Friday’s Basketball Rewind: Facing the giants, Covenant Day’s growth process continues

The growth process for a basketball program is not a straight line, Covenant Day boys’ head coach Marty Parrish said.

“It’s a learning process,” he said Friday night, after his team fell 75-63 to The Burlington School, ranked eighth in North Carolina in the Charlotte Observer/News & Observer statewide ranking. “We make progress, but there is always something to learn

“We look at the tape, and we grow from it.”

A few years ago, Covenant Day struggled to win more than two or three games in a season. Parrish arrived four years ago, and the Lions’ program has improved steadily. Last year, Covenant Day finished third in the tough CISAA conference, one of the toughest, public or private, in North Carolina. In two of the past three seasons -- Providence Day in 2018 and Cannon School in 2020 -- the CISAA has produced the large division state champion.

Now the Lions, looking to join that elite list, are taking on some of the state’s elite teams, as was the case Friday night.

And Parrish’s players gave a good accounting of themselves early in the contest. They built a 20-15 lead with 6:18 left in the first half.

But they made only 1-of-8 shots from the floor for the rest of the half, and the visiting Spartans (7-2), a perennial state private school power, knew how to take advantage of that. The Burlington School outscored Covenant Day 21-6 for the rest of the quarter, taking a 36-26 halftime lead, then started the second half with another 19-9 surge. With 2:37 left in the third quarter, the Spartans led 55-35.

“That’s part of the growth process,” said Parrish, whose team slipped to 2-2 on the season. “What we learned tonight is that we need to do a better job of protecting leads. Those are things we’ll look at on the tape.”

Spartans’ head coach Ryan Bernardi said his team also has improved since the start of the season.

“We’re a lot different from the team that started the season,” he said. “We’re learning every game how to work together a little better.”

THREE WHO MATTERED

Zion Walker, The Burlington School: A 6-2 freshman guard, Walker was spectacular in the second half, connecting on 6-of-7 shots from the floor, including a pair of 3-pointers. He finished with 18 points.

Aden Holloway, Covenant Day: The Lions’ gifted 5-11 sophomore guard scored a game-high 21 points, making all seven of his field-goal attempts in the second half.

Kuluel Mading, The Burlington School: Mading, a 6-10 senior, scored 15 points, grabbed a game-high six rebounds, and blocked three shots.

WORTH MENTIONING

▪ Covenant Day played once again without standout 6-5 junior forward Daniel Nelson, who is recovering from a concussion. “He makes a big difference on this team,” Parrish said.

▪ The Lions trailed by 20 early in the second half but clawed their way back to a 10-point deficit (55-45) with 6:57 left. Then they went 0-for-6 from the floor, and The Burlington School went on a 7-0 run. “If we could have gotten within 10 points, it could have changed the momentum,” Parrish said. “That’s another of the things we need to learn.”

▪ The Burlington School shot 55 percent from the floor (29-of-53), to 49 percent (19-of-39) for Covenant Day.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Burlington School hosts Vision Prep, out of New York City, on Tuesday night. Covenant Day returns to action next Friday, visiting Concord Academy.

Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle

Friday’s Top Performers

Graham Calton, Charlotte Latin: 18 points, four rebounds, four assists in a 74-58 win over Gaston Christian. William Kelly had a game-high 26 points for the Gaston County school.

Camden Johnson, Metrolina Christian: 17 points, seven steals, four rebounds in a 58-51 win over SouthLake Christian. Metrolina is 4-1.

Reigan Richardson, Cannon girls: game-high 27 points for the Georgia recruit in an 82-44 win over Carmel Christian.

FRIDAY’S BOYS BOXSCORES

THE BURLINGTON SCHOOL 75, COVENANT DAY 63

The Burlington School 15 21 19 20 -- 75

Covenant Day 13 13 17 20 -- 63

THE BURLINGTON SCHOOL -- Zion Walker 18; Kuluel Mading 15; George 7; Roberts 5; Escobar 3; Jakel Powell 10; Jamarii Thomas 17; Brooks 0; Peterson 0.

COVENANT DAY -- Ufochukwu 6; B. Anderson 3; Ward 2; Marcus Brown 19; J. Brown 0; Aden Holloway 21; D. Anderson 5; Marcus 0.

CHARLOTTE LATIN 74 GASTON CHRISTIAN 58

CL 17 14 26 17--74

GC 15 4 17 22--58

Charlotte Latin--Graham Calton 18, Brandon Lavitt 12, Ned Hull 12, Hirsch 8, Haughton 7, Jones 6, Montgomery 6, Pence 3, Hendley 2

Gaston Christian--William Kelly 26, Elliott 9, Bradley 7, Brockington 6, Rhyne 4, Koveos 3, Chapman 2, Shuford 1

Records: Charlotte Latin 4-2, Gaston Christian 2-5

Game Notes: Graham Calton led a balanced Hawks on the road scoring with 18 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. Brandon Lavitt added 12 pts/6 rebs. and Ned Hull chipped in 12 pts/4 assists. The Eagles were led by William Kelly who scored 26.points.

METROLINA CHRISTIAN 58, SOUTHLAKE CHRISTIAN 51

MCA 13 11 14 20 = 58

SCS 12 11 13 15 = 51

METROLINA CHRISTIAN 58 -- Crumbie 18, Johnson 17, Deluca 7, Maul 6, Clark 5, Wilson Jr. 5

Notes: Jr. Blair Crumbie 18pts, 5rbs, 1stl; Sr. Camden Johnson 17pts, 7stls, 4rbs, 1ast, 1blk; Metrolina Christian 4-1 (2-0) hosts South Charlotte Thunder on Monday, December 14th at 7pm.

ROCK HILL 44, NATION FORD 38

Nation Ford: 12, 8, 9, 9, -- 38

Rock Hill: 8, 6, 13, 17 -- 44

Nation Ford 42 -- Devon Fletcher 15, Chris Roberts 2, Vinny Orlandi 2, Q Hand 14, Ethan Lewis 5

Rock Hill 62 -- Jayden Cornwell 2, Donaven Brown 10, Avery Armstrong 13, Luke Bracey 8, M Cross 5, Luke Peter 2

Records: Nation Ford 1--7

FRIDAY’S GIRLS BOXSCORES

MECKLENBURG COUNTY-AREA

CANNON SCHOOL 82 CARMEL CHRISTIAN 44

Cannon School 22 19 23 18- 82

Carmel Christian 7 10 19 12- 44

CANNON SCHOOL 82 -- Reigan Richardson 27, Anna Galloway 14, Maya McCorkle 12, Jamyrah Cherry 11, Seini Hicks 10, Z. Edwards 2, Wood 2, King 2

CARMEL CHRISTIAN 44 -- King 16, Mendieta 12, Boyce 8, Cady 7, Brulbacher 2

Records: Cannon School 6-2; Carmel Christian 1-4

Saturday’s Schedules

MECKLENBURG COUNTY-AREA

Cannon School vs. Gray’s Collegiate, Columbia International University, 7

Concord Academy in Best of the Carolinas Classic (girls)

Providence Day vs. Legacy Early College, at Rock Hill Sports and Event Center (girls)

United Faith Christian in Southeast Nike Hoops Festival (boys)

WAKE COUNTY-AREA

Mount Zion Christian at Fort Mill (SC) Comenius

North Raleigh Christian in She Got Game Classic at Washington (girls)

THURSDAY’S BOYS BOXSCORES

CANNON SCHOOL 93, CHRIST SCHOOL 68

Cannon-25-24-20-24 -- 93

CHRIST SCHOOL-13-19-17-19 -- 68

Cannon 93Dj Nix- 22Jarvis Moss- 18Karon Boyd- 16Elijah Ormiston-13Jay Claggett-12Deuce Rolle-5Marques Walker-4Ben Childress- 3

Christ School-68Deante Green-19Drew Redmond- 14Riggs Handy-12Donovan Fitzgerald-10Luke Stone- 7Jackson Fender-2Quinton Cancel-2Ty Bess-2

Notable: Freshman Jay Claggett finding his way with 12 points tonight.Cannon moves to 7-2 on the season.

METROLINA CHRISTIAN 57, CHARLOTTE COUNTRY DAY 50

Charlotte Country Day 9 11 13 17 50

Metrolina Christian 14 13 15 15 57

COUNTRY DAY 50 -- Jimmy Mitchell 11, Daven Murphy 10, Bryce Hicks 2, Carter Alessi 1, Cam Ray 4, Sam Turner 5, Bo Shaw 2, Jordan Erwin 3, Spencer Mermans 2, Russell Tabor 8, Sam Hedrick 2

METROLINA 57 -- Cam Johnson 14, Blair Crumbie 14, Mike Wilson 14, Caleb Maul 2, Dylan Deluca 7, Eli Clark 2, Blake Harold 4

Notable: Metrolina started on a 7-0 run and that was basically the difference in the game. The Bucs closed the gap to three points on two occasions but Metrolina always had an answer.

Records: Country Day is 1-3; Metrolina is 3-1

NORTHSIDE CHRISTIAN 49, PROVIDENCE DAY 41

Northside Christian 9 15 9 16 -- 49

Providence Day 15 10 11 5 -- 41

NCA: Hall 6, Lubamba 2, Mitchell 5, Tubbs 15, Hubbard 15, Sutherland 2, Maddux 4

PDS: Quave Propst-Allison 11, Wertz 8, Manna 1, Joe McDonough 10, Gedeon 5, Scott 4, Villegas 2

Notable: Scott added 10 rebounds and 5 assists for PDS; Propst-Allison led the team in scoring despite only playing 10 minutes due to injury sustained in the second quarter

THURSDAY’S GIRLS BOXSCORES

CHARLOTTE COUNTRY DAY 64, METROLINA CHRISTIAN 33

Metrolina 12 6 9 6 – 33

Country Day 16 13 17 18 – 64

MCA (33) Emily Walters 10, Reynolds 7, Sorrentino 6, McClain 4, Honeycutt 2, Phibbs 2, Goodfellow 2

CCDS (64) Mary Holland Waters 17, Hudson Rixham 16, Brooklin Ingram 14, Sasz 5, O’Neil 4, Rucker 4, Batten 2, McKay 2

Records: MCA 2-2 CD 1-0

TUESDAY

CANNON 78, HIGH POINT WESLEYAN 54

Cannon 22 21 18 17 -- 78

WESLEYAN 21 7 10 16 -- 54

Cannon 78 -- Jarvis Moss 23, DJ Nix 18, Elijah Ormiston 17, Karon Boyd 13, Jay Claggett 5, Marques Walker 2

WESLEYAN 54 -- Isaiah Ray 14, J. Swindell 15, Luke Grace 9, Cam Parker 9, Alex McGee 5, Marshall Uber 2

Notable: Cannon comes home victorious from a road win at Wesleyan Christian. Karon Boyd had his fourth double-double. Freshman Jay Claggett had 5 assists. The Cougar men’s basketball team (6-2) hosts Christ School Thursday.

CHARLOTTE COUNTRY DAY 71, WOODLAWN 50

CCDS 22 16 22 11 71

Woodlawn 13 7 14 16 50

Records: Country Day 1-2; Woodlawn 2-1

Notable: Jimmy Mitchell had eight three point shots to lead the team with 24 points. Ten different Country Day players scored

METROLINA CHRISTIAN 48, GASTON DAY 47

Gaston Day 19 14 10 4 47

Metrolina Christian 9 14 13 12 48

Gaston Day Scoring: Callum Richard 19, Dean Hunter 9, Chris Britt 8, Jack Crump 4, Colin Fayed 4, Four Heilig 3

Metrolina Christian Scoring: Camden Johnson 21, Dylan Deluca 14, Blair Crumbie 8, Eli Clark 3, Michael Wilson 2

Gaston Day Record: 4-3

Next Game: Friday, 12/11 @ Westminster Catawba 7 PM

NORTH RALEIGH CHRISTIAN 64, WAKE CHRISTIAN 38

NRCA 19 16 16 13 -- 64

Wake Christian 16 5 7 10 -- 38

NRCA 64 -- Ayinde Taylor 13, Will Fox 10, Braeden Miller 7, Will Nepa 6, CJ Johnson 6, Zak McMahon 4, Payne Thomas 4, Rogerick Ray 4, TJ Nyandoro 3, Noah McKenzie 3, Daniel Blaise 2, Micah Braswell 2,

Wake 38 -- Micah Wonsley 13, David Cass 9, Colton Tew 7, Michael Bright 3, Aaron Armstrong 2, Justin AllGood 2, Peter Glas 2

RAVENSCROFT 61, GRACE CHRISTIAN 48

Ravenscroft 18 15 13 15 -- 61

Grace Christian 13 13 10 12 -- 48

Ravenscroft 61 -- Comeh Emuobor 20, Tre Corrigan 11, Thomas Brown 8, George Baker 6, Jeremiah Williams 6, Harrison Poole 5, Cole Gilbert 3, Alex Olander 2

Grace Christian 48 -- Jalen Walter 15, Keyan I. 10, Hagan Q. 8, Connor O. 6, KJ Keats 3, Torrey Brown 3, Cooper Land

SOUTHLAKE CHRISTIAN 57, GASTON CHRISTIAN 41

SouthLake 7 17 22 11 57

Gaston Chr 15 13 7 6 41

SouthLake Moore 4, Duguid 14, Handlogten 11, Proctor 19, Stubbs 2, Gazzaway 1, Monroe 6

Gaston Christian Brockington 14, Bradley 4, Kelly 12, Chapman 5, Elliot 6

SouthLake 5-2 overall, 2-1 MAC held Gaston Christian to 13 points in the second half

MONDAY

SOUTHLAKE CHRISTIAN 88, NORTH HILLS 29

SLCA 17 25 22 24 88

North Hills 6 0 12 11 29

SLCA....Proctor 6, Moore 7, Handlogten 12, Monroe 12, Stubbs 7, Duguid 14, Watson 6,

Gazzaway 2, Schneider 9, Wazan 2, Puck 6, Banks 5

North Hills Moser 18, Sloan 3, McInnis 6, Hager 2

South Lake is now 5-2

SATURDAY

DURHAM ACADEMY 69, PROVIDENCE DAY 48

Providence Day 18 9 16 5 48

Durham Academy 15 20 15 10 69

PDS: Quave Propst-Allison 18, Sistrunk 3, Asrat 2, Joe McDonough 12, Gedeon 9, Scott 2, Villegas 2

DA: Dunk 9, Cole Sinclair 22, Braswell 8, Toby Harris 24, Topper 4

Records: PDS (2-5) DA (1-1)

Notable: Propst-Allison added 6 rebounds and 3 assists

GREENSBORO DAY 54, CHARLOTTE COUNTRY DAY 30

Charlotte Country Day 8 3 15 6 30

Greensboro Day 10 12 12 20 54

Records: CCDS 0-2, GDS 2-1

Notable: Jimmy Mitchell had 15 points to lead the Bucs. Sam Hedrick had 10 rebounds.

UNITED FAITH 62, COVENANT DAY 60

United Faith 62: Xavier McKelvy 25, LJ Johnson 11, Charlie Hester 10, Quinton Scheuermann 9, Marcus Willis 4, Lance Gill 2, Jaden Quick 1

Covenant Day 60:

Notes: Xavier McKelvy 25pts 10rebs + game winning FG | Quinton Scheuermann 9pts 11reb 3blks

FRIDAY

DAVIDSON DAY 65, FREEDOM CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 52

DDS - 13 7 21 24= 65

FCA- 12 9 12 19= 52

DDS: Prunty 3, Atwell 19, Horton 14, Howard 15, St. Clair 12, Eley 2

FCA: Zy 3, Deng 20, Jacob 7, James 9, Jalen 12

RECORDS: Davidson Day Patriots: 4-2, Freedom Christian Academy Patriots: 4-2

Game Stats: Junior Donovan Atwell led Davidson Day with 19 points and 2 steals. Junior Nyles Howard added 15 points, Sophomore Trey Horton chipped in with 14 points and 9 rebounds to guide the Patriots. Army commit Blane St. Clair had 12 points and 7 rebounds.

TUESDAY

CANNON 59, WESLEYAN CHRISTIAN 41

Cannon School 7 17 14 21- 59

Wesleyan Christian 7 6 14 14- 41

Cannon School 59- Reigan Richardson 17, Maya McCorkle 17, Seini Hicks 11, Wood 5, Cherry 4, G. Edwards 3, Galloway 2

Notes: Freshman Seini Hicks records a double double. 11 points and 13 rebounds.

GASTON DAY SCHOOL 61, METROLIINA CHRISTIAN ACADEMY - 43

Gaston Day-16-13-15-17-61

Metrolina Christian -12-11-10-10-43

Gaston Day -Zaria Clark 28,Janiah Shular 22, Mckynzie Mauney 4, Katherine Heilig 3, Gabriella Drury 2, Laura Mullins 2

Metrolina Christian - Ella McClain 11, Lily Reynolds 10, Emily Walters 9, Emma Phibbs 6, Allie Honeycutt 4, Rachel Tate 2, Hannah Sorrientino 1

Notable: Gaston Day Record 4-2

SATURDAY

CANNON SCHOOL 75, DAVIDSON DAY 54

Davidson Day 10 20 9 15 -- 54

Cannon School -- 75

Davidson Day -- Mallorie Haines 29, Jessie Wiles 10, Juliana Park 9, Callie Pestana 3, Ashley Fowler 2, Schuyler Moore 1

Cannon School -- Richardson 31, McCorkle 13, Cherry 7, Edwards 5, Wood 13, Hicks 4, Galloway 2

Davidson Day notable: Mallorie Haines scored 29 points along with 8 rebounds and 3 steals to help pace the Patriots on Friday at home. Jessie Wiles added 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists. Juliana Park contributed 9 points and 3 rebounds.

PROVIDENCE DAY 59, DURHAM ACADEMY 36

PDS 23-16-5-15—59

DA 11-6-7-12—36

PDS- Jordyn Latter 11 El Ferguson 16 Jensen 7 Booker 4 Greer 2 Levine 7 Brooks 6 Sanchez 6

DA-Lauren Wilson 12 McKenzie Graves 10 Davis 8 Harris 3

PDS Record 6-0

FRIDAY

DAVIDSON DAY 74, COVENANT DAY 66

Davidson Day 17 22 22 13 -- 74

Covenant Day 12 14 19 21 -- 66

Davidson Day -- Mallorie Haines 32, Juliana Park 20, Schuyler Moore 14, Jessie Wiles 8

Covenant Day --Mila Holloway 30, Esesosa Imafid 14, Alexis Hailey 8, Taylor Houseton 8, Taylor Easter 2, Hannah Keefer 2, Anna Kaulavatos 2

Davidson Day notable: Mallorie Haines scored 32 points along with 6 rebounds and 4 steals to help pace the Patriots on Friday at home. Juliana Park added 20 points and 6 rebounds while Schuyler Moore chipped in 14 points and 7 rebounds. Jessie Wiles contributed 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists.