Queen City Sports Report
Welcome to the weekly sports roundup in the greater Charlotte area presented by The Sports Chief. Every Sunday, let The Chief be the one to catch you up on all the latest sports happenings in and around the Charlotte, NC area. We take a look at professional sports, as well as semi-professional, college, and high school. If you like what we’re doing, make sure you give us a follow on Twitter at @thesportschief where you’ll be notified of all our latest postings, and visit our website at www.thesportschief.com.
Professional
Charlotte Hornets
The Hornets were finally back in action Thursday night after the all-star break with a home game against the struggling Detroit Pistons. It was one of those games where the Hornets needed to win, given the lack of success on the Pistons’ part and the fact that Charlotte is battling for a playoff position. And they did just that. The Pistons made a good game of it however, and scoring for both sides was a little slow. But Charlotte edged out Detroit by three points in a 105-102 win.
Jim Dedmon/USA Today Sports
It was Jerami Grant who the Hornets had a tough time stopping. The former Syracuse Orange had nearly a third of Detroit’s points, with 32. But the Hornets did a great job of spreading the ball around, with four players scoring at least 15 points. Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier led the way with 17 apiece, while Lamelo Ball dished out nine assists. The win finally put Charlotte back at a .500 record with 18 wins and 18 losses.
Last night the Raptors came to town and the opportunity to get above .500 was presented. It was a battle all night long, but it was the Hornets who came out on top, with a lot of help from their rookie. Lamelo Ball continued his strong rookie season, leading the team in points (23), rebounds (9), and assists (6). The Hornets are now tied for 5th in the East and will look to win their 4th straight game tomorrow night when the Kings visit the Spectrum Center.
Semi-Professional
Charlotte Knights
Truist Field
The Sports Chief Photography
This isn’t new news, but as we patiently await minor league baseball to begin, let’s take a look at the Charlotte Knights’ division, the Southeast Division. Now, if you aren’t aware, the minor leagues did a lot of restructuring teams and divisions, so now your hometown team will have the chance to welcome in new teams and new talent. Here is a quick glance at Triple-A’s Southeast Division:
Charlotte Knights
Location: Charlotte, NC
Affiliate: Chicago White Sox
Durham Bulls
Location: Durham, NC
Affiliate: Tampa Bay Rays
Gwinnett Stripers
Location: Lawrenceville, GA
Affiliate: Atlanta Braves
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Affiliate: Miami Marlins
Memphis Redbirds
Location: Memphis, TN
Affiliate: St. Louis Cardinals
Nashville Sounds
Location: Nashville, TN
Affiliate: Milwaukee Brewers
Norfolk Tides
Location: Norfolk, VA
Affiliate: Baltimore Orioles
College Basketball
Charlotte 49ers
Charlotte slid backwards into the Conference USA Tournament, losing their final eight games. That slide continued in their first game of the tournament against UTSA, losing with a 72-62 final score. The loss ended the 49ers’ season, making them 9-16 overall and 5-11 in conference play.
Davidson Wildcats
Davidson’s season came to an end last week in their second game of their conference tournament with a 64-52 loss to VCU. The Wildcats final record is 13-8 overall and 7-4 in the conference.
Appalachian State Mountaineers
App State fans stand up! I’m proud to say my Mountaineers are heading to the Big Dance this year to represent the Sun Belt Conference and I hope I’m able to watch their first game. After ending the regular season by losing six of their final seven games, the Mountaineers won four straight conference tournament games (two in overtime) to clinch the Sun Belt Tournament championship and a ticket to the NCAA Tournament. Those four wins came at the hands of Little Rock (67-60), Texas State (76-73 OT), Coastal Carolina (64-61 OT), and Georgia State (80-73). Now we wait until the selection show today to find out where the committee will have App State going and who they will be playing. Let’s go App!
appstatesports.com
College Baseball
This week’s final scores:
Charlotte 49ers (8-5)
Tuesday: Tennessee 0, Charlotte 9
Friday: Charlotte 4, East Carolina 7
Saturday: Charlotte 1, East Carolina 3
Sunday: In Progress
Davidson Wildcats (5-7)
Friday: Davidson 0, The Citadel 2
Saturday: Davidson 0, The Citadel 19
Sunday: In Progress
Appalachian State Mountaineers (6-7)
Friday: App State 1, UNCW 6
Saturday: App State 1, UNCW 4
Sunday: In Progress
High School
Football
Myers Park vs. Butler
Credit Jeff Siner/The Charlotte Observer
Here’s the final scores from this week’s Week 3 games in our area:
Mooresville Blue Devils 14
Vance Cougars 42
Mallard Creek Mavericks 40
West Charlotte Lions 18
Hough Huskies 24
Lake Norman Wildcats 9
Hopewell Titans 16
North Mecklenburg Vikings 20
South Mecklenburg Sabres 6
Providence Panthers 27
West Mecklenburg Hawks 7
Ardrey Kell Knights 42
Myers Park Mustangs 24
Butler Bulldogs 21
Porter Ridge Pirates 21
Independence Patriots 6
Hickory Ridge Ragin’ Bulls 41
Rocky River Ravens 20
Davie War Eagles 62
RJ Reynolds Demons 43
South Iredell Vikings 10
Statesville Greyhounds 27
Jesse Carson Cougars 38
North Iredell Raiders 10
East Rowan Mustangs 21
West Rowan Falcons 27
Salisbury Hornets 52
Lexington Yellowjackets 0
Central Cabarrus Vikings 20
Northwest Cabarrus Trojans 14
Cox Mill Chargers 28
A.L. Brown Wonders 35
Concord Spiders 6
West Cabarrus Wolverines 40
Sun Valley Spartans 7
Charlotte Catholic Cougars 51
Monroe Redhawks 39
Cuthbertson Cavaliers 27
Parkwood Wolf Pack 8
Marvin Ridge Mavericks 24
West Iredell Warriors 14
West Caldwell Warriors 47
Hibriten Panthers 43
North Rowan Cavaliers 0
Bunker Hill Bears 44
Draughn Wildcats 6
Patton Panthers 6
East Burke Cavaliers 37
Freedom Patriots 12
Alexander Central Cougars 53
Watauga Pioneers 23
Hickory Red Tornados 6
Chase Trojans 41
Shelby Golden Lions 47
Ashbrook Green Wave 6
Crest Chargers 48
Huss Huskies 0
Kings Mountain Mountaineers 35
North Lincoln Knights 30
East Lincoln Mustangs 40
Lincolnton Wolves 8
Bandys Trojans 52
Charlotte Observer Sweet 16 (As of Tuesday, March 9)
16. Ardrey Kell (4A)
15. Olympic (4A)
14. Hibriten (2A)
13. Burns (2A)
12. Lake Norman (4A)
11. A.L. Brown (3A)
10. Hickory Ridge (4A)
9. Hough (4A)
8. Myers Park (4A)
7. Crest (3A)
6. Kings Mountain (3A)
5. Charlotte Catholic (3A)
4. Butler (4A)
3. Weddington (3A)
2. Richmond Senior (4A)
1. Vance (4A)
Garett