Providence Day, Zeke Battier, roll rival Country Day, advance state title dream
Providence Day junior Zeke Battier looks like he’s starting to get comfortable, and the Chargers are starting to look like serious state title contenders.
Battier had a pretty easy 30 points in a runaway 79-59 win at Charlotte Country Day on Wednesday night, his team’s 12th straight win.
After an 0-4 start under interim coach Jonathan McIntyre, the Chargers, now 18-5.
And since going 0-4, Providence Day has only lost to national power Oak Hill Academy. On Wednesday, those hot Chargers were too big and too talented for a Country Day team that was scrappy throughout.
“Look,” McIntyre said, “we knew that (Country Day) would play us hard. They always do. But we had a size advantage and we tried to take advantage.”
McIntyre’s team led 20-10 after the first quarter and 47-31 at halftime. By then, Battier was well into his bag. He ended up making 10 of 12 shots overall, 4 of 5 3-point attempts and all six free throw shots.
And it really looked easy.
“I’ve low-key been in a little bit of a slump shooting the ball,” said Battier, a 6-foot-7 junior who is the son of former Duke national champion and NBA champ Shane Battier. “I hit a couple 3s tonight, and it opened up the game for me. I just think our team played really good today from the beginning.”
Battier, a long left-handed wing, got to the rim for a variety of dunks and layups and showed a nice touch from outside. He doesn’t have an offer yet, but said he’s getting college interest from Davidson, Iowa State, Northwestern, Villanova and Yale.
If he keeps playing the way he did Wednesday, that list will grow.
“Zeke’s just a different player this year than last year,” McIntyre said. “He plays with a chip on his shoulder and can pretty much score at will. We’re pretty much trying to get him the ball as much as we can, and share it, but when he gets his opportunities, he’s really dangerous getting to the rim.”
McIntyre was an assistant coach on a Providence Day’s 2016 N.C. Independent Schools state champion. Those 2016 Chargers beat a High Point Christian team that featured future NBA all-star Bam Adebayo and nine other Division I recruits in the final. In 2024, The Observer named that Chargers team, coached by Brian Field, the best of its 40-year Sweet 16 era.
Providence Day hasn’t won the title since then. The Chargers last reached the championship in 2024, losing to Ardren’s Christ School, 56-45.
Christ School has won the past three state titles in the 4A division, but the Greenies are competing in a Nike league this season and won’t be around for the postseason.
The Chargers know the field has opened up a little bit, and they are looking forward to trying to get another ring under McIntyre, who has brought back much of the staff from the 2016 team, including Field, and added Shane Battier on the bench, too.
“We probably could put up a game with them,” Zeke Battier said of Christ School, “but it does open it up a lot, and we really do have a chance to win state. It’s been 10 years. We’ve got coach Field back, who coached that team, and winning one for him would be amazing.”
McIntyre, though, is first trying to finish off an unbeaten run through CISAA play, and the Chargers have games remaining with Cannon School Friday and with rivals Charlotte Christian and Charlotte Latin next week.
For the coach, the playoffs can wait.
“I’m trying to keep our guys on the one day at a time thing,” McIntyre said. “We all know (Christ School) is not competing this year, but there are still lots of good teams. Forsyth Country Day looks like they’re the cream of the crop (in the 4A division), and there’s a bunch of really good teams after that, including us. So we’ve got to continue doing our thing every day and just see what happens.”
PROVIDENCE DAY 79, CHARLOTTE COUNTRY DAY 59
Providence Day 20 27 26 6 — 79
Country Day 10 21 16 12 — 59
PROVIDENCE DAY 79 — Zeke Battier 30, C Parker 15, Dylan Bradley 13, Aidan Scruitsky 10, Haynes 5, Brancieri 3, Swinson 2, Tyree-Rodriquez 1
CHARLOTTE COUNTRY DAY 59 — Emory Roberts 17, Hunter Blythe 13, Nolan Lowery 11, Brosseau 9, Apostolopulos 6, Harris 2
Records: Providence Day 19-5, 7-0; Charlotte Country Day 12-14, 2-5
Notable: Providence Day junior point guard Columbus Parker had 15 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds. Dylan Bradley had 13 points, 5 assists. Aidan Scruitsky scored his 1,000th point.
Providence Day girls roll
Providence Day, No 9 in The Sweet 16, jumped on Country Day early in a 61-46 win.
The Chargers (20-4, 6-1 CISAA) got 17 points from Ginny Anne Dumont, 14 from Jaida McClure and 13 from Jane Updyke in the win.
Country Day’s Olive Bigham had 14 to lead the Bucs.
Providence Day will play at Cannon (18-6, 6-0) Friday in a game that will be for the CISAA conference title. Cannon beat Providence Day, 53-41, at Providence Day on Jan. 29, but Dumont did not play in that game.
PROVIDENCE DAY 61, CHARLOTTE COUNTRY DAY 46
Providence Day 17 14 18 12 — 61
Country Day 7 17 7 15 — 46
PROVIDENCE DAY 61 — Ginny Anne Dumont 17 Jaida McClure 14 Jane Updyke 13 Clark 7 Ramsden 6 O’Malley 4
CHARLOTTE COUNTRY DAY 46 — Sam Vanderhave 12 Olive Bigham 14 Starnes 8 Liley 1 Bhanti 2 Turner 1 Record: Providence Day 20-4, 6-1
This story was originally published February 4, 2026 at 10:52 PM.
