Friday’s boys’ rewind: North Meck tops West Charlotte, wins another league title
The last time North Mecklenburg and West Charlotte met, a postgame scuffle led to the suspensions of players from both teams.
In Friday’s regular-season finale at the North Mecklenburg gymnasium, the result was the same — an 85-79 North Mecklenburg victory — but the teams and the capacity crowd of 500 left the venue in orderly fashion.
“It was a great crowd, great environment, great game and everything was good,” said North Mecklenburg coach Duane Lewis, whose team won its 14th straight game in the longtime rivalry in addition to a 10th conference title in 11 years.
The Vikings (20-4, 9-1 Meck Power Six 7A/8A), who honored five seniors in a pregame ceremony, led most of the way but had to fend off West Charlotte’s charges throughout the contest.
The visiting Lions (18-5, 7-3) took leads at 33-32, 37-35, 39-37 and 41-40 in the first half and 47-45 and 49-48 in the second half.
But a determined North Mecklenburg team took advantage of West Charlotte foul trouble with one aggressive drive to the basket after another.
Senior ExZavier Young was most effective, tallying a team-high 21 points that included 17 in the second half.
“ExZavier Young was unbelievable in the second half,” said Lewis, whose team is a two-time defending state champion. “All our seniors did what we expected. They’ve been in big moments and have made big plays.”
Young was joined in the starting lineup by fellow seniors Ashton Pierce (19 points), Wilson Estwick (16), Alex White (5) and Xavier Davis (3).
The Vikings also got solid production from underclassmen Alek Lewandowski (15 points) and Ethan Pack (6).
They needed all that firepower to overcome West Charlotte’s game-high 27 points from Kaharri Coleman, 20 from Chacho Womack, 11 from Carter Sullivan and 10 from J’Khai McManus-Wade.
“It’s always a great game when we play West Charlotte,” Lewis said. “It’s two great programs. And it was a game of runs.”
The teams now have a chance to create a third meeting next week in the Meck Power Six Conference tournament final at Independence High.
Notable: West Charlotte played without injured midseason transfer addition Janon Singh, who was injured. Hova McLeod, who was shown on video pushing North Mecklenburg assistant coach Clark Camp to the floor as he was leaving the court after the Vikings’ 69-64 win at West Charlotte on Jan. 29, wasn’t listed in the scorebook.
Friday’s boys’ #BIG5 top performers
Hunter Blythe, Charlotte Country Day: The sophomore guard had a game-high 24 points in a 73-69 win over CISAA rival Covenant Day.
Donnie Jones, Ardrey Kell: Jones had a game- and career-high 23 points in a 70-51 win over Providence.
King Rhodes, Independence: Rhodes had a game-high 15 points as the Patriots beat rival Butler, 60-49, to end the Bulldogs’ three-game streak. In that run, Butler had beaten West Charlotte, ranked No. 2 in the N.C. 8A rankings, and North Meck, ranked No. 2 in the 7A statewide poll.
Jack Siegel, Joseph Kapsiak, Charlotte Catholic: Siegel and Kapsiak each had 29 points in a 79-52 win over Piedmont that locked up the outright Southern Carolina regular-season championship for the Cougars (20-4, 11-1).
Jaleel Smith, Hunter Huss: In an 84-80 win over Kings Mountain, Smith had 35 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals.
Providence High, East Meck share title, not the way either wanted
Providence High backed into its first league title in 16 years Friday.
The Panthers were beaten, 70-51, at rival Ardrey Kell, but still tied for the Southwestern 7A/8A conference title after East Mecklenburg fell at Palisades.
Palisades upset the Eagles, 62-54, winning its third straight game and improving to 10-14 overall and 4-6 in league play.
Providence (14-9, 8-2) and East Meck (16-10, 8-2) came into the night tied for first place and ended it still tied.
Ardrey Kell (18-6, 6-4) finished third.
West Meck wins conference championship after winless season
West Mecklenburg did it.
The Hawks, who were 0-25 last season, beat Garinger, 69-46, to win the Greater Charlotte 7A/8A regular-season championship.
West Meck (16-8, 8-2) won its ninth straight game Friday after not winning nine games in a season since 2019-20.
The win left the Hawks tied with Myers Park (17-7, 8-2) for first place in the conference standings. But West Meck beat Myers Park twice in head-to-head matchups.
West Meck now has its first winning season since 2011 and the most wins the school has had since going 17-9 in the 2008-09 season.
Friday’s roundup, scores
Greater Charlotte 7A/8A
Hough 66, Hopewell 53
Myers Park 56, South Mecklenburg 45
West Mecklenburg 69, Garinger 46
Meck Power Six 7A/8A
Independence 60, Butler 49: The visiting Patriots (13-11, 5-5) outscored Butler (16-8, 5-5) by a 22-10 margin in the fourth quarter and won the rivalry game. King Rhodes led the Patriots with 15 points. Terrance Badio also scored 15 for Butler.
No. 5 North Mecklenburg 85, No. 7 West Charlotte 79
Southwestern 7A/8A
Ardrey Kell 70, Providence 51: Donnie Jones’ 23 points led the Knights (18-6, 6-4) over the Panthers (14-9, 8-2). Braden Suggs added 21 points for Ardrey Kell. Freshman Carson Powell scored 16 for Providence.
Palisades 62, East Mecklenburg 54: James Davis and Antonio Willis each hit a pair of free throws in the final minute, sealing the Pumas’ (10-14, 4-6) victory over the Eagles (16-9, 8-2).
CISAA
Charlotte Country Day 73, Covenant Day 67: Hunter Blythe scored 24 points for the Buccaneers (13-16, 3-7), who outscored the Lions (9-20, 2-8) by a 22-6 count in the third quarter. Micah Huffman led Covenant Day with 19 points.
Greater Metro 6A/7A
Berry Academy 40, Cox Mill 33: Berry (10-11, 7-7) went on a 14-1 run late in the third quarter and held off the Chargers (9-14, 4-10).
Harding 82, Central Cabarrus 66
Hickory Ridge 69, Olympic 68
North Piedmont 6A/7A
Davie County 80, South Iredell 45
No. 9 Mooresville 23, Lake Norman 8 (called at halftime)
Statesville 55, North Iredell 53 (OT): M.J. Gladden (12 points) and Cam Smith (11) led the Greyhounds.
Southern Carolina 6A/7A
No. 11 Charlotte Catholic 79, Piedmont 52: Jack Siegel and Joseph Kapsiak each poured in 29 points, as the Cougars (20-4, 11-1) outran the Panthers (11-12, 6-6) and wrapped up the conference regular-season title.
Sun Valley 60, Porter Ridge 54
Big South 5A/6A
No. 3 Hunter Huss 84, Kings Mountain 80: Jaleel Smith’s 35 points helped the Huskes (20-2, 11-0) avoid an upset by the Mountaineers (9-12, 6-4).
South Point 74, Forestview 51
Rocky River 4A/5A
Monroe 52, Forest Hills 45: Jabari Benson scored 19 points, and Bryson Simpkins had 12 points and 18 rebounds, as the Redhawks (10-7, 8-4) surprised regular-season champ Forest Hills (17-7, 10-2).
Mount Pleasant 66, West Stanly 59
Parkwood 74, Central Academy 59
South Piedmont 4A/5A
Jay M. Robinson 78, Northwest Cabarrus 50
Jesse Carson 80, South Rowan 34
Salisbury 74, West Rowan 47
Western Foothills 4A/5A
Hickory 77, Bandys 58
Newton-Conover 49, Maiden 48
No. 14 North Lincoln 82, Fred T. Foard 68
West Iredell 57, Bunker Hill 47
Metrolina Athletic
No. 1 Concord Academy 74, Gaston Day 46: Lincoln Raper’s 26 points helped the Eagles (27-2, 12-0) finish with an unbeaten conference record. Onur Kurusu scored 12 points for Gaston Day (17-11, 8-4).
SouthLake Christian 58, Hickory Grove Christian 49
Catawba Shores 2A/3A/4A
Christ the King 60, Langtree Charter 49
Community School of Davidson 77, Pine Lake Prep 54
Lincoln Charter 76, Lake Norman Charter 57
Southern Piedmont 2A/3A/4A
Stuart Cramer 66, East Gaston 47: Kaiden Dye’s 21 points led the Storm.
Yadkin Valley 2A/3A
North Rowan 68, South Stanly 42
Catawba River 1A/2A/3A
No. 2 Queen’s Grant Charter 66, N.C. School of Science & Math/Morganton 32: Chase Smith had 15 points as the Stallions (27-3, 16-0) capped a perfect run through the conference schedule.
Thomas Jefferson Academy 73, Bonnie Cone Academy 58
Foothills Athletic
Hickory Christian 65, Salem Christian 47
Nonconference
Carmel Christian 70, The Burlington School 66: James Woods (32 points) and Logan Johnson (19) led Carmel Christian.
Davidson Day 52, Asheville Christian 50
Friday’s boys’ box scores
NO. 1 CONCORD ACADEMY 74, GASTON DAY 46
Concord Academy 20 11 27 16 — 74
Gaston Day 8 9 9 20 — 46
CONCORD ACADEMY 74 — Lincoln Raper 26, James Minlend 12, Brylee Austin 11, Jonas Agyeman 8, Romain Boyer 7, Modou Ndiaye 4, Jordan Pierce 3, Mata Vidakovic 2, Mandrake Lewis Jr 2
GASTON DAY 46 — Onur Kurucu 12, Jaylon Bowden 9, Sam Spillman 8, Lucas Kimrey 6, Griffen Simpson 5, Mehki McIntosh 5, Lucas Simpson 1
Records: Concord Academy 27-2; Gaston Day 17-11
Notable: Concord Academy won its fourth straight MAC regular-season title.
NO. 2 QUEEN’S GRANT 66, NCSSM 32
Queen’s Grant 30 21 16 5 — 66
NCSSM 3 7 12 10 — 32
QUEEN’S GRANT 66 — Allen 9, Chase Smith 15, DeBerry 8, Scott 9, McSweeney 2, Montgomery 8, White 4, Brown 2, Bryant 6, Alston 3
NCSSM 32 — Taylor 4, Tzendalin 2, Pittman 12, Gutshall 12, Oltmanns 2
NO. 3 HUNTER HUSS 84, KINGS MOUNTAIN 80
Hunter Huss 27 19 20 18 — 84
Kings Mountain 16 29 14 21 — 80
HUNTER HUSS 84 — Jaleel Smith 35, Zii Phillips 23, Zach Anderson 11, Lockhart 7, Walker 6, Pliess 2
NO. 5 NORTH MECKLENBURG 85, NO. 7 WEST CHARLOTTE 79
West Charlotte 16 25 19 19 — 79
North Mecklenburg 24 19 22 20 — 85
WEST CHARLOTTE 79 — Kaharri Coleman 27, Chacho Womack 20, Carter Sullivan 11, J’Khai Wade 10, Pressley 4, Johnson 4, Cross 3
NORTH MECKLENBURG 85 — Ashton Pierce 19, Exzavier Young 19, Alek Lewandowski 17, Wilson Estwick 16, Pack 6, White 5, Davis 3
NO. 11 CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC 79, PIEDMONT 52
Charlotte Catholic 19 19 24 17 — 79
Piedmont 12 25 19 8 — 52
CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC 79 — Jack Siegel 29, Joseph Kapsiak 29, Shepard 8, Woeste 6, Jordan 4, Denning 4, Culpepper 4, Kapsiak 2, Houser 1
PIEDMONT 52 — Brian Little 17, Blackman 9, Church 9, Smith 5, Staton 3, Ofori 3, Berkley 2, Laszlo 2, Smith 2
NO. 13 ARDREY KELL 70, PROVIDENCE 51
Ardrey Kell 7 14 29 20 — 70
Providence 18 8 10 15 — 51
ARDREY KELL 70 — Donnie Jones 23, Braden Suggs 21, Dylan Morrison 14, Matthew Craft 6, Jeremiah Jones 6
PROVIDENCE 51 — Williams 2, Drayton 11, Gaither 20, Powell 16, Sweet 2
Records: Ardrey Kell 18-6, 6-4
CARMEL CHRISTIAN 70, THE BURLINGTON SCHOOL 66
Carmel 17 14 20 19 — 70
The Burlington School 18 20 17 11 — 66
CARMEL 70 — James Woods 32, Logan Johnson 19
CHARLOTTE COUNTRY DAY 73, COVENANT DAY 67
Covenant Day 18 17 6 26 — 67
Charlotte Country Day 17 11 22 23 — 73
COVENANT DAY 67 — Huffman 19, Thompson 15, Smith 12, Thurman 9, Krouse 6, Montgomery 6
CHARLOTTE COUNTRY DAY 73 — Blythe 24, Lowery 16, Roberts 16, Mulford 7, Brosseau 6, Spruill 3
INDEPENDENCE 60, BUTLER 49
Butler 11 13 15 10 — 49
Independence 19 11 8 22 — 60
BUTLER 49 — Terrance Badio 15, Elijah Shine 11, Aree Branch 10, Isaiah White 5, Ian Tomlinson 3, Stefan Ross 3, James Vastis 2
INDEPENDENCE 60 — King Rhodes 15, Lusemo Macharia 13, Christian Jones 13, Lawrence Black 11, Sawyer Fike 6, Jaxson Neely 2 Notable: Butler (16-8, 5-5) and Independence (13-11, 5-5) begin Meck Power Six conference tournament play Monday.
This story was originally published February 13, 2026 at 11:26 PM with the headline "Friday’s boys’ rewind: North Meck tops West Charlotte, wins another league title."
