Monday rewind: North Meck, Charlotte Catholic, Mooresville head to NCHSAA regionals
North Meck’s dream of a state championship three-peat is still alive.
The Vikings, No. 3 in The Observer’s Sweet 16, beat No. 14 Hickory Ridge, 82-79 at home Monday night in the NCHSAA 7A quarterfinals. But North Meck (25-4) had to rally in the fourth quarter and survive a Travien Williams’ pull-up jumper that might’ve spoiled their chase for history — and a running 3-pointer from Tyson Durant that could have forced overtime.
Several Charlotte-area teams advanced to the NCHSAA Western Regional championships, which begin Wednesday at Lenoir-Rhyne.
Those included boys’ teams from North Mecklenburg (7A), Charlotte Catholic (6A), Mooresville (7A), Jay M. Robinson (5A), Hunter Huss (5A), Queen’s Grant Charter (2A) and Jackson Day (1A).
Several girls’ teams also advanced, including North Mecklenburg, Lake Norman (both 7A) and North Lincoln (5A), which forfeited 17 games before the playoffs began but is now two wins away from a state title.
Also in is the girls’ regional is the team from Forest Hills, which upset No. 1 5A seed Oak Grove to advance. Forest Hills (24-4) won its 18th straight game.
Full coverage below.
Quick links
NCHSAA statewide boys’ and girls’ scores, upcoming schedule
Finalists named for NC Ms. Basketball award
New Charlotte Observer Sweet 16 regional poll
Talking Preps regional preview show
Monday’s #BIG5 top performers
Jack Siegel, Charlotte Catholic: In a wild 69-64 come-from-behind win over Mount Tabor, Siegel had 35 points. The Cougars outscored Mount Tabor 29-13 in the fourth quarter.
Ashton Pierce, North Mecklenburg: Pierce had a team-high 22 points in an 82-79 win over Hickory Ridge, including a buzzer-beater before halftime and some clutch baskets in the fourth.
Morgan Knox, North Mecklenburg girls: Knox had a team-high 17 points in a 57-37 win over Marvin Ridge.
Jordan Walton, Mooresville: In a 56-49 win over Marvin Ridge, Walton had a team-high 17 points, six assists and two steals.
Travien Williams, Hickory Ridge: In the close loss to North Mecklenburg, Williams was the best player on the floor, totaling a game-high 25 points.
North Mecklenburg hangs on, advances in 7A playoffs
North Meck survived a serious upset attempt from Hickory Ridge and Ragin’ Bulls star guard Travien William to advance, winning 82-79.
Hickory Ridge (24-6), which opened 19 years ago, advanced to the state quarterfinals for the first time, and the Bulls — who set a school-record with 24 wins — had that fourth quarter lead in Huntersville.
Williams, a big-bodied junior, was getting into the paint at will, and North Meck couldn’t do much to stop him.
North Meck managed, however, to work out to a 79-74 lead with 85 seconds left, off a clutch 3-pointer from senior Ashton Pierce, a Sacramento State recruit. But with 19 seconds left, Williams made a runner to cut North’s lead to 80-79 and the Vikings were called for an inbounds violation, giving the ball back to Hickory Ridge.
Williams got a good look with four seconds left but missed. And after North Meck’s Alex White made two free throws, for an 82-79 lead, Hickory Ridge’s Durant had a chance to tie, trying a running 3-point shot near the left sideline. The shot hit the backboard and rim, but missed.
North Meck will play Mooresville in the N.C. western regional championship Friday at Lenoir-Rhyne, a site where the Vikings beat Olympic in a regional final in 2020, their last appearance in that gym.
The Vikings are trying to become the first Mecklenburg County public school team to win three straight state championships since South Mecklenburg did it in the early 70s.
Charlotte Catholic rallies past Mount Tabor, heads to 6A regionals
Down 62-61 with less two minutes left, Charlotte Catholic rallied for a 69-64 victory over visiting Mount Tabor in the 6A boys’ fourth round.
The Cougars (25-4) mounted a huge comeback in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Spartans (22-5) by a 29-13 margin.
Mount Tabor led most of the game and was up 20-12 after the first quarter, 38-28 at the half, and 51-40 after three quarters.
The second-seeded Cougars’ victory sets up an interesting West Regional championship game Wednesday night against Kings Mountain. The Mountaineers (15-12) advanced with a 69-68 upset of top-seeded Ben Smith.
Charlotte Catholic assistant coach Jerry Jordan is a former quarterback and basketball player at Kings Mountain. His son, Mack, is starting point guard for the Cougars. Jordan also coached at Highland Tech in Gastonia before coming to Charlotte Catholic.
Jack Siegel led Charlotte Catholic with 35 points and seven rebounds. Jordan had 17 points and six assists.
Mooresville holds off challenge, advances
Mooresville made four free throws in the final 23 seconds and held off visiting Marvin Ridge 56-49 in a boys’ 7A fourth-round game.
The second-seeded Blue Devils (26-2) led for nearly the entire game but were pushed down the stretch by the third-seeded Mavericks (22-6).
Mooresville opened a 10-point lead, 46-36, with 5:09 left in the game on a basket and free throw by Taurean McKinnon.
But Marvin Ridge stayed within reach, and senior Henry Smith brought the Mavericks within 52-49 when he hit a three-pointer from the left corner with 53 seconds remaining.
The Mavericks fouled Mooresville’s Nolan Ericson, who made two fouls shots with 23 seconds left.
Then Marvin Ridge turned the ball over on a traveling call and fouled the Blue Devils’ Christian Wilson. He made both free throws with 16.9 seconds left, for the final points.
McKinnon finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Jordan Walton had 17 points.
The Blue Devils will face North Mecklenburg in the West Regional final.
No. 1 Lake Norman, No. 2 North Meck girls head to regional showdown
The two top-ranked teams in The Observer’s Sweet 16 poll are going to meet for a berth in the 7A state championship game.
Lake Norman (24-1) and North Meck (27-2) both cruised in state quarterfinal wins Monday.
Lake Norman rolled past Porter Ridge, 70-46, using a full-court pressure defense to wear down their Union County opponents. Lake Norman, which won the 4A state title last season, is one win away from playing for another ring.
North Meck won its 16th straight game, running past No. 7 Marvin Ridge, 57-37. The Vikings dominated the fourth quarter on the road, outscoring the Mavericks 21-5.
North Meck was led by 17 points from Morgan Knox and 15 from N.C. Ms. Basketball finalist Lenise Joseph.
Lake Norman was pushed by Porter Ridge early in the game. In fact, the Pirates took a 12-11 lead with 2:40 left in the first quarter on a free throw by Brynlee Jackson.
But the Wildcats went on an 8-0 run over the next 98 seconds. Finley Sherrill grabbed an offensive rebound and scored, giving Lake Norman a 13-12 lead. Then the Wildcats’ defense took over. On two straight Porter Ridge possessions, Lake Norman got steals and layups — from Rayana Minard and Kaiya Bond.
Jeta North scored after grabbing an offensive rebound, and Lake Norman had a 19-12 lead. The Wildcats were not threatened after that.
Jay M. Robinson edges East Lincoln in thriller
Host Jay M. Robinson made just enough free throws down the stretch to hold off East Lincoln 54-53 in a 5A boys’ game. The Bulldogs will face top-seeded Hunter Huss for the Western Regional championship Saturday night.
Jay M. Robinson took a 52-48 lead on Da’Montre Harlee’s layup with 30 seconds left, but the Mustangs came back, scoring on Brayden Miller’s three-pointer with 24 seconds to play.
The Bulldogs’ Jamell Reid then hit one of two fouls shots with 19 seconds left, and repeated that with 7.1 seconds to play. That put Jay M. Robinson up 54-51.
East Lincoln scored on a layup with three seconds left, but the Bulldogs ran out the clock for the victory.
Stuart Cramer loss ends Holland’s career
Oshauna Holland, North Carolina’s all-time girls’ high school basketball leading scorer, finished her career Monday night with a 20-point performance in a loss.
Stuart Cramer fell 60-56 at Pisgah in a 4A playoff game matching teams that entered the contest with 28-1 records.
Holland, who averaged 34 points a game this season, broke the state’s all-time record in her team’s victory Saturday over Fred T. Foard. Monday night’s performance gave her a career total of 3,252 points.
Stuart Cramer trailed 59-56 with less than a minute remaining Monday but missed a pair of three-point shots in the closing 55 seconds. Pisgah’s defense held Holland to four points in the fourth quarter.
Monday’s boys’ box scores
NO. 1 QUEEN’S GRANT 66, BISHOP MCGUINNESS 50
Queen’s Grant 17 15 13 21 — 66
Bishop McGuinness 11 9 19 11 — 50
QUEEN’S GRANT 66 — Bobby Montgomery 18, Chase Smith 14, Mekhi Allen 11, DeBerry 6, McSweeney 6, Jackson 5, Scott 4, White 2
BISHOP MCGUINNESS 50 — Arop Chom 14, Bryce Chapman 12, Thompson 7, Wall 6, Short 4, Chavis 4, Hawley 3
NO. 3 NORTH MECKLENBURG 82, NO. 14 HICKORY RIDGE 79
Hickory Ridge 16 23 23 17 — 79
North Mecklenburg 24 19 21 19 — 82
HICKORY RIDGE 79 — Travien Williams 25, Amari Winters 19, Bralen Hill 13, Gidney 5
NORTH MECKLENBURG 82 — Ashton Pierce 22, Exzavier Young 17, Wilson Estwick 16, Xavier Davis 12, White 9, Oates 6
NO. 8 MOORESVILLE 56, MARVIN RIDGE 49
Mooresville 15 6 19 16 — 56
Marvin Ridge 12 8 13 16 — 49
MOORESVILLE 56 -- Jordan Walton 17, Taurean McKinnon 10, Eian Bailey 9, Qua Bailey 9, Christian Wilson 7, Nolan Ericson 4.
Notable: Walton had 6 assists and 2 steals. McKinnon had 10 rebounds and 2 steals. Eian Bailey had 8 rebounds. Ericson had 5 rebounds.
Record: Mooresville 26-2
NO. 9 CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC 69, MOUNT TABOR 64
Charlotte Catholic 12 16 12 29 — 69
Mt Tabor 20 18 13 13 — 64
CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC 69 — Jack Siegel 35, Mack Jordan 17, Joseph Kapsiak 11, Woeste 2, McKinstry 2, M. Kapsiak 2
MOUNT TABOR 64 — Will Koonin 28, Reynolds 14, O’Gara 12, Drumgole 6, Moore 2, Brown 2
Monday’s girls’ box scores
NO. 1 LAKE NORMAN 70, PORTER RIDGE 46
Lake Norman 19 12 23 16 — 70
Porter Ridge 12 9 14 11 — 46
LAKE NORMAN 70 — Kaiya Bond 15, Rayana Minard 25, Kelsey Rhyne 6, Kaylee Ellis 4,, Finley Sherrill 9, Jeta North 11
PORTER RIDGE 46 — B Jackson 3, M Malcom 2, K Williams 14, B Giarla 1, A Taylor 12, S Harris 14
Records: Lake Norman 24-1; Porter Ridge 24-5
NO. 2 NORTH MECKLENBURG 57, NO. 7 MARVIN RIDGE 37
Marvin Ridge 14 8 10 5 — 37
North Meck 11 12 13 21 — 57
MARVIN RIDGE 37 — K. Schindler 20, Heine 8, Stewart 4, Lenehan 2, Chadderton 2
NORTH MECK 57 — Morgan Knox 17, Lenise Joseph 15, Stephanie Mobley 13, Blake 7, Newton 3, Trotter 2
This story was originally published March 2, 2026 at 10:22 PM.
