Boys’ basketball rewind: Isaiah Evans squashes Duke rumor, leads No. 2 North Meck in rout
A few weeks ago, when Cooper Flagg, the nation’s top overall recruit, announced he was going to Duke, there were rumors that North Mecklenburg’s Isaiah Evans might decommit from the Blue Devils and re-open his recruitment.
Evans and Flagg play similar styles and positions.
But after Friday’s 87-44 win over Mallard Creek, where the 5-star recruit dropped 35 points, Evans said he had no idea where the rumors started.
Truth is, he wants to play with Flagg in Durham.
“I’ve been 100 percent on Duke since the day I committed,” Evans said. “I think (Flagg and I) will mesh really well. He is a dog and I’m a dog. So dogs compete.”
Evans showed off his competitive fire in Friday’s game, dominating at all levels. In fact, Vikings’ coach Duane Lewis said he doesn’t really know if Evans can surprise him anymore.
“Isaiah (Evans) is a special player,” Lewis said. “But, we’ve got a lot more than just (Evans). Chadlyn (Traylor) was really unbelievable. He is a high level player.”
Traylor transferred to North Mecklenburg over summer after leading West Charlotte to a NCHSAA 3A Western Regional appearance a season ago. He had 19 points Friday, giving the Vikings a potent 1-2 punch.
“The thing with (Traylor) is he has a high basketball IQ,” Lewis said. “He is a point guard. There are a lot of people who say they are point guards, but he is a true point guard. He does a great job of getting everyone involved.”
The Vikings have a lot of tough games ahead and Lewis, even after a dominating win, wants his nationally-ranked team to be diligent in its preparation and clean up on the little things.
“We know our conference is really good,” Lewis said. “Hopewell (was) undefeated (before Friday’s one-point loss to West Charlotte). Chambers is really good. So, we are going to have some tough games (moving forward).”
Three who made a difference
Isaiah Evans, North Meck: The 6-7 forward hit five 3-point baskets and had several highlight-worthy dunks.
Chadlyn Traylor, North Meck: Along with his great shooting performance, Traylor also dished out several assists and played well on the defensive side of the ball coming up with a few steals and helping force several other turnovers.
Carson Evans, North Meck: Evans had 13 points, eight coming in the first half. His defensive pressure., much like his teammate Traylor’s, was causing a lot of problems for the Mavericks.
What’s next
▪ North Mecklenburg (8-0) will face Link Academy (10-2) on Dec. 18 at the City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Fla., on Monday. Link Academy is the third-ranked team in Missouri.
▪ Mallard Creek’s (3-7) next scheduled game is against Gaston Christian School (7-5) Dec. 28 at 4:30 p.m.
Friday’s #BIG5 top performers
Caden Caskey, Ardrey Kell: Caskey had a game-high 26 points in a 75-69 win over Berry. The Knights (8-3) won their seventh straight game.
Daniel Guandolo, Charlotte Christian: In a 60-39 win over Spartanburg Day, Guandolo had 37 points, four rebounds and two blocks. He made four 3-point shots.
Jeremiah Howard, Concord: In a 66-63 win over Lake Norman Charter, Howard had his fourth double-double of the season. He finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds.
Grant Lawless, East Lincoln: Lawless had a career-high 15 points and eight rebounds in a 80-37 win over Hibriten. The teams played for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
Gabriel Mabor, Gaston Christian: In a 65-42 win over Rabun Gap at the Phenom Hoops Ish Smith Showcase, Mabor had 18 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks and three assists.
Friday’s box scores
NO. 3 CENTRAL CABARRUS 84, THE BURLINGTON SCHOOL 55
BURLINGTON SCHOOL 55 — Zion Walker 24, King Gibson 10, Flippen 7, Jordan Durham 10, Randolph 3
CENTRAL CABARRUS 84 — Chase Daniel 12, Russell 8, Noah Edmisten 13, Carson Daniel 22, Smith 7, DJ Kent 20, Ezeigbo 2
Notable: For Central Cabarrus, Chase Daniel (12 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, two steals), Carson Daniel (22 points, seven assists, five rebounds, four steals) and DJ Kent (20 points, 16 rebounds) led the Vikings to a win over an NCISAA 2A state title contender.
NO. 4 LAKE NORMAN 97, STATESVILLE 56
Lake Norman 27 30 24 16 — 97
Statesville 12 16 17 11 — 56
LAKE NORMAN 97 — Will Googins 5, Josh Yates 2, Fynn Hales 11, Santana Lynch 16, Taurean McKinnon 9, Tre McKinnon 14, Nick Arnold 4, Grant Dryden 9, Caden Mendolia 4, Myles Crumes 4, Trent Steinour 19
STATESVILLE 56 — Lackey 7, Clarke 2, Davis 6, Kora 7, Parker 3, Bryant 2, Gladden 8, Sherill 3, Mock 3, Tillman 11, Tucker 4
NO. 5 CHAMBERS 93, HARDING 71
Chambers 25 21 30 17 — 93
Harding 12 15 20 24 — 71
CHAMBERS 93 — Ethan Smith 4, Markus Kerr 21, Malik McCotter 6, Tarris Bouie 18, Jordan Patton 17, Jaydon Terrell 3, Cameron Thompson 3, Maurio Hanson 17, Chris Glenn 2, Jaylen Garvin 2
Notable: For Chambers, Maurio Hanson (17 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, three blocks), Markus Kerr (21 points, six deflections, six steals, three rebounds, three assists), Tarris Bouie (18 points, four rebounds, four assists) and Jordan Patton (17 points, six rebounds, two assists) all had big games.
WEST CHARLOTTE 64, NO. 9 HOPEWELL 63
West Charlotte 14 21 14 15 — 64
Hopewell 18 24 12 9 — 63
WEST CHARLOTTE 64 — Brandon Blakeney 18 Christian Coleman 12 Demani Day 11 Littlejohn 9 AC Pressley 8 RA Pressley 6
HOPEWELL 63 — Quay Watson 31 Julian Mack 18 Tayari Hines 10 Gibbs 2 Brown 1 Gatlin 1
NO. 11 UNITED FAITH 71, COVENANT DAY 61
Covenant Day 9 19 16 17 — 61
United Faith 22 21 17 11 — 71
COVENANT DAY 61 — Green 4; Shipp 12; Rivens 16; White 6; Weaver 3; Penosky 6; Haggarty 5; Olshefski 2; Huffman 4; Krouse 3
UNITED FAITH 71 — Bowden 13; Brown 10; Boyce 11; Johnson 7; Sutherland 6; Deluca 23
NO. 14 WEDDINGTON 68, COX MILL 58
Weddington 18 17 15 18 — 68
Cox Mil 7 15 18 15 — 58
WEDDINGTON 68 — KJ Younger 30, Grant Hamilton 19, Zepp 7, Powers 7, Ellyson 4, Nnaji 1
COX MILL 58 — Carswell 25, Miller 10, Smith 9, Dunn 4, Brown 4, Bright 3
Notable: For Weddington, KJ Younger led the Warriors to an 8-0 start, with 30 points, six rebounds, four blocks, three assists an a steal. Grant Hamilton added 19 points in the win... Weddington will play Saturday in the Phenom Hoops’ Ish Smith Showcase against Gaston Christian at 4 p.m. at Central Cabarrus High School
Records: Weddington 8-0, Cox Mill 5-2
CARY ACADEMY 73, NO. 16 CHARLOTTE COUNTRY DAY 63 OT
Country Day 6 12 22 21 2 — 63
Cary Academy 11 17 14 19 12 — 73
CHARLOTTE COUNTRY DAY 63 — Amare Bethel 20, Nick Diaz 14, Chucky Smith 10, Schulze 7, Youakim 5, Horton 4, Scott 3
CARY ACADEMY 63 — Moore 18, Rousseau 17, Williams 16, DeGroaf 14, Ward 5, Lando 3
Notable: The Bucs made a furious comeback to force overtime but fell to 10-2.
ALEXANDER CENTRAL 66, SOUTH IREDELL 27
South Iredell 8 5 5 9 — 27
Alexander Central 30 14 18 4 — 66
SOUTH IREDELL 27 — Richardson 3, Mann 2, Sharpe 2, Saddler 5, Clark 4, Campe 9, Block 2
ALEXANDER CENTRAL 66 — Carter Fortner 10, Chad Lasher 10, Garrison Millsaps 13, Jayon Connor 14, Green 3, Mikeal 9, Redmond 6, Brown 1
ARDREY KELL 75, BERRY 69
Ardrey Kell 23 12 24 26 — 75
Berry 19 13 14 23 — 69
ARDREY KELL 75 — Caden Caskey 26, Brett Freeman 24, Delani Hammonds 13, Matthew Craft 4, Bryceton Thomas 4, Owen Wacker 2, Jake Weckerle 2
BERRY 69 — Chester 14, Ellis 8, Kinard 7, Warity 13, Meriweather 8, Joyner 3, Tyler 8, Williams 8
Record: Ardrey Kell 8-3, 1-0 SoMECK
Notable: Ardrey Kell won its seventh straight game, using a 21-4 run. The Knights will host the Hickory Tavern/Chick-fil-A winter tournament next week.
BUTLER 48, EAST MECKLENBURG 45
Butler 12 16 8 12 — 48
East Mecklenburg 14 5 9 17 — 45
BUTLER 48 — Tyler Showalter 21, Terrance Badio 9, Eli Grier 7, Caleb Milligan 4, Aree Branch 3, DQ Currence 2, Ashton Lawrence 2
EAST MECKLENBURG 45 — Amari Hicks 15, Derrick Rupert 9, Bryce Heath 9, Jordan Buzzard 6, James Mciver 4, Vance Johnson 2
Notable: Butler (4-4, 3-0 Southwestern 4A) plays in Ardrey Kell’s holiday tournament next week. East Meck (7-2, 2-1) lost its first conference game.
CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC 62, ROCKY RIVER 60
Charlotte Catholic 12 17 17 18 — 62
Rocky River 12 17 17 16 — 60
CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC 62 — Eddie David 24, Chris Eagan 16, Noch 5, Gates 6, Noonan 4, Kapsiak 4, Bergren 3, Gregory 1
ROCKY RIVER 60 — Johnson 22, Carr 14, Walton 3, Brantley 5, Houston 4, Davies 6, Ross 4, Warren 2
CHARLOTTE CHRISTIAN 60, SPARTANBURG DAY 39
Charlotte Christian 13 17 16 14 — 60
Spartanburg Day 6 11 15 7 — 39
CHARLOTTE CHRISTIAN 60 — Daniel Guandolo 37, Terence Guess 8, Matty Carroll 5, Cooper Solomon 4, Austin Bradway 4, Nick Rosen 1, Michael Kabwe 1
SPARTANBURG DAY 39 — Liollio 11,Tan 11, Henderson 11, Wood 6
Notable: For Charlotte Christian, Daniel Guandolo (37 points, four made 3-point shots, four rebounds, two blocks) and Terrence Guess (eight points, six assists, three steals) had big games.
Records: Charlotte Christian 3-8; Spartanburg Day 0-4
CONCORD 66, LAKE NORMAN CHARTER 63
Lake Norman Charter 13 18 15 17 — 63
Concord 22 12 11 21 — 66
LAKE NORMAN CHARTER 63 — B. Irelan 28, M. Leak 12, J. Morgan 10, D. Justin 5, T. Augier 4, L. Holder 4, O. Kuhn 1
CONCORD 66 — Jeremiah Howard 24, Judah Freeman 14, Jaden Reid 12, Jadah Freeman 7, Carter Starnes 5, Keyon Phillips 4
Record: Lake Norman Charter 4-4, 2-2; Concord 4-3, 3-0 South Piedmont
Notable: For Concord, Jeremiah Howard collected his fourth double-double of the season with 24 points, 10 rebounds.
EAST LINCOLN 80, HIBRITEN 37
East Lincoln 15 23 26 16 — 80
Hibriten 8 14 8 7 — 37
EAST LINCOLN 80 — Davis Hill 8, Riley Shropshire 2, Christian Atkins 2, Houston Hartsell 11, Landon Aungst 7, Grant Lawless 15, LJ Forney 5, Jamison Frye 3, Jaxon Dollar 3, Jackson Fannon 20, Kingsley Huntley 4
HIBRITEN 37 — Horton 13, Jones 2, Dahn 9, Foddrell 1, Hawkins 2, Walton 2, Woodward 2, Mosley 1, Martin 3, Suddreth 2
Records: East Lincoln 3-4; Hibriten 0-7
Notable: This was the first time the two teams played since the 2016-17 season. For East Lincoln, junior Jackson Fannon had 20 points, eight rebounds; sophomore Grant Lawless had a career-high 15 points and eight rebounds.
FORSYTH COUNTRY DAY 73, CONCORD ACADEMY 69
FORSYTH COUNTRY DAY 73 — Jahon Foster 10, Bobby Cannon 21, Pilson 5, Q Williams 22, Geremski 4, Adams 5, Gomez 6
CONCORD ACADEMY 69 — Ian Howard 16, McCormick 2, Raper 7, Mediera 6, Jake Benham 15, Sean Birmingham 13, Rudy 8, Kornacki 2
GASTON CHRISTIAN 65, RABUN GAP (GA) 42
RABUN GAP 42 — Pasek 3, Peleson 2, Vernon 13, Pak 2, Trandafir 8, Owens 2, Siamashuili 10, Hobbs 2
GASTON CHRISTIAN 65 — Gabriel Mabor 18, Cameron Newman 13, Tull 3, Carpenter 3, Milner 7, Byrum 6, Rhyne 9, Southern 4, Adiok 2
Notable: For Gaston Christian, Newman had four assists, three rebounds and two steals. Rhyne had five assists and four rebounds.
GASTON DAY 89, WESTCHESTER COUNTRY DAY 61
Gaston Day 22 18 23 26 — 89
Westchester Country Day 16 15 16 14 — 61
GASTON DAY 89 — Kurt Hunter 21, Deshawn Coulter 17, Braylen Todd 16, Griffen Simpson 11, Gavin Fields 9
HUNTER HUSS 55, NORTH GASTON 51
North Gaston 10 10 17 14 — 51
Huss 10 10 20 15 — 55
NORTH GASTON 51 — Jurnee Lattimore 21, Markell Carothers 16, Howard 8, Bonilla 3, Burris 1, Rivera 2
HUNTER HUSS 55 — Zi Phillips 17, Pettis 13, Gladden 10, Duff 7, Dunlap 4, Payne 2, Barnette 2
PORTER RIDGE 63, PROVIDENCE 59
Porter Ridge 16 12 16 19 — 63
Providence 8 20 13 18 — 59
PORTER RIDGE 63 — Jared Lockhart 3, Garrett Cox 5, Jacob Conroy 11, Rai’Shawn Elmore 15, Dennis Kurucu 15, Ziggy Harris 2, Bryce Yelverton 10, Onur Kurucu 2
PROVIDENCE 59 — Harrison Johnson 2, Ty Singletary 6, Latimer Taylor 5, Zion Foreman 4, Caleb Gaither 10, Jack Siegal 26, Vasya Conde 6
SOUTH MECKLENBURG 75, PALISADES 56
South Meck 21 19 21 14 — 75
Palisades 11 12 17 16 — 56
SOUTH MECK 75 — Ben Houpt 24, Anderson Skelton 13, Peter Moye 13, Myles Howard 11
PALISADES 56 — K.Henry 11, C. Williams 11, C.Jackson 12
Records: South Meck 7-0, 3-0 SoMECK; Palisades 5-4, 1-2
WESTMINSTER CATAWBA 72, HICKORY GROVE 57
Westminster Catawba 19 13 25 14 — 72
Hickory Grove 8 12 21 7 — 52
WESTMINSTER CATAWBA 81 — Glass 2, Stephen Quinn 28, Drew Quinn 9, K. Addie 6, N. Hodge 6, Redmon 4, MJ Littlejohn 9, J. Rushin 7
HICKORY GROVE 52 — Tristan Nelson 18, Jones 7, Bradley 2, Brent Banks 19, Powell 2
Notable: Westminster Catawba improves to 7-4 overall and 3-2 in the MAC Conference with a road win at Hickory Grove. Stephen Quinn has scored at least 20 points in nine of 11 games. Westminster’s next game is at home on Tuesday, Dec. 19 against Charlotte Christian.
This weekend’s schedule
Saturday
Phenom Hoops Ish Smith Showcase
(at Central Cabarrus High)
Central Cabarrus vs. Hickory Ridge, 10 a.m. (girls)
Rabun Gap School (GA) at United Faith Christian, 11:30 a.m.
Covenant Day vs. Davidson Day, 1
Concord Academy at Mooresville, 2:30
Weddington vs. Gaston Christian, 4
Forsyth Country Day vs. The Burlington School, 5:30
Carmel Christian vs. Concord Academy, 7
Central Cabarrus vs. Hickory Ridge, 8:30
Battle for the Crown (girls)
(at United Faith Christian)
Greenville (SC) vs. Northside Christian, 3:30
Legion Collegiate (SC) vs. Salisbury, 5
South Mecklenburg vs. United Faith Christian, 6:45
Charlotte Catholic vs. Quality Education, 8:30
NC-SC Invitational (boys)
(at Indian Land High)
South Pointe vs. N.C. Good Better Best, noon
Victory Christian vs. Indian Land, 4:30
Nonconference
Asheville School at SouthLake Christian (boys, 1:30)
Cannon School vs. Montclair (NJ) Immaculate Conception, in Jimmy V Showcase in Raleigh, 4:30 (boys)
Charlotte Country Day at Trinity School of Durham/Chapel Hill (girls, 11:30 a.m.; boys, 1)
Fort Mill at Christ Church Episcopal (girls, 3:30; boys, 5)
Greater Cabarrus Stallions at Chatham Home School
High Point Wesleyan at Providence Day (girls, 1:30)
Independence at Millbrook (girls, 1)
PHOTOS: North Meck at Mallard Creek doubleheader
