The Porter Ridge boys’ basketball team returned to the Victory Column Friday night with a 12-point win over Mooresville.
This is only the second game head coach Garrett Malone’s team has played since the Southwestern 4A Conference took a brief hiatus after the night of the games on Jan. 15 due to the COVID pandemic. The Pirates are 4-2 on the season and haven’t played a conference game in almost a month.
Three pirates scored a double-digit hit on Friday, led by Junior Greg Wenger Jr., who scored 18 points with four 3-pointers. Sophomore Sean Rose contributed 14 points and sophomore Kyler Harris had 12 points. The Pirates played without the two top scorers in Junior Isaiah Williams (13.4 points per game) and sophomore Dilen Miller (12.8 points per game).
Porter Ridge returns to SWC on Tuesday with a home game against Garinger. The Pirates have won eight games in a row against Garinger and twelve of a total of 15 games since the start of the 2012/13 season.
Cuthbertson 70, Piedmont 41
One day after Marvin Ridge (67-56) fell on the road, the Cuthbertson boys continued their victories with a 29-point win over Piedmont on Friday evening. The Cavaliers are now 5-4 in the season and are looking forward to their first winning season since the 17-8 overall win in the 2015/16 season.
Cuthbertson was led by senior duo Will Heyward and Tre Branham, who scored 29 points and 11 rebounds against the Panthers (1-3). The Cavaliers received five points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals from Parker Burke.
On Friday, Piedmont was the first game since its fall against Charlotte Catholic on January 22nd. The Panthers have gone through two quarantine periods and played four games this season, while most teams across the county have played at least eight games.
Cuthbertson and Piedmont will meet again this week as the Cavaliers host the Panthers on Tuesday night. The Cavaliers have won four of their last five games with the Panthers since the beginning of the 2009/10 season, and have won 18 of 25 overall.
Anson 71, Central Academy 56
The Central Academy boys fell 2-8 that season with a 15-point home loss to Anson on Friday night. The Cougars have lost three games in a row since defeating Montgomery Central (56:44) on January 26th.
CATA was led by three great seniors, Drew Huffman and Jayden Robbins, and second Jake Shearin, who scored 54 of the Cougars’ 56 points on Friday. Shearin currently leads the team in points per game (15.8) while Huffman is not far behind with 15.1.
The Cougars had no defensive response for Anson Senior Lanyc Shuler, who hit a game high of 42 in the 19-of-29 shooting. The 6-foot guard also had nine rebounds, six steals, and four assists. This was Shuler’s fourth 40-point game of the season. He averages 32.6 points per game.
The Central Academy has its hands full on Tuesday to face Forest Hills. The Cougars haven’t beaten the yellow jackets since a 76-66 win on Jan. 24, 2014.
