From staff reports
A.L. Brown lost to arch-rival Concord 70-57 in the boys championship game of the SPC tournament on Friday.
The Wonders (15-8) fell to the Spiders for the third time. They’ve won 10 of their last 13. Only Concord has beaten them since their numerous football players found their basketball legs.
“But Concord is a good offensive team,” said Wonders coach Shelwyn Klutz of Scott Brewer’s Spiders. “They’re hard to stop.”
Demarcus “Smoke” Phifer led the Wonders with 15 points. T.J. Johnson followed with 12.
Brown will enter the 3A playoffs as the SPC’s No. 3 seed and plays at old foe West Rowan (23-3) on Monday. Gametime is 7 p.m.
Klutz will be on the sidelines opposite his good friend, West coach Mike Gurley.
“It will be like old times,” Klutz said.
n Prep basketball
Both South Rowan teams are No. 4 seeds and are playing at No. 1 seed Hickory in the first round of the 3A state playoffs.
The schools have agreed to play a doubleheader at Hickory on Monday, starting with the girls game at 6:30 p.m. The boys game is set for 8 p.m.
Directions to Hickory High. Take I-40 West to Exit 125, go toward downtown and Lenoir-Rhyne. Merge onto Lenoir-Rhyne Blvd. SE. Turn left onto 1st Ave. SE/NC-1692 W. Turn right onto 2nd St. SE/NC-127 N. Turn right onto 12th Ave. NE. Turn left onto 3rd St. NE. End at 1234 3rd St. NE.
n Salisbury’s boys will be at home Monday. South Iredell appears to be their foe.
n Prep wrestling
Salisbury 130-pounder Joseph Figueroa and East Rowan 119-pounder Chase Thompson were the only Rowan wrestlers to win their first two matches at the state championships on Friday.
A.L. Brown Jonathan Donatien (140) won twice in the 3A bracket.
In 4A, Davie’s Michael Waters (112), Zack Vernon (130) and Matt Cusack (152) won their first two outings.
See Scoreboard for results.
n Catawba hoops travels
Catawba basketball teams play at Lenoir-Rhyne tonight, with the women’s game opening the doubleheader at 6 p.m.
Catawba’s men and L-R’s women won when the teams squared off in December.
It’s a must-win for Catawba’s men (16-8, 8-5) as the Bears (14-9, 9-4) lead the SAC race with time running out.
Catawba will match the league’s second-best offense (83.3 points a game) against a Lenoir-Rhyne club that is the SAC’s best shooting squad (48.4 percent).
L-R has won four straight. Catawba has won its last two to get back in the race.
L-R’s Elliott McDowell is the No. 6 scorer in the league (17.5 points a game), while Catawba’s Antonio Houston (18.0) ranks fourth.
n Lenoir-Rhyne’s women (21-3, 11-2) are in first place. Catawba (15-9, 7-6) has won three straight.
Both teams feature balanced scoring. Denise Moore leads the Bears with 13.4 points a game. Brittany Higgins averages 11.9 per game for the Indians.
n College baseball
Zach Glass (Salisbury) had three of Lenoir-Rhyne’s 23 hits and knocked in five runs in a 24-3 SAC victory against Lincoln Memorial on Friday.
n Tusculum beat Mars Hill 4-3 in an 11-inning SAC opener on Friday. Freshman Alex Britt (Salisbury) pitched seven strong innings for Mars Hill, allowing six hits and two runs. He fanned five.
n Mount Olive’s Craig Beasley (West Rowan) pitched three innings and allowed two runs in a 15-2 victory against Elizabeth City State on Wednesday.
n College tennis
Catawba senior Shahin Soltan was named SAC Men’s Player of the Week. He won three of four singles matches at No. 1.
n Catawba freshman Steffi Cook was named SAC Women’s Player of the Week.
Cook was 2-0 at No. 3 singles and is 6-1 on the season.
n Women’s basketball
Guilford’s Tracey Croner (East Rowan) scored 21 points in an 80-49 loss against Randolph-Macon on Friday.
n College track
Lamont Savage (West Rowan) hit an NCAA indoor provisional qualifying mark with a 25-foot long jump, good for fourth overall at the Virginia Tech Challenge.
Friday’s mark was a personal best for Savage.
n Jason Jones (East Rowan) was third in the weight throw with an effort of 56 feet, 6 inches and ranks sixth in the ACC in the event this season.
n College softball
Devon Williams (West Rowan) had three RBIs for Maryland in a 7-3 victory against UC-Santa Barbara on Thursday.
n Walters State got off to a 4-0 start. Erin Foster (West) had two hits in a 9-5 win against Glenville State. Gina Loflin (West) had two hits in a 3-0 win against Pfeiffer.
n Lindsey Barrier (East Rowan) went 2-for-4 for Mars Hill in an 11-4 victory against Erskine on Friday.
n Overseas basketball
Carlos Dixon (South Rowan) scored a season-high 26 points for his team in Argentina in his last outing.
Terris Sifford (West Rowan) had 21 points and 10 rebounds in his most recent game in Italy.
n Damien Argrett (South, Pfeiffer) had 13 points in his latest outing in Poland.
n Stallions basketball
Cabarrus-Rowan Homeschool Stallions basketball teams are competing in the Western Regional in Winston-Salem.
n The top-seeded jayvee boys play today. Team members are Jason Long, James Dare, Sam Nelson, Jacob Nelson, Andrew Kelly, John Clay, Randy Hansen, Ben Hansen, Ben Morgan, R.J. Philemon and Landon Holm.
n The middle school boys, seeded fifth, lost on Friday to Surry County 31-23. Jordan Long was the leading scorer.
The rest of the team consists of Rockford Stoller, Luke Browning, Corbin Riley, Hudson Harris, Brandon Adams, Spencer Bare, Brad Clark, Coby Hansen, Grant Stoller and Noah Morrison.
n The second-seeded varsity girls team defeated Forsyth 44-31 as Hannah Holm scored 21. Nikki Milo and Ruth Ann Thomas each had seven.
Other team members are Julie Philemon, Sarah Snipes, Rebecca Bare, Jasmine Nieman, Allie Long, Susan Thomas, Adriena Fink, Alyce Lentz, Kaitlyn Holm, Alayna Long and Morgan Perella.
n The fourth-seeded varsity boys split two games on Friday. The Stallions got 28 points from Christian Hicks to beat Greensboro 79-62. K.P. Hicks had 13, Aaron Reeves 13, Tim Coleman 12 and Kyle Kiker 11.
They lost in the nightcap 81-71 to Forsyth. Christian Hicks again led the way with 28. Coleman had 21. The Stallions will play today in a consolation game.
The rest of the varsity Stallions include Josh Wensil, Caleb Wensil, Nick Weaver, Caleb Dietz and Jon Benham.
The top two teams advance to the state finals in Greensboro on Feb. 27.
n Rowan Y volleyball
Rowan County YMCA is accepting registrations for a middle school girls volleyball league through March 7.
Games will be played at YMCAs in the county.
Girls should sign up at Hurley YMCA if they attend Salisbury, North or West, at South YMCA if they attend South or Carson, and East YMCA if they attend East.
Fees are $36 for members and $60 for potential members.
Contact Gary Earnhardt at 704-857-7011.
n South Y programs
South Rowan YMCA is accepting registrations through March 21 for spring soccer and flag football. Programs are open to boys and girls in kindergarten-eighth grade. Practice starts in late March. Games will begin April 25.
Fees are $36 members and $60 for potential members. Contact Gary Earnhardt at South Rowan YMCA at 704-857-7011.