Welcome to the weekly sports roundup in the greater Charlotte area presented by The Sports Chief. Every Sunday, let The Chief be the one to catch you up on all the latest sports happenings in and around the Charlotte, NC area. We take a look at professional sports, as well as semi-professional, college, and high school. If you like what we’re doing, make sure you give us a follow on Twitter at @thesportschief where you’ll be notified of all our latest postings, and visit our website at www.thesportschief.com.

Professional

Carolina Panthers

Currently playing against NFC South division leading New Orleans Saints, the score is 7-7 as I type. The game is the last of the season for the Panthers, as they have no hope for a playoff spot with a 5-10 record coming into the game. They can, however, spoil the Saints’ opportunity for the #1 seed in the NFC. Star running back Christian McCaffrey is among eight Panthers inactives today, although he had hoped earlier in the year to get back in the lineup before the season ended. Like I said in last week’s 704 Report, he didn’t need to come back with the team going nowhere. Hopefully the offseason is enough for him to come back next season at 100%.

Charlotte Hornets

After a shocking win last Sunday against the Brooklyn Nets to get their first win of the season, the Hornets went on the road to Dallas and won a very convincing game, 118-99 against the Mavericks. And the Mavericks had just beaten the Clippers by 50. Pleasantly surprised by that game, along with the win against the Nets, Hornets fans began to wonder if this could be a special team. The record stood at 2-2, it was like a brand new season starting, and fans were feeling good. But to bring everyone back down to earth a little bit, Friday and Saturday came.

Back in Charlotte on New Year’s Day, the Hornets squared off against the Ja Morant-less Grizzlies. It was a game I expected them to win after what they’d done the last two games. But that wouldn’t be the case as six Grizzlies scored in double digits and Charlotte fell 108-93. It was a great game for Bismack Biyombo, however, leading the team in points (16) and rebounds (12). And while I like Biyombo, it doesn’t spell good news when he leads the team in scoring.

With a chance to redeem themselves 24 hours later in Philly, the Hornets dropped another one. The Sixers scored 127 to the Hornets’ 112. Terry Rozier had yet another good game with 35 points and Gordon Hayward added 20, but the more experienced 76er’s were too much for them. So, now at 2-4, the Hornets have some work to do to prove they belong in any type of conversation involving teams worth talking about. They’ll get their first chance tomorrow night as the team stays in Philadelphia for a rematch against the 5-1 76ers.

College Basketball

Charlotte

The 49ers have won four of their last five games, with that one loss coming at the hands of Western Kentucky this week, who they split the 2-game series with. Those were the first two conference games for Charlotte, who now stands at 1-1 in the conference. New Year’s Day’s contest against the Hilltoppers brought a tightly contested game, but ultimately a loss for the 49ers. The second half proved too much for Charlotte, giving up 39 points in that half. Jahmir Young led the team in scoring with 23 points.

The only good thing about that loss for Charlotte was they got the chance to avenge it the very next day. This one was an even closer game, going into overtime, and the 49ers got their revenge. The final score was 75-71 with Jahmir Young, once again, leading all scorers with 24 points. It was a nice bounce back win for Charlotte, who is now 5-4 overall. They will face Marshall next, with a two-game series this coming Friday and Saturday.

Davidson

Just like the Charlotte 49er basketball team, Davidson’s overall record is 5-4 with a 1-1 conference record. Their game scheduled for yesterday against VCU unfortunately was postponed, so the Wildcats just played one game this week. That was against another Virginia school, the Richmond Spiders. The outcome wasn’t what Wildcat fans wanted, with an 80-74 loss taking place in Belk Arena in Davidson. Hyunjung Lee had a solid game, leading all Davidson scorers with 17, but ultimately the team needed a few more shots to fall. Luka Brajkovic led the team in rebounds, compiling a total of 14. Davidson now turns their attention to Tuesday night where they will play A-10 conference foe Duquesne in the Steel City of Pittsburgh. Covid has impacted the Duquesne season quite a bit with five games either canceled or postponed. Their overall record is just 2-1.

Appalachian State

This week was a tale of two totally different games for the Mountaineers, who squared off against conference opponent Troy for their first two conference games. New Year’s Day was the first game and a struggle for the Mountaineer offense. Shots just didn’t fall as App scored just 56 points to Troy’s 69. James Lewis Jr. led the team in scoring with 16 points. The next day, however, was a totally different story. This time it was the Trojans who couldn’t get out of the 50s while the Mountaineers poured it on for 90 points. Five players scored in double figures with Justin Forrest leading the way with 21, going 6 of 7 from the three-point line. App now stands at 7-4 overall with a 1-1 conference record. They will face enemy Georgia Southern next, with two games this coming weekend.

High School

It’s back! Public high school basketball starts this week and we finally have the complete Charlotte Observer Sweet 16 poll, that included public schools along with the prep schools. For example, prep school Carmel Christian leads the way at the #1 spot and they have already played 14 games this season (13-1). North Meck, a public school, finds itself in the #2 spot with a 0-0 record since they are a public school and their season has been put on hold for a few months. According to the Charlotte Observer, West Meck is looking to become the first Mecklenburg County team to repeat as 4A state champions since West Charlotte in 1991 and 1992. The rest of the Sweet 16 can be found below:

16. Independence (4A)

15. North Rowan (1A)

14. Freedom (3A)

13. Charlotte Catholic (3A)

12. Olympic (4A)

11. Forest Hills (2A)

10. Shelby (2A)

9. Cox Mill (3A)

8. Weddington (3A)

7. Myers Park (4A)

6. West Charlotte (4A)

5. Vance (4A)

4. Charlotte Christian (IND)

3. Ardrey Kell (4A)

2. North Mecklenburg (4A)

1. Carmel Christian (IND)

2019-20 North Mecklenburg Basketball TeamCredit: Charlotte Observer — 2019-20 North Mecklenburg Basketball Team
Credit: Charlotte Observer

Along with the pre-season Observer Sweet 16, let’s take a look at the pre-season All-Observer team:

Kheni Briggs (AL Brown), Jr.

Chris Ford (North Meck), Sr.

Jeremy Gregory (North Meck), Jr.

Chase Lowe (Weddington), Jr.

Austin Medlin (West Stanly), Sr.

Daniel Sanford (Vance), Jr.

Evan Smith (Ardrey Kell), Jr.

Isaiah Tate (Kings Mountain), Jr.

Calik Thomas (Rocky River), Sr.

Garett

704 Weekly Sports Report