Boys’ basketball rewind: Rocky River earns upset at East Meck that ‘could mean something’
Rocky River and East Mecklenburg won’t win the Southwestern 4A Conference’s regular-season boys’ basketball championship.
They are sitting in the middle of the pack, but their game Friday night could have big meaning a few weeks down the road.
“We keep telling our kids that we have some big games coming up, against teams with good RPI ratings,” said Rocky River coach Donald Kirby, whose team pulled away in the fourth quarter Friday and beat the host Eagles 66-57.
The 4A West playoff field will be made up of 32 teams, and the N.C. High School Athletic Association uses the RPI ratings to determine most of those berths. Both Rocky River and East Mecklenburg entered Friday’s game sitting near that No. 32 cutoff line.
“We have a chance to do some things against the teams on our schedule, but we need to play the way we did tonight,” Kirby said.
Specifically, the Ravens (9-10, 3-4) played tough defense.
“I would say that turnovers made the difference in the game tonight,” said Eagles’ coach Jason Buzzard, whose team slipped to 10-9, 3-4.
East Mecklenburg committed 10 turnovers in the second half, and Rocky River turned most of those into baskets.
“When they get their offense going, it seems to fuel the rest of their game,” Buzzard said.
The game was far from a work of art. There were 23 fouls whistled in the fourth quarter alone. Rocky River went to the foul line 35 times, making 22. East Mecklenburg was 10-of-20 from the foul line, and missed free throws cost the Eagles when they tried to battle back in the fourth quarter.
Senior Shamari Johnson led Rocky River with 24 points, and Jayden Ross added 16. Ahmari Hicks’ 15 points led East Mecklenburg, with Jordan Buzzard and Vance Johnson each adding 12.
Friday’s #BIG5 top performers
Amare Bethel, Charlotte Country Day: In a 47-45 win over Charlotte Christian, Bethel had 22 points, five steals, four rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
Vasya Conde, Providence: In a 48-47 overtime upset win over Charlotte Catholic, Conde scored a career-high 20 points.
Shamari Johnson, Rocky River: In a 66-57 upset win at East Mecklenburg, Johnson had a game-high 24 points.
Grant Hamilton, Weddington: In a win over Union County rival Marvin Ridge, a game that put Weddington in sole possession of first place in the Southern Carolinas conference, the 3-point specialist had 30 points, but no 3s. Hamilton also had seven rebounds, three steals and three blocks.
Quay Watson, Hopewell: In a 76-64 win over Harding, Watson had a game-high 29 points.
Friday’s box scores
NO. 2 NORTH MECKLENBURG 88, HOUGH 53
Hough 10 15 12 16 — 53
North Meck 32 21 21 14 — 88
HOUGH 53 — Blake Desautels 13, Cole Skovira 4, Matt Nesta 6, Evan Otto 4, Beck Spear 5, John Slusher 8, Landon Love 3, Brayden Sloan 2, Jack Thompson 2, Henry Moore 6
NORTH MECK 88 — Isaiah Evans 30, Maxwell 20, Jamison 11, Traylor 5, Young 6, C. Evans 5, Murray 2, Clark 2, Davis 3, Matthews 4.
Notable: For Hough, Blake Desautels had 19 points and eight rebounds.
NO. 3 CENTRAL CABARRUS 83, CARSON 36
Carson 10 10 8 8 — 36
Central Cabarrus 20 32 12 19 — 83
CARSON 36 – Hall 5, Ball 3, Neve 4, McGrinder 7, Drye 8, McBride 4, Rockwell 7
CENTRAL CABARRUS 83 – Chase Daniel 13, Carson Daniel 14, DJ Kent 17, Joshua Dalton 8, Noah Edmisten 4, Emari Russell 12, Jake Baker 5, Cayden Smith 6, LarQuise Burse-Jones, Chinua Ezeigbo, Infinite Morrow, Dexter Montague
Notable: Central forced turnovers 28 and had 22 assists, 24 steals and six blocks. The Vikings have won 40 straight South Piedmont conference games and 51 straight games overall.
Records: Central Cabarrus 19-0, 11-0; Carson 11-7, 5-6
NO. 4 WEDDINGTON 73, MARVIN RIDGE 58
Weddington: 22 13 18 20 — 73
Marvin Ridge: 14 12 16 16 — 58
WEDDINGTON 73 — Hamilton 30, Younger 20, Cook 2, Zepp 12, Ellyson 9
MARVIN RIDGE 58 — Dunn 21, Morris 2, Bridges 19, Clark 1, Sheridan 13, Payne 2
NO. 6 PROVIDENCE DAY 45, CHARLOTTE LATIN 33
Providence Day 6 12 17 10 — 45
Charlotte Latin 5 11 7 10 — 33
PROVIDENCE DAY 45 — Jonah Lawrence 20, Nick Hailey 10, Haynes 6, Johnson 4, Winston 3, Thompson 1, Appling 1
CHARLOTTE LATIN 33 — Levy 8, Jones 7, Ivory 7, Dauska 5, Pence 4, Miles 2
Records: Providence Day 18-6, 4-1; Latin 11-10, 1-4
NO. 8 CHAMBERS 75, WEST MECK 59
West Meck 15 14 20 10 — 59
Chambers 16 17 25 17 — 75
CHAMBERS 75 — Markus Kerr 21, Malik McCotter 6, Tarris Bouie 12, Jordan Patton 15, Maurio Hanson 21
Notables: For Chambers, Maurio Hanson had 21 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, one block. Markus Kerr had 21 points, seven assists, four steals, one block. Jordan Patton had 15 points, eight rebounds, three blocks, three steals. And Tarris Bouie had 12 points, five assists, one block.
NO. 10 COVENANT DAY 78, NO. 7 CANNON SCHOOL 50
Covenant Day 14 16 26 22 — 78
Cannon 18 11 14 9 — 50
COVENANT DAY 78 — Green 6, Shipp 3, Rivens 14, White 7, Penosky 12, Haggarty 10, Anderson 2
CANNON 50 — Swart 13, Martin 2, King 4, Claggett 9, Henry 12, Vinson 10, Ingram 2
NO. 13 SOUTH MECKLENBURG 73, OLYMPIC 49
South Meck 16 20 18 19 — 73
Olympic 7 19 5 18 — 49
SOUTH MECKLENBURG 73 — B. Houpt 23, A. Skelton 14, P. Moye 12, Y. Chudgar 9
OLYMPIC 49 — R. Johnson 17, C. Deberry 11, J. Hardnett 8
Records: South Meck 16-2, 5-1; Olympic 3-15, 0-5
ARDREY KELL 79, CUTHBERTSON 46
Ardrey Kell 12 29 27 11 — 79
Cuthbertson 15 10 12 9 — 46
ARDREY KELL 79 — Brett Freeman 17, Caden Caskey 14, Delani Hammonds 12, Preston Griffiths 9, Ethan Tharakan 6, Bryceton Thomas 6, Gavin Alexander 4, Braden Suggs 4, Matthew Craft 3, Dylan Morrison 2, Owen Wacker 2
CUTHBERTSON 46 — Nelson 10, Hayward 4, Nkwah 8, Thompson 16, Webb 5, Gunby 2
BUNKER HILL 71, LINCOLNTON 70
Lincolnton 12 26 17 15 — 70
Bunker Hill 18 27 11 15 — 71
LINCOLNTON 70 — Landen Lyerly 23, Tyler McClain 20, Neo Thompson 5, Khamoni Heath 6, Rashad Lynch 8, Khalil Yarborough 2, Andrew Phelps 6
Bunker Hill 71 — Don’t have stats
Notable: The Wolves’ Landen Lyerly had a big night finishing with 23 pts and 13 rebounds. Tyler McClain had 20 points and nine rebounds.
Record: Lincolnton 15-3. Bunker Hill 4-13
BUTLER 67, GARINGER 34
Butler 27 11 20 9 — 67
Garinger 5 14 8 7 — 34
BUTLER 67 — Tyler Showalter 15, Eli Grier 11, Terrance Badio 10, Branch 7, Milligan 6, Azar 5, Starnes 5, Currence 4, Lawrence 4
GARINGER 34 — Sham 12, Speree 5, Chante 4, Coby 4, Pop 4, Julian 3, Brown 2
Records: Butler 11-7, Garinger 1-16
CHARLOTTE COUNTRY DAY 47, CHARLOTTE CHRISTIAN 45
Country Day 12 11 15 9 — 47
Christian 11 8 16 10 — 45
COUNTRY DAY 47 — Amare Bethel 22, Preston Scott 12, Diaz 5, Schulze 2, Horton 3, Bates 3
CHARLOTTE CHRISTIAN 45 — Daniel Guandolo 14, Nicholson 9, Sturdivant 7, Carroll 5, Broadway 4, Rosen 2, Solomon 2, Guess 2
Notable: For Country Day, Amare Bethel had a game-high 22 points, five steals, four rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Preston Scott added 12 points, three assists and two steals.
CONCORD ACADEMY 51, METROLINA CHRISTIAN 32
Concord Academy 6 14 17 14 — 51
Metrolina Christian 8 7 7 10 — 32
CONCORD ACADEMY 51 — Sherod McCormick 2, Lincoln Raper 4, Grey Madiera 2, Jake Benham 15, Sean Birmingham 10, James Minlend 3, Andre Rudy 2, Alek Kornacki 13
METROLINA CHRISTIAN 32 — D Walker 12, J Rutherford 3, N. Crews 4, J. Rucks 10, B. Mumpaier 3
Notable: For Concord Academy, Jake Benham had 15 points, six rebounds and three steals. Alek Kornacki had 13 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
COX MILL 60, MOORESVILLE 56
Mooresville 11 19 14 12 — 56
Cox Mill 16 13 12 16 — 60
MOORESVILLE 56 — AJ Parsley 18, Dylan Clark 12, Bryson Demby 9, Jalen Chambers 6, Carson Schaen 5, Eian Bailey 5, Dylan Leuthardt 1.
Notable: For Mooresville, Parsley had five assists, five rebounds, and two steals. Clark had 10 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks.
GASTON CHRISTIAN 75, WESTMINSTER CATAWBA 64
Westminster Catawba 8 7 12 41 — 64
Gaston Christian 12 13 21 29 — 75
WESTMINSTER CATAWBA 64 — Drew Quinn 3, Kenyon Addie 19, Hodge 6, Brycen Redmon 13, M.J Littlejohn 17, Justin Rushin 6, Glass 1
GASTON CHRISTIAN 75 — Gabby Makoi 16, Williams 1, Cam Newman 29, Brayden Milner 12, Joe Rhyne 10, Joy 3, Southern 2, Adiok 2
Notable: Westminster played without 2,000-point career scorer Stephen Quinn, who was battling a virus, and only had seven players in uniform. Kenyon Addie led Westminster with 19 points and four rebounds
Records: Westminster Catawba 19-8; Gaston Christian 15-13
GASTON DAY 61, SOUTHLAKE CHRISTIAN 60
Gaston Day 13 10 24 14 — 61
SouthLake 15 16 15 14 — 60
GASTON DAY 61 — Kurt Hunter 17, Deshawn Coulter 14, Braylen Todd 10, Chase Owens 9, Gavin Fields 7
HICKORY 75, EAST LINCOLN 61
Hickory 16 15 22 22 — 75
East Lincoln 11 22 17 11 — 61
HICKORY 75 — Jordan Powell 6, Jay Powell 7, Zane Krenzel 7, John Holbrook 17, A’von Wilfong 5, Jamien Little 16, Izaiah Littlejohn 17
EAST LINCOLN 61 — Davis Hill 20, Riley Shropshire 6, Christian Atkins 2, Houston Hartsell 4, Landon Aungst 4, Grant Lawless 7, Jaxon Dollar 3, Jackson Fannon 15
Records: East Lincoln 10-8, 4-4; Hickory 18-0, 8-0
HOPEWELL 76, HARDING 64
HOPEWELL 76 — Watson 29, Brown 18, Eley 15, Hines 9, Gibbs 4, Wallace 1
HARDING 64 — Jenkins 5, McGill 7, Bryson 13, Caldwell 23, Rashad 12, Brown 4
Records: Hopewell 13-4, 4-3; Harding 5-11, 1-7
NORTHWEST CABARRUS 75, LAKE NORMAN CHARTER 57
Lake Norman Charter 20 12 16 9 — 57
Northwest Cabarrus 22 23 16 14 — 75
LAKE NORMAN CHARTER 57 — Braylon Irelan 32, Braden Wilkie 6, Collin McConneyhead 6, Major Leak 6, Jay Morgan 3, Owen Kuhn 3, Tripp Augier 1
NORTHWEST CABARRUS 75 — L. Rowe 21, I. Woolfork 12, E. Brown 12, J. Gonder 8, T. Gichaba 6, A. Lee 4, A. Rochevot 4, J. Gonder 4
PROVIDENCE 48, CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC 47 OT
Charlotte Catholic 16 5 10 11 5 — 47
Providence 14 7 16 5 6 — 48
CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC 47 — Eddie David 20, Liam Gates 10, Eagan 6
PROVIDENCE 48 —Vasya Conde 20, Latimer Taylor 10, Siegel 8
Records: Catholic 12-6; Providence 7-12
ROCKY RIVER 66, EAST MECKLENBURG 57
East Meck 13 17 11 16 — 57
Rocky River 12 18 17 19 — 66
EAST MECKLENBURG 57 — Ahmari Hicks 18, Jordan Buzzard 12, Bryce Heath 10, Rupert 8, Johnson 9
ROCKY RIVER 66 — Shamari Johnson 24, Marquist Houston 12, Jayden Ross 18, Brantley 8, Carr 8, Warren 1
SUN VALLEY 72, PORTER RIDGE 57
Porter Ridge 19 19 8 14 — 57
Sun Valley 25 16 14 17 — 72
PORTER RIDGE 57 — Ziggy Harris 8, Daniel Osei 12, Dennis Kurucu 11, Samaj Long 7, Rai’Shawn Elmore 4, Garrett Cox 3, Jacob Conroy 11, Byrce Yelverton 4
SUN VALLEY 72 — Will Calhoun 12, Nathan Tavares 21, Jayden Jeffery 6, Kaleel Benjamin 2, Jaylin Powell 4, Devin Sumpter 23, Vincent Tomlinson 1, Will Roe 3
Saturday’s schedule
Metrolina Athletic Conference
Metrolina Christian at Hickory Grove Christian
Nonconference
Cannon School at Carmel Christian, 4 (boys)
Myers Park at A.C. Reynolds (girls, 1; boys, 2:30)
Northside Christian at Victory Christian (girls, 12:30; boys, 2)
Oak Hill (VA) Regional at Charlotte Elite Academy (boys)
Rabun Gap School (VA) at Covenant Day, 2:30 (boys)
Winston-Salem Christian at Providence Day, 1 (girls)
Davidson Day at Providence Day, 2:30 (boys)
United Faith Christian vs. Milton (GA), in Longhorn Steakhouse 5-Star Classic, at Milton, GA, 8 (boys)
United Faith Christian at Legacy Early College (SC), 1:30 (girls)
S.C. Region 3 4A
Lancaster at South Pointe (girls, 5; boys, 6:30)
Sunday
No games scheduled
