John Bean (center) cleared 1,000 career points on Tuesday night, helping top seed East Lincoln High win a first-round state 2A playoff game at home. He’s pictured with Mustangs assistant coach Chip Ashley (left) and East Lincoln head coach Jon Hancock./EAST LINCOLN HIGH PHOTO
East Lincoln’s Bean passes 1,000 in career scoring in first-round victory
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The biggest value of the 69th win for Danny Anderson as head boys’ basketball coach at Maiden High on Tuesday night is that it gives the Blue Devils a chance for his 70th on Thursday night.
Facing South Fork 2A rival Newton-Conover for the fourth time this season and second time in six days, the 11th-seeded Blue Devils prevailed 51-37 at home to advance to the second round of the state 2A playoffs.
Maiden High eliminated Newton-Conover from the state 2A playoffs on Tuesday night, beating the Red Devils for the third time this season, and picked up win No. 69 for Danny Anderson as head coach at Maiden. The Blue Devils play at Mountain Heritage on Thursday night.
Newton-Conover (16-12) led Maiden 24-21 at halftime of Tuesday’s game but no other game details were available.
In previous games this season, the Blue Devils had beaten the Red Devils 51-45 in Newton and 51-43 at Maiden before Newton-Conover won 49-45 at Maiden in a South Fork 2A tournament semifinal last Thursday.
With Tuesday’s win, Maiden (23-4) earned a trip to sixth-seeded Mountain Heritage (20-2) on Thursday — game time to be determined — and Anderson will battle a team coached by the guy, Hank Newson, who replaced him for one season at West Caldwell when he was coaching there.
Should Maiden win at Mountain Heritage, its next game would be Saturday against No. 14 Mount Pleasant (22-5) or third-seeded Shelby (21-5).
Anderson is in his fourth season at Maiden (69-36 record, 708-245 career in 36 seasons). He came to coach the Blue Devils in 2015-16 after three years of a second stint as the head coach at West Caldwell.
After coaching the Warriors for 19 seasons, Anderson took a one-year break (2011-12) and Newson, an assistant coach on his staff, guided West Caldwell to a league title and 19-7 record before Anderson came back as head coach the following season.
Newton-Conover had its best year of four with Matt Wilkinson as head coach, going from 6-20 a year ago to 16 wins. The Red Devils were 17-58 in Wilkinson’s first three years after he came from an 11-year run as head coach at Bunker Hill.
No. 26 Patton 73, No. 7 Draughn 64
The Panthers, playing the Wildcats for the fourth time this season, won behind Bryson Holdsclaw and Jackson Vance and will now battle North Davidson in the second round.
Patton led 20-10 after one quarter and 39-22 at the half and withstood a double-double by Draughn’s Jeremiah Daye (29 points, 10 rebounds), who made 11 of his 21 field goal attempts and hit six of seven free throws.
The Wildcats (21-6) won the Northwestern Foothills 2A regular season, beating Patton 63-54 on the road and 77-64 at home in regular season games and 70-63 at East Burke in the conference tournament.
Patton is in the postseason for the sixth straight year and got to the third round last season before being eliminated by Mountain Heritage (67-62).
If Patton wins at No. 10 North Davidson (23-5) on Thursday night, its third round game would be Saturday on the road against No. 15 Franklin (18-7) or defending state 2A champ and No. 2 seed Forest Hills (25-2).
North Davidson advanced Tuesday by beating No. 23 Winston-Salem Atkins 86-70 in Welcome.
No. 1 East Lincoln 95, No. 32 North Surry 49
Senior John Bean was one of East Lincoln High’s four double-figure scorers – clearing 1,000 career points with 24 points – as the Mustangs cruised at home in a first-round game.
Bean’s scoring and 28 points and eight rebounds by junior Justin Kuthan, senior Sidney Dollar’s 12 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and four steals and 10 points and three steals by sophomore Myles Adams sparked top-seeded East Lincoln.
Bean also had four rebounds, four assists and three steals as the Mustangs (26-2) cleared 90 points for the second time this season and second time in four games.
East Lincoln will play at home Thursday at 7 p.m. in the second round, facing No. 17 Lexington (18-9) after it advanced by eliminating Bunker Hill 80-70 in Claremont on Tuesday in the opening round.
North Surry, seeded No. 32, got 16 points from Nick Badgett and 10 by Chase Swartz and finished 9-15.
East Lincoln led by six points after one quarter and scored 33 in the second quarter for a 54-29 lead at the half.
The Mustangs are in the postseason for the 15th straight season and have advanced to at least the second round in 13 of those seasons.
If East Lincoln wins on Thursday night, it would play at home Saturday against No. 24 South Point (15-11) or No. 8 Wheatmore.
No. 17 Lexington 80, No. 16 Bunker Hill 70
Derrick Dearmon scored 30 points to lead the Yellow Jackets past the Bears in Claremont in a first-round game.
Alex Holt added 16 points and had 18 rebounds and Tyrek McNair scored 14 points as Lexington (18-9) ran its win streak to seven straight games.
Christian Ramseur led Bunker Hill with 23 points, making five 3-pointers, and Keenan Kee added 15 points for the Bears.
The Yellow Jackets go to top-seeded East Lincoln for a second round game on Thursday night.
Bunker Hill finished 16-10 and fell in the opening round of the state playoffs for the fourth straight time and for the 11th time in 12 bids since the 2006-07 season.
No. 12 Walkertown 73, No. 21 Hibriten 69
Walkertown turned back the visiting Panthers despite a 27-point game by sophomore Nordre Battle.
Hibriten finished 20-6, losing its last two games in its first 20-win season since going 23-6 in 2015-16.
Panthers head coach Chad Keller coached both of those 20-win teams, the third and fourth for Hibriten in the last 42 seasons.
Walkertown (20-7) goes to No. 5 West Stokes (20-6) on Thursday for a second round game.
No. 6 Mountain Heritage 101, No. 27 Lincolnton 49
The Cougars cleared 100 points for the second straight game and scored more than 90 for the fifth straight game and eighth time this season as they eliminated the Wolves.
Mountain Heritage led 49-21 by halftime.
The Cougars face No. 11 Maiden (23-4) on Thursday night at Mountain Heritage in a second round game.
Mountain Heritage is averaging 84.4 points per game with three players averaging in double figures and seven on his roster averaging at least seven points per game.
No. 8 Wheatmore 75,
No. 25 Lake Norman Charter 63
Senior Gavin Rains poured it on the Knights (10-13), leading Wheatmore to a home victory with 39 points and 19 rebounds.
Rains hit 16 of 26 field goals and seven of 12 free throws and 13 of his rebounds were on defense as Wheatmore advanced to a second round game on Thursday against No. 24 South Point (15-11).
Wheatmore led 39-34 at the half.
Lake Norman Charter lost its last two games and five of its last seven in head coach Aaron Reeves’ eight season (132-80 record).
3A
No. 3 Freedom 89, No. 30 West Henderson 71
Sparked by Fletcher Abee’s 30 points, the Patriots (26-2) advanced to the second round after building a 44-24 lead by halftime.
Michael Logan added 15 points, Jakari Dula had 14, James Freeman scored 12 and Jayden Birchfield provided 10 for Freedom.
The Patriots meet No. 19 Greensboro Smith (14-12) in Morganton on Thursday night (7:30 p.m.) in the second round. Smith advanced by beating No. 14 Sun Valley 59-55 in overtime on Tuesday night at Sun Valley.
Ben Bryson scored 30 points and Kyle Porter added 16 for West Henderson, which finished 14-12.
If Freedom wins on Thursday, it would play at home on Saturday against No. 27 Northwest Cabarrus (12-12) or No. 11 A.L. Brown (20-7).
No. 8 Hickory 61, No. 25 Asheboro 49
Davis Amos had a hot hand in the first quarter, scoring 10 of his 18 points, as the Red Tornadoes won to advance to the second round.
Cody Young added 11 points for Hickory (23-4), which ran its win streak to nine games.
The Red Tornadoes face ninth-seeded Southern Guilford (22-4) in Hickory on Thursday night.
If Hickory advances, its next game would be Saturday against No. 17 Winston-Salem Parkland (16-10) or at top-seeded Southwest Guilford (27-0).
No. 9 Southern Guilford 76,
No. 24 Alexander Cenral 41
Southern Guilford dominated in the paint, outscoring the Cougars 40-14, to win a home first-round game.
Jimmy Cooper led four double-figure scorers with 20 points while Tyler Dearman added 17 points, T.J. McMaster had 14 and Julius Burch added 12.
Southern Guilford (22-4) won the boards by 14, led by Burch with eight, and Jem Lowrance was the Cougars’ only scorer in double figures with 17 points.
Alexander Central was forced into 22 turnovers and outscored 22-9 on those and 14-4 on fast break points.
Lowrance hit seven of eight free throws for the Cougars, who were 13-of-19 at the line, and Southern Guilford shot only 13 free throws and made seven.
Cooper hit four 3-pointers and Dearman hit three as Southern Guilford converted nine of 21 from behind the 3-point line.
Southern Guilford’s starters combined to shoot 28-for-52 (53.8 percent).
The Cougars, in the postseason for the 11th time in Ed Willis’ 15 seasons as their head coach, finished 17-10 a year after going 8-17.
No. 1 Southwest Guilford 87, No. 32 Watauga 30
Southwest Guilford cruised against the visiting Pioneers (13-13), leading 20-9 after one quarter and 53-19 at the half after scoring 33 points in the third quarter.
The Cowboys (27-0) were up 72-20 after three quarters, outscoring Watauga 19-1 on in the third quarter.
Kobe Langley led Southwest Guilford, which averages 83.1 points per game, with 18 points and Keyshaun Langle added 14.
Southwest Guilford is at home on Thursday to play No. 17 Winston-Salem Parkland (16-10), and the Cowboys would be Hickory’s third-round opponent if they win and the Red Tornadoes win on Thursday night (that game would be in High Point).
4A
No. 9 Winston-Salem Reynolds 97,
No. 24 McDowell 66
The Demons had a 61-point opening half – leading by 16 points – as they rolled past the visiting Titans in a first-round game.
Winston-Salem Reynolds scored 34 points in the first quarter.
Qualique Garner had 21 points for the Titans, who finished 10-16 after losing their fourth straight and ninth in 10 games, and Dylan McRary had 16 points.
The Demons face No. 8 Butler, which had a first-round bye, on Thursday night at Butler.
