Providence Day boys, girls sweep Covenant Day
By Tim Donelli
Correspondent CHARLOTTE OBSERVER
Nationally ranked in at least four polls and as high as No. 15, as well as being the Sweet 16’s No. 1, the Providence Day Chargers boys basketball team cruised to a 78-57 win over the Covenant Day Lions in a CISAA conference game Monday at Providence Day.
Josh Howard had a monster first half for the Chargers with 20 points, and finished with a game-high 25 points. Grant Williams and Isaac Johnson each poured in 15 points for Providence Day. The Chargers had a big height advantage over the Lions.
“We knew that they were smaller than us so they (the coaches) wanted to get the ball to our big men, me, Grant and Isaac to score some easy buckets in the paint,” said Howard.
A couple of quick 3s by Covenant Day allowed the Lions to stay close early. Covenant Day led 11-10 late in the first quarter. But the Providence Day big men were too much as the Chargers built a 13-point halftime lead.
Midway through the third quarter Covenant Day cut the Chargers lead to seven. But Providence Day went on an 8-0 run and never looked back. Jake Glass led the Lions in scoring with 13, with Chase Dixon adding 11 for Covenant Day.
“We try to pound the ball inside and make teams stop us inside, and I thought we did a good job of that tonight,” said Providence Day coach Brian Field. “We only took ten 3-pointers and I thought all ten were good inside-out looks. I was pleased with our shot selection tonight.”
The Providence Day girls (No. 1 in the Sweet 16 and No. 2 in the state) had no problem with Covenant Day in an easy 63-17 victory. Erin Whalen led the Chargers with 18 points while Janelle Bailey, Emilie Smith and Kennedy Boyd all finished in double figures with ten for Providence Day. The Chargers raced out to a 40-9 halftime lead to put the game out of reach early.
“I thought we had a fast start tonight, which was important,” said Providence Day girls coach Josh Springer. “Our pressure forced a lot of turnovers that got us some easy buckets in transition. Most encouraging was that we put four players in double figures for the first time all year. Hopefully that makes us tough to guard from here on out.”
Three Who Mattered
Josh Howard: Dominant inside and on the perimeter, the senior forward poured in a game-high 25 points and added eight rebounds, two steals and one assist.
Christian VanDeVelde: Junior guard had three 3-pointers for Covenant Day and finished as the Lions’ third-leading scorer with nine points.
Isaac Johnson: Senior forward drove to the basket effectively and often to finish with 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.
They Said It
“What I saw was our guys competing. We always want to compete no matter who we are playing against. We want to defend, we want to compete and we want to battle. We’re a team that continually always is going to battle and fight. I think we realize that we’re not that far off.” – Covenant Day boys’ coach Kameron Law on the positives he took from his team’s defeat.
Records
Covenant Day girls (12-6, 2-2), Covenant Day boys (11-6, 2-2)
Providence Day girls (18-2, 4-0), Providence Day boys (21-3, 4-0)
What’s Next
The Covenant Day girls and boys will host Charlotte Latin Tuesday at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. while the Providence Day girls and boys will host Charlotte Christian Tuesday at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
By Tim Donelli
Correspondent CHARLOTTE OBSERVER
Nationally ranked in at least four polls and as high as No. 15, as well as being the Sweet 16’s No. 1, the Providence Day Chargers boys basketball team cruised to a 78-57 win over the Covenant Day Lions in a CISAA conference game Monday at Providence Day.
Josh Howard had a monster first half for the Chargers with 20 points, and finished with a game-high 25 points. Grant Williams and Isaac Johnson each poured in 15 points for Providence Day. The Chargers had a big height advantage over the Lions.
“We knew that they were smaller than us so they (the coaches) wanted to get the ball to our big men, me, Grant and Isaac to score some easy buckets in the paint,” said Howard.
A couple of quick 3s by Covenant Day allowed the Lions to stay close early. Covenant Day led 11-10 late in the first quarter. But the Providence Day big men were too much as the Chargers built a 13-point halftime lead.
Midway through the third quarter Covenant Day cut the Chargers lead to seven. But Providence Day went on an 8-0 run and never looked back. Jake Glass led the Lions in scoring with 13, with Chase Dixon adding 11 for Covenant Day.
“We try to pound the ball inside and make teams stop us inside, and I thought we did a good job of that tonight,” said Providence Day coach Brian Field. “We only took ten 3-pointers and I thought all ten were good inside-out looks. I was pleased with our shot selection tonight.”
The Providence Day girls (No. 1 in the Sweet 16 and No. 2 in the state) had no problem with Covenant Day in an easy 63-17 victory. Erin Whalen led the Chargers with 18 points while Janelle Bailey, Emilie Smith and Kennedy Boyd all finished in double figures with ten for Providence Day. The Chargers raced out to a 40-9 halftime lead to put the game out of reach early.
“I thought we had a fast start tonight, which was important,” said Providence Day girls coach Josh Springer. “Our pressure forced a lot of turnovers that got us some easy buckets in transition. Most encouraging was that we put four players in double figures for the first time all year. Hopefully that makes us tough to guard from here on out.”
Three Who Mattered
Josh Howard: Dominant inside and on the perimeter, the senior forward poured in a game-high 25 points and added eight rebounds, two steals and one assist.
Christian VanDeVelde: Junior guard had three 3-pointers for Covenant Day and finished as the Lions’ third-leading scorer with nine points.
Isaac Johnson: Senior forward drove to the basket effectively and often to finish with 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.
They Said It
“What I saw was our guys competing. We always want to compete no matter who we are playing against. We want to defend, we want to compete and we want to battle. We’re a team that continually always is going to battle and fight. I think we realize that we’re not that far off.” – Covenant Day boys’ coach Kameron Law on the positives he took from his team’s defeat.
Records
Covenant Day girls (12-6, 2-2), Covenant Day boys (11-6, 2-2)
Providence Day girls (18-2, 4-0), Providence Day boys (21-3, 4-0)
What’s Next
The Covenant Day girls and boys will host Charlotte Latin Tuesday at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. while the Providence Day girls and boys will host Charlotte Christian Tuesday at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
