Basketball Roundup: No. 2 Myers Park girls survive No. 4 Ardrey Kell

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↑North Meck’s “M&M” boys: North Meck beat West Meck 76-31 to start the season Wednesday and beat Community School of Davidson 92-46 Thursday. In two games, seniors Davion Mintz and Jaylen McManus have combined for 83 points, 24 rebounds and 14 assists.

↑Myers Park’s streaks: The Mustangs girls are 120-4 the past four years and have won 25 straight games after Thursday’s 47-43 win at Ardrey Kell. Myers Park has also won 90 straight games against Mecklenburg County teams since February 2011.

↑Kameron Law, Covenant Day: First-year coach got his first win, 82-41 over Rock Hill’s Westminster Catawba Thursday. Noah Biggerstaf led Covenant Day with 19.

Thursday’s Girls Roundup

No. 2 Myers Park 47, No. 4 Ardrey Kell 43: Myers Park girls basketball coach Barbara Nelson has won nine state championships in three different decades but she admitted that she and assistant coach Ray Henderson – a former All-American at East Mecklenburg and Clemson star – were awful nervous before the game.

Myers Park (1-0) was debuting a lot of new faces and moving around returning players to new spots. The Mustangs were also playing without two-time All-Americans D.D. Rogers (N.C. State) and Aliyah Mayzck (Southern Cal). Led by junior guard McKenna Haire (19 points) and Kentucky signee Chanin Scott (16), the Mustangs worked out to a 10-point late fourth quarter lead.

And the Mustangs relaxed.

“We kind of thought it was over,” Nelson said.

Led by Chase Muhammad (11 points) and Deniyah Lutz (10), the Knights stormed back, closing to within 45-43. But two Haire free throws with less than 10 seconds left sealed the win, and kept a streak alive: Myers Park has beaten Ardrey Kell 12 straight times. Ardrey Kell’s last win in this series was in January 2011.

“It was real important for us to pull that out and for them to gain a little confidence,” Nelson said. “We’re pretty happy to get it. It took the monkey off our backs a little bit. The kids said they were really nervous. Ray and I were really nervous, too. But it’s kind of fun, after 30 years, that you still get nervous before a big game.”

No. 10 Mallard Creek 38, No. 12 Butler 30: Chantel Williams had 16 points to lead Mallard Creek to the narrow win. Fairen Sutton had 14 for Butler.

North Mecklenburg 47, Community School of Davidson 46: North Meck (2-0) rallied to win with a 16-9 fourth quarter burst. ShiNaya Lester led North Meck with 17. Anna Lavella had 18 for CSD.

Hickory Grove 57, Gaston Christian 27: Hickory Grove (2-1) did not allow Gaston Christian (1-3) to score double figures in any of the four quarters. Nya Tillery had 16 for Hickory Grove.

Thursday’s Boys Roundup

No. 3 Butler 86, Mallard Creek 69: One night before the rivals play in the second round of the N.C. 4AA football playoffs, RaeQuan Scott and Orlando Robinson combined for 36 points to lead the Bulldogs (2-0) to the win. Brandon Faison had 17 for Mallard Creek (0-2).

Myers Park 57, No. 10 Ardrey Kell 55: The Mustangs won their season opener, forcing overtime by outscoring Ardrey Kell 14-5 in the fourth quarter. Myers Park was down 12 in the third quarter. Myers Park senior Davrion Grier scored all 13 of his points in the second half. Michael Crosby had 21 and Wes Morgan 12 for Ardrey Kell (0-3).

Thursday’s Top Performers

Avery Metcalf, Hickory Ridge: game-high 22 points in 65-63 win over Marvin Ridge. Metcalf scored his 1,000th career point in the game.

Kamil Chapman, Fort Mill Comenius (SC)/Shawn Morrison, Grace Academy: Chapman, a South Meck transfer, had 36 points in an 87-77 win over Grace Academy. Grace’s Shawn Morrison Jr. had 35, making 75 percent of his shots. Comenius is 3-0.

Lilian Izundu, Victory Christian girls: 9 points, 15 rebounds, 2 blocks in 45-40 win over Kings Mountain.

Davion Mintz, North Mecklenburg: 27 points, 6 assists, 4 steals in a 92-46 win over Community School of Davidson. Teammate Jaylen McManus had 16 points and five rebounds in two quarters of work.

MaKayla Smith, Hickory Grove girls: 21 points in 57-27 win over Gaston Christian.

Issac Suffren, Myers Park: game-high 27 points in 57-55 win over Ardrey Kell. It was Suffren’s varsity debut. He’s a 6-3 sophomore.

This story was originally published November 19, 2015 at 11:28 PM with the headline "Basketball Roundup: No. 2 Myers Park girls survive No. 4 Ardrey Kell."