HS Basketball Roundup: Independence cruises past East Meck

Elevator

↑Ojai Brooks, Concord First Assembly girls: 19 steals in 46-23 win over Covenant Classical.

↑Sarah Billiard, Covenant Day: 14 points, 26 rebounds in 49-36 win over Hickory Grove. Billiard tied her school-record for rebounds. Since returning from injury, Billiard has 66 rebounds in three games.

↑Vance boys: Tuesday’s 67-65 win over Greensboro Dudley gave Vance six wins on the young season. The Cougars had six wins in the 2014-15 season.

↑Ray Kowalski, Concord: 61 points in back-to-back games Monday and Tuesday, including 30 in an 88-75 win over Central Cabarrus Tuesday.

Tuesday’s Girls Roundup

No. 3 Mallard Creek 58, West Charlotte 49: After being tied at halftime, Mallard Creek took a 21-13 lead over West Charlotte to get some space and fend off an upset bid. Kayla Brown (18 points) and Janay Sanders led the Mavericks. Tatyana Thompson had 14 for West Charlotte.

No. 4 Myers Park 73, No. 10 Rocky River 52: Myers Park (5-1, 1-0 Southwestern 4A) re-asserted its conference dominance. Chanin Scott and McKenna Haire combined for 50 points. Ariana Nance had 20 for Rocky River (3-3, 0-1), which was outscored 40-22 in the second half.

No. 6 Ardrey Kell 58, West Meck 32: Chase Muhammad had 14 points and Deniyah Lutz had 13 as the Knights (6-2, 1-0) won their SoMeck opener. West Meck managed only nine points in the first half.

No. 9 Charlotte Christian 59, Marvin Ridge 45: Payton Buell had a season-high 22 points and Kerstie Phills added 15 in the win for Christian (6-2). Maddy Griffin led Marvin Ridge (2-5) with 16.

Charlotte Catholic 38, No. 15 Berry 37: Carrie Eberle scored at the buzzer after Catholic inbounded the ball on the sideline with 1.3 seconds left. Catholic (4-3, 1-0) won its SoMeck conference opener. Eberle and Maggie Dupre’ had 12 points each. Ra’shika White led Berry (4-2, 0-1) with 18.

Bible Baptist 53, Cramerton Christian 27: Sophomore Alli Nethery had 19 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals in an easy win. Bible Baptist led 26-6 after the first quarter.

Olympic 41, Providence 36: Olympic (3-3, 1-0 SoMeck) got 22 points from Cat Powell and Ariana Smith in the win.

Tuesday’s Top Girls Performers

Emma Brooks, Concord First Assembly: 22 points, six steals, six rebounds in a 46-23 win over Covenant Classical.

Miya Bull, East Mecklenburg: 29 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks in a 62-42 win over Independence.

Izzy Clark, TKeia Williams, Rock Hill South Pointe: Clark had 14 points, 12 rebounds, six steals in a 46-31 win over Fort Mill. Williams had 10 points, six rebounds, five assists, two blocks and no turnovers.

A’Lea Gilbert, Aja Stevens, South Mecklenburg: 24 points, 11 rebounds for Gilbert, and 15 points, 11 assists for Stevens in a 60-50 win over Harding.

Mahaley Holit, Central Cabarrus: 15 points, five assists, five steals, five rebounds in a 43-37 win over Concord.

Stacia Means, Hickory Ridge: 25 points, seven steals, two assists in a 64-36 win over East Rowan. Hickory Ridge, No. 12 in the Sweet 16, is 6-0.

Fairen Sutton, Butler: 22 points, five assists, five steals in a 76-32 win over Garinger.

Erica Van Dusen, Covenant Day: 22 points, 10 rebounds, four assists in a 49-36 win over Hickory Grove

Grace Wellman, Joyous Wilson, Lilian Izunda, Victory Christian: Wellman had 21 points, 11 rebounds in a 63-31 win over Fort Mill Comenius. Wilson had 16 points, eight assists and Izunda added 13 points, 12 rebounds.

Tuesday’s Boys Roundup

No. 5 Charlotte Catholic 56, No. 6 Berry 44: Catholic (8-0, 1-0 SoMeck 8) led the entire game and got 12 points from freshman center BJ Mack in the win. Myles Washington had 11 for Berry.

No. 11 Butler 76, Garinger 47: After leading by three after the first quarter, Butler (4-3, 1-0 Southwestern 4A) blew the game open behind 16 points from Jah’Lil Carter, 12 from Gerrale Gates and 10 from Tarique Stowe and Zane Rankin. Butler’s senior RaeQuan Scott missed the game with an injury. He’s expected back soon. Rayshawn Neal had 14 for Garinger (4-3, 0-1).

No. 14 South Mecklenburg 64, Harding 55: Jalen Blakeney had 24 points and 12 from Bryant Thomas in the win. Harding got 13 from Ed Chambers and 11 from Yakim Jenkins.

Ardrey Kell 58, West Meck 42: Michael Crosby had 18 points and 10 rebounds in the win for the Knights (2-6, 1-0 SoMeck). Jeremy Littlejohn and Khdir Brinkley had career highs with 10 points each. Jalen Moore had 12 for West Meck (0-8, 0-1).

Independence 78, East Meck 54: Independence led 45-18 at halftime and cruised. Marcus Thomas had 16 and Mathew Statile 13 for the Patriots.

West Charlotte 69, Mallard Creek 67: Macar Jackson had 18 points and Jalen Knight 16 as the Lions ended a two-game losing streak. Kerry Porter had 21 for Mallard Creek.

Rocky River 72, Myers Park 59: A 26-11 spurt in the second quarter pushed Rocky River to the win. Anthony Salley (17), AJ Horne (14) and Raquan Brown (14) led the Ravens. Isaac Suffren had 15 for Myers Park.

Hopewell 61, Hough 58 OT: Chris Lewis had 19, and Mark Sherrill and Brian Smart added 13 each in the win. Cooper Crawford had 19 for Hough.

Marvin Ridge 68, Charlotte Christian 59: Cam Jones had 20 and Emeka Emezie 17 for Marvin Ridge. Christian’s Rob Peterson had his fifth straight double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds).

Olympic 65, Providence 57: Providence was up one point with 3:30 to play, but Olympic scored the final eight points to win. Tommy Jegler had 19 points for Providence. Jordan Chambers had 12 for Olympic (4-4).

Covenant Day 79, Hickory Grove 64: Percy Johnson had 18 and Christian Vandevelde 16 for Covenant (4-3). Carrien Jernegan scored 27 for Hickory Grove.

Piedmont 73, Porter Ridge 61: Hunter Tyson and Sean Wickham combined for 28 points in the win for Piedmont. Jamius Stevenson had 18 for Porter Ridge.

Tuesday’s Top Boys Performers

Lavar Batts, Jordan McKenzie, Daniel Spencer, Concord Robinson: Batts (32 points, five rebounds, five assists), McKenzie (22 points, eight assists, three steals) and Spencer (14 points, 11 steals, 10 rebounds) all had big games in an 84-59 win over Northwest Cabarrus.

Cam Hamilton, Vance: 19 points, four rebounds, four assists, three steals in a 67-65 win at Greensboro Dudley.

Chris Jackson, Queens Grant: 21 points, nine rebounds, seven assists in a 63-52 win over South Davidson.

Isaac Johnson, Josh Howard, Devon Dotson, Providence Day: Johnson had 12 points, nine rebounds and four assists in a 78-43 win over Walnut Grove. Dotson had 19 points, seven assists, five rebounds and Howard – playing in front of his father Juwan, a former Michigan Wolverine and NBA star – had 14 points, seven rebounds.

Jaylen McManus, Davion Mintz, North Mecklenburg: “M&M” boys go for 40 points, 11 rebounds six assists in a 73-53 win over A.L. Brown.

Shawn Morrison, Jaylen Thompson, Grace Academy: 22 points, eight assists, four rebounds, four steals for Morrison in a 57-39 win over Charlotte Secondary. Thompson had 17 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and two blocks.

This story was originally published December 8, 2015 at 10:35 PM with the headline "HS Basketball Roundup: Independence cruises past East Meck."