Area athletes update …
Mars Hill’s Isaiah Cuthbertson (West Rowan) was whistled for his fourth and fifth fouls 10 seconds apart in Saturday’s basketball game at Catawba, and the 6-foot-6 junior’s day was done with 10 minutes left on the scoreboard clock.
Cuthbertson had six points and nine rebounds before exiting, but foul trouble continues to be his biggest obstacle to succeeding in Division II.
Cuthbertson played at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory the previous two seasons.
“The calls are a lot different at this level, and I’m trying to get used to that and make the adjustment,” Cuthbertson said. “You can’t bump people in the post as much.”
Cuthbertson has averaged 6.2 points and 5.5 rebounds while starting every game for the Lions.
Those stats don’t include his strongest outing, a 20-point, 14 rebound effort against Division I Longwood in what was officially an exhibition game.
“I was playing against a 6-8 guy, but I guess he underestimated me,” Cuthbertson said. “He wasn’t even trying to box me out.”
That Cuthbertson is starting for a Division II basketball team is a pretty inspiring story for high school players who want to continue at the next level. He wasn’t a star at West, by any means, and averaged a modest 5.3 points per game as a senior for coach Mike Gurley.
• Darius Moose (Carson) scored 19 points for Brevard, 16 in the second half, in Saturday’s 82-69 loss to Anderson.
• VMI’s Drew Absher (Davie) had two assists in a 112-86 win against Bridgewater.
• Alex Weant (Salisbury) scored four points for Roanoke in a 78-64 loss to Methodist.
Radford’s Ayana Avery (West) had 11 points and eight rebounds in a 92-65 loss to Wake Forest.
Avery is 11th in the Big South in scoring with 13.4 points per game. She’s only 5-5, but she’s also eighth in the league in rebounding with 8.4 per game.
• Charlotte’s Ayanna Holmes (Salisbury) had eight points, four rebounds and three assists in a 62-52 win against Central Florida.
• Temple’s Shi-Heria Shipp (Salisbury) had five assists and three steals in a 78-74 win against Auburn.
• Alison Sobataka (West) had 14 points and four rebounds in Columbia’s 83-79 win against Virginia Intermont on Saturday.
Sobataka had five points in a loss to Lander and had five rebounds in a loss to Presbyterian.
Javon Hargave (North Rowan) had a dominant game as South Carolina State beat Norfolk State 17-3.
Hargrave was in on 11 tackles and had two sacks.
S.C. State shared the MEAC championship and will host a first-round game in the FCS playoffs this Saturday against Furman.
• Kevin Parks (West) carried 26 times for 130 yards and broke a 24-yard scoring run in Virginia’s loss to Miami. Parks has carried 210 times for 926 yards and 11 TDs. He’s second in the ACC in rushing.
Keeon Johnson (A.L. Brown) had two catches for the Cavaliers, including a 35-yard reception.
• Chris Smith (West) had a sack for a loss of 10 yards, a QB hurry and four tackles, but Arkansas lost in overtime to Mississippi State.
• Damien Washington (A.L. Brown) made two tackles for UNC in Saturday’s 80-20 romp against Old Dominion. Romar Morris (Salisbury) rushed four times for 12 yards.
• Domonique Noble (West) made four tackles in Georgia Tech’s romp against Alabama A&M.
• Western Michigan’s Keion Adams (Salisbury) had a fumble recovery and a tackle for loss in a 27-22 loss to Central Michigan.
• Charlotte’s Kalif Phillips (A.L. Brown) scored three touchdowns as the 49ers routed Morehead State 61-17 to close their first season of football. Phillips scored on runs of 4, 12 and 50. He finished with 86 yards on 11 carries.
• In Western Carolina’s 48-27 loss to Appalachian State, Shaun Warren (Carson) rushed nine times for 41 yards for the Catamounts and scored on a 3-yard run. Warren also returned three kickoffs for a total of 68 yards.
• Michael Church (A.L. Brown) completed two passes for 34 yards for Costal Carolina in a loss to South Carolina.
Coastal won the Big South championship and hosts Bethune-Cookman in the first round of the FCS playoffs.
• Charleston’s John Knox (Salisbury) was named to the All-Mountain East Conference first team. Knox had 664 rushing yards, 329 passing yards and 202 receiving yards this season. He had six rushing TDs and three receiving TDs, and he threw five scoring passes.
• Lenoir-Rhyne and UNC Pembroke will return to action Saturday, as the top two seeds in the regional playoffs.
Lenoir-Rhyne senior Kayla Morrow was Honorable Mention on the All-SAC team.