 0
Saturday’s girls’ box scores
Butler 70, Scotland County 23
Butler 17 21 12 20 – 70
Scotland County 4 5 6 7 – 22
BUTLER 70 – Hannah Moss 18, Bugg 2, Wesley 8, Park 3, Armwood 3, Deese 2, Kondas 2, Emerie Heglund 11, Brianna Campbell 19, Evans-Hill 2
This story was originally published January 17, 2026 at 11:27 PM.
