Tuesday’s rewind: Providence Day heads to state. How area teams fared in playoffs
Providence Day is sending two teams to Saturday’s NCISAA state championship games.
The Chargers’ girls will play for an 18th state championship, in their 22nd state finals appearance, against Cannon School in Greensboro on Saturday.
The Chargers’ boys will try for their first state title in 10 years.
In 2016, both Chargers’ teams won NCISAA state titles.
We’ve also got full coverage below of the first round of the NCHSAA playoffs.
Scroll down for more.
Quick links
Tuesday’s NC boys’ scores, next round pairings
Tuesday’s NC girls’ scores, next round pairings
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TALKING PREPS: The NCHSAA, NCISAA preview show
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After CMS tightens media rules, independent creators like Adrian Addie say they’re unfairly shut out, exposing a growing battle over access.
A Charlotte Observer investigation.
Providence Day boys hold off Carmel rally heads to state final
For the last two years, Providence Day and Carmel Christian have waged epic battles for the right to advance to the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association state title game.
A year ago, Carmel Christian rallied from deficits in the three of the game’s four quarters and both overtime periods before edging Providence Day 73-65 in double-overtime.
On Tuesday, the Chargers returned the favor by holding off a Carmel Christian second half rally in an 80-75 victory in front of a vocal, packed house at Providence Day’s Mosack Athletic Center.
“To get to a state championship, you’ve got to earn it,” Providence Day coach Jonathan McIntyre said. “We had to do that tonight.”
The Chargers (23-6) will meet Forsyth Country Day (28-3) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Greensboro Novant Health Field House for the 2026 NCISAA Class 4A championship.
To do so took surviving the Cougars’ (14-12) hot shooting second half after Providence Day built as much as a 48-27 lead with 6:15 to play in the third quarter.
Carmel Christian missed its first six 3-pointers and 12 of its first 13 before catching fire in a 30-point third quarter.
In that third quarter, the Cougars hit seven of nine 3-pointers and also converted all three free throws when one of their sharpshooters was fouled on a 3-point attempt.
“I knew they could come back,” McIntyre said. “Our effort was phenomenal. And we made them work for everything. They just made some really tough shots.”
To survive the surge that allowed Carmel Christian to close within 60-55 by the end of the third quarter, 75-69 with 1:02 to play and 79-75 with 13 seconds left, McIntyre said he reminded his team of his simple game plan.
Providence Day girls roll to NCISAA finals
Providence Day School’s veteran girls basketball coach Josh Springer said his team motto from the start of offseason drills last summer was “Unfinished Business.”
Rosters for Carolinas’ Classic have been released
Several Observer-area players were named the N.C. all-star team for the annual Carolinas Classic. The game, which will played at Dorman High in Spartanburg on March 21, matches some of the best high school players in the Carolinas against each other.
NC GIRLS ROSTER
Imanı Shelton, Ardrey Kell
Nykira Arrington, South Mecklenburg
Laneigh Scales, Robert B. Glenn
Tiara Thompson, West Rowan
Kate Schindler, Marvin Ridge
Oshauna Holland, Stuart Cramer
Khiara Culliver, Maiden
Kiara Anderson, Mallard Creek
My’Asia Young, Mallard Creek
Malia Graham, East Columbus
NC BOYS’ ROSTER
Chaise Smith, Washington
Dionte Neal, Reidsville
Jyi Dawkins, Ben L. Smith
Aden Jeffries, Southern School of Energy and Sustainability
Ashton Pierce, North Mecklenburg
Exzavier Young, North Mecklenburg
Chad Graves, Northwood
Zy’vaun Puckett, Panther Creek
Kellum Brown, New Hanover
Jim Gatehouse, South Mecklenburg
Tuesday’s #BIG5 top performers
Justice Alexander, Concord Academy: Alexander had a game-high 32 points in a 52-37 win over Gaston Christian in the NCISAA 3A state semifinals.
Jahnae Duncan, Central Cabarrus girls: Duncan helped lead a huge comeback in a 51-37 win over Forest Hills in the first round of the playoffs. Central rallied to win, outscoring Forest Hills 22-0 in the fourth quarter. Duncan finished with 23 points, six steals, five rebounds and four assists.
Collin McConneyhead, Lake Norman Charter: McConneyhead had 32 points in a 75-28 win over Wilkes Central in the first round of the NCHSAA playoffs.
Truth Rorie, Forest Hills: Rorie had a game-high 24 points in an 89-57 win over Asheville’s Erwin High School in the first round of the NCHSAA playoffs.
Duron Vaughn, Central Cabarrus: In a 72-71 win over Alexander Central in the first round of the NCHSAA playoffs, Vaughn had 10 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, four steals and a block.
Tuesday’s boys’ box scores
NO. 1 CONCORD ACADEMY 67, GASTON CHRISTIAN 56
Concord Academy 14 8 20 25 — 67
Gaston Christian 6 15 16 19 — 56
CONCORD ACADEMY 67 — Jonas Agyeman 18, Romain Boyer 15, Lincoln Raper 13, James Minlend 9, Mata Vidakovic 9, Brylee Austin 3
GASTON CHRISTIAN 56 — Cameron Newman 14, Brayden Milner 13, Jeremy Duhon 11, Alessandro Luparia 9, Jaishawn Woods 5, Jordan Makoi 2, Kendall Southern 2
Notable: Concord Academy (29-2) next game 2/27 vs Greensboro Day — NCISAA 3A State Championship. 7:30pm @ Novant Health Fieldhouse (Greensboro). Gaston Christian (27-7) ends its season.
NO. 7 PROVIDENCE DAY 80, CARMEL CHRISTIAN 75
Providence Day 20 21 19 20 — 80
Carmel Christian 9 16 30 20 — 75
PROVIDENCE DAY 80 — Columbus Parker 24, Zeke Battier 15, Dylan Bradley 12, Aidan Scruitsky 11, Tristan Williams 10, Haynes 8,
CARMEL CHRISTIAN 75 — Logan Johnson 24, James Wood 23, Hunter Gerould 17, Vicks 5, Griffin 5, Haggarty 1
Records: Providence Day 23-6 , Carmel Christian 14-13
Notable: Providence Day had five guys in double figures led by Columbus Parker’s 24 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Zeke Battier added 15 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. The Chargers will head to Greensboro for the NCISAA 4A Championship game against the No. 1 seed Forsyth Country Day at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.
NO. 16 WEST MECKLENBURG 49, SOUTH IREDELL 48
WEST MECKLENBURG 49 — Bridges 15, White 8, Walkup 8, Leak 6, Grier 6, Pratt 4, Kamaree 2
Notable: West Meck won its first playoff game since 2011
BRADFORD PREP 60, PIEDMONT CLASSICAL 51
Bradford Prep 11 16 15 18 — 60
Piedmont Classical 12 15 12 12 — 51
BRADFORD PREP 60 — Luke Hanson 19, Nigel Wallace 13, Jackson 7, Baines 6, Collins 2, Drescher 7, Valcin 4, Bentley 2
PIEDMONT CLASSICAL 51 — Caliph Armstrong 15, Kaden Williams 19, Gray 6, Motley 2, Vann 7, Holland 2
Records: BP 9-16; PC 11-11
Notable: Senior Luke Hanson led the Bradford Preps Bears in scoring including going 12-12 from the free-throw line and junior Nigel Wallace chipped in a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Bradford advances to the second round at No. 5 Cherokee Thursday.
CENTRAL CABARRUS 72, ALEXANDER CENTRAL 71
Central Cabarrus 20 20 17 15 — 72
Alexander Central 26 14 15 16 — 71
CENTRAL CABARRUS 72 — Duron Vaughn 10, Watkins 2, Parker Watkins 16, Kameron Cook 11, Pickett 6, Dexter Montague 15, Infinite Morrow 12
ALEXANDER CENTRAL 71 — Kade Flowers 10, Koa Mikeal 10, Noah VanBeurden 26, Jaheim Redmond 13, Jahmir Miller 12
CUTHBERTSON 79, RJ REYNOLDS 63
Cuthbertson 18 18 20 23 — 79
RJ Reynolds 13 14 18 15 — 63
CUTHBERTSON 79 — Isaiah Nickerson 16, Ethan Nelson 14, Grady Webb 13, Darrien Smith 12, Chase Nali 8, Jayden Gunby 6
Rj Reynolds 63 — Miles Broadnax 10, Amare McClinton 8, Kingston Carmichael 16, Evan Iruzy 16.
Notable: Cuthbertson coach O’Neil Palmer gets his first career playoff win and the program’s first playoff win since the 2014-2015 season.
Records: Cuthbertson 15-12; Reynolds 11-14
FOREST HILLS 89, ERWIN 57
Forest Hills 23 23 21 19 — 89
Erwin 10 11 22 14 — 57
FOREST HILLS 89 — T.J Parker 4, Landon Blakeney 2, Makhi Massey 10, Truth Rorie 24, Amari 27, K.J Chambers 10, Larry Parker 11, Ivan McManus 3
ERWIN 57—Sawyer Parker 3, Logan Schaller 2, Sawyer Bragdon 4, Noah Haudham 9, Jermiah Norton 22, Jackson Davis 15, Jackson King 2
FORSYTH COUNTRY DAY 74, CHARLOTTE LATIN 54
Charlotte Latin 10 15 20 9 — 54
Forsyth Country Day 20 19 14 23 — 74
CHARLOTTE LATIN 54 — Emory Chaney 19, Alex Dauska 17, White 6, Warren 4, Diaz 3, Chapman 2, Wilson 1
FORSYTH COUNTRY DAY 74 — Jayon Connor 22, Tyrin Graham 15, Q Williams 14, AD Dalton 14, Van Weerdhuizen 5, Welch 2, Nwokemodo 2
Records: Forsyth 28-3, Latin 19-10
Notable: Charlotte Latin, which lost in the NCISAA state semifinals, got 17 points from Alex Dauska, including the 1,000th point of his career. A junior, Dauska averaged 16.5 points this season for the Hawks.
INDEPENDENCE 75, GRIMSLEY 58
Grimsley 11 12 17 18 — 58
Independence 15 24 20 16 — 75
GRIMSLEY 58 — Patrick Carter 22, Henry Trent 20, Sturdivant 6, Springs 4, Neal 3, Kifer 3
INDEPENDENCE 75 — Christan Jones 15, Laurence Black 14, Lusemo Macharia 11, Kevin Powell 10, Rhodes 8, McFarland 6, Neely 4, Fike 3, Smith 2, Milton 2
Records: Grimsley 7-16; Indepedence 15-12
LAKE NORMAN CHARTER 75, WILKES CENTRAL 28
Lake Norman Charter 20 21 21 13 — 75
Wilkes Central 10 11 4 3 — 28
LAKE NORMAN CHARTER 75 — Collin McConneyhead 32, Kam Davis 10, Bennett Love 9, Jake Wozniak 6, Alex Massey 5, Cam Roberts 4, Isaiah Carter 4, Peter Fusco 2, Cole Kester 2, Blake Frierson 1.
Notable: Lake Norman Charter will travel to Central Davidson on Thursday for the second round of the state playoffs.
PROVIDENCE 53, WEST CHARLOTTE 49
Providence 20 13 11 9 — 53
West Charlotte 10 12 17 10 — 49
PROVIDENCE 53 — A. Detenber 18, A. Fillnow 13, M. Whitten 3, E. Fuller 14, E.Stafford 3, D. Mann 2
WEST CHARLOTTE 49 — C. Stilt 2, K. Grier 14, M. Huey 2, L. Leaves 5, M Ginn 1, A Gray 7, B. Molltari 5, J Grimey 4, L. Misfmihn 9
Records: Providence 18-8; W. CLT 13-13
Notable: For Providence, Whitten had 10 rebounds, Emma Fuller recorded another double-double with 14 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks. Elliott Stafford had 7 rebounds.
SOUTH MECKLENBURG 65, CHAMBERS 61
South Meck 17 15 16 16 — 65
Chambers 8 19 12 22— 61
SOUTH MECK 65 — J. Gatehouse 23, B. Houpt 12, C. Yett 12, A. Davis 11, R. Foster 7
CHAMBERS 61 — Young 24, White 16, Jackson 7
Tuesday’s girls’ box scores
NO. 5 CANNON SCHOOL 58, CHARLOTTE LATIN 43
Cannon School 10 15 23 10 — 58
Charlotte Latin 3 7 12 21 — 43
CANNON SCHOOL 58 — Brooke Busby 17, Jakaila Gaskin 14, Hina Nakamura 11, Thompson 7, Truesdale 5, M. Larkins 2, Ndubueze 2
CHARLOTTE LATIN 43 — Charlotte Tune 15, Lanie Edwards 17, Snyder 9, McLaughlin 2
Records: Cannon School 24-6; Charlotte Latin 23-7
Notable: Cannon will play Providence Day in the NCISAA 4A state championship Saturday. This is Cannon School’s fourth straight appearance in the final. The Cougars have won the past two state titles.
NO. 10 CONCORD ACADEMY 52, GASTON CHRISTIAN 37
Concord Academy 13 12 13 14 — 52
Gaston Christian 4 16 9 8 — 37
CONCORD ACADEMY 52 — Justice Alexander 32, Jada Powell 9, Victorian Collins 4, Taylor Smith 4, Quinn Hicks 2, Janiyah Fomond 1
GASTON CHRISTIAN 37 — Jakyra Sadler 15, Sally Risk 8, Happy Arune 8, Brooklyn Twitty 4, Stella Absher 1
Notable: Concord Academy (25-7) next game 2/27 vs Grace Christian (Sanford) -- NCISAA 3A State Championship | 5 pm @ Novant Health Fieldhouse (Greensboro); Gaston Christian (20-6)
NO. 12 PROVIDENCE DAY 45, RABUN GAP 23
Providence Day 12 18 6 9 — 45
Rabun Gap 9 6 3 5 — 23
PROVIDENCE DAY 45 — Katelyn Ramsden 13 Julia O’Malley 10 Dumont 7 Mclure 5 Updyke 4 Clark 2 Crayton 2 Carson 2
RABUN GAP 23 — Patrzalek 4 V.McNabb 4 L.McNabb 2 Ashe 3 Manshack 7 Pasztor 3 Vanover 2
Record: Providence Day 24-5
CENTRAL CABARRUS 51, FOREST HILLS 37
Central Cabarrus 7 10 12 22 — 51
Forest Hills 12 8 17 0 — 37
CENTRAL CABARRUS 51 — Jahnae Duncan 23, Myajah Nix 12, Arevalo 9, Pickett 2, Fofana 2, Rouse 3
FREEDOM 37 — Nyhia Caldwell 14, Hagmann 6, Cooke 7, Bates 5, Queen 3
Notable: Central Cabarrus was led by senior Jahnae Duncan with 23 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assist and 6 steals. Myajah Nix added a double-double with 12 Points and 10 rebounds. Myajah Nix also scored her 1,000th career point in the second quarter. Central will move on to play AC Reynolds in the second round.
CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC 61, ASHBROOK 45
CHARLOTTE CATHOLIC 61 — Megan Shea 23, Hoefling 6, Dumler 6, Hodes 6, Pisacano 5, Williams 5, Maino 3, D. Lupinski 3, L.Lupinski 2 ASHBROOK 19 — Sumter 5, Gordon 4, Foster 3, Piper 2, Mcdowell 2, Cherry 1
Records: Charlotte Catholic 13-13; Ashbrook 9-12
Notable: Megan Shea finished with 23 points, including 18 in the first half.
SOUTH POINT 59, CARSON 50
South Point 15 7 20 17 — 59
Carson 19 14 6 11 — 50
SOUTH POINT 59 — J. Watkins 24, J. Bittle 19, R. Trexler 10, K. Hardin 6
Notable: South Point gets its first playoff win since 2011. Jyi Watkins earned her career-high with 24 points, while Ja’Nyiah Bittle recorded a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Tierney Waters and Rowen Trexler added 9 rebounds each. Red Raiders will play at No. 1 Oak Grove Thursday.
Record: South Point 9-15 (7-5)
STATESVILLE 56, SOUTH CALDWELL 48
South Caldwell 15 8 8 17 — 48
Statesville 21 5 14 16 — 56
SOUTH CALDWELL 48 — Maggie Wilks 27, Smith 2, Setzer 7, A. Whitman 2, Coble 5, Weisner 5
STATESVILLE 56 — Aubrey Graham 11, Ward 5, Harmony Anderson 10, Ava Waugh 18, Tandriyana Allison 10, Clark 2, McCall
Record: South Caldwell (11-15, 3-7)
WEDDINGTON 60, REAGAN 42
WEDDINGTON 60 — Myra Ukwu 19, Caroline Clark 18, Bella Denton 14 Notable: Weddington got its first NCHSAA playoff win in 10 years.
This story was originally published February 24, 2026 at 10:17 PM with the headline "Tuesday’s rewind: Providence Day heads to state. How area teams fared in playoffs."
