Thursday, October 1, 2026
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Cherryville, NC (WNN ) - Old Man Winter created the need for some creative scheduling, including Cherryville High School, to close out the regular season in basketball. Some area conferences have elected to cancel their conference tournaments to accommodate all the make-up games. The Southern Piedmont 2A/3A/4A Conference, in which the Ironmen play, plans to play their tournament as scheduled. The revised regular-season schedule left Cherryville playing three games in a four-day span. Tuesday evening, Piedmont Community Charter School came to Nixon Gym; on Wednesday evening, the Ironmen hosted Shelby; and on Friday, they traveled to Bessemer City for the regular-season finale.
Lady Ironmen: This was senior night, and the game had an emotional start. During a preseason scrimmage game, four-year varsity standout Raylei Gidney tore her ACL, requiring surgery, which meant she would miss her senior season. In a show of sportsmanship and respect, PCCS agreed to an unusual start to the game. In an untimed play, Senior center/forward Jenna Anthony tipped the jump ball behind her to Senior guard Kate Bookout, who passed the ball to Senior guard/forward Emily Allen, who, in turn, passed the ball to Senior center Raylei Gidney as she waited under the basket. Raylei, wearing a full leg brace, limped two steps to “score” her final basket. The symbolic gesture left players and a few fans wiping away tears.
Raylei making her way out for Senior Night | Cherryville Ironmen Senior Night | February 10, 2026
Ashley Reep (WNN)
The first quarter was almost all defense with the Lady Patriots holding a 9-4 lead heading into the second quarter. By halftime, Piedmont had stretched the lead to 22-7. The Lady Ironmen fought back in the third quarter, outscoring PCCS by one in the frame. Cherryville was unable to keep up the momentum in the fourth, as Piedmont Charter won 49-29. The Lady Patriots (9-15) were led by top scorers Erielle Smith and Aleena Gaaf, both scoring 14 points, and Bree Phillips contributed 12 points. Cherryville’s Emily Allen led all scorers with 17 points. Kate Bookout added 6 points, and Jenny Brown and Isabelle Robinson each scored 3 points. The Lady Ironmen are now 3-18.
Between games, seniors from both the women’s and men’s teams were honored. Lady Ironmen recognition went to Logan McCorkle for four years as team manager, #3 Kate Bookout four years varsity, #22 Emily Allen four years varsity, #31 Raylei Gidney four years varsity, and #32 Jenna Anthony one year varsity. The Ironmen recognized Montrell Little for four years as clock keeper and Hunter Griffin for four years as scorebook keeper. Senior players included #1 Talon Dalton, four years varsity, #5 Aaron Heavner, two years varsity, #12 Colton Robinson, one year varsity, #20 Darius Pullen, three years varsity, #23 Paxton Pruett, three years varsity, and #24 Camden Williams, one year varsity.
Ironmen: Darius Pullen put the Ironmen on the board first with a steal and a layup. The first quarter was tight, with neither team leading by more than 7 points at any point. Both teams were playing fast and with intensity. The hustle and intensity evolved into a very physical second quarter that was a little chippy at times. The Patriots pulled ahead by 16 before Cherryville roared back and cut it down to 9 as they trailed at the half, 43-34. Piedmont got hit from the field and went ahead by 21 in the third. The Ironmen would cut the deficit back to 15 before the Patriots put Cherryville into serious foul trouble and iced the game for a final score of 95-69. T.J. Biggers had a massive night for Piedmont Community Charter (21-4), recording a double-double with 34 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. Eli Grant scored 19 points, and Johnathan Austin added 18. Cherryville (6-15) was led by Talon Dalton and Darius Pullen, each scoring 14 points, followed by Cole Kelly with 12 points, Elijah Proctor with 11 points, Paxton Pruett with 9, Colton Robinson with 5, and the scoring was rounded out by Trevor Dalton and Camden Williams, each with 2 points.
Lady Ironmen: The Lady Golden Lions roared into Nixon Gym on Wednesday evening. They jumped out to a big lead to begin the game and never looked back. The Lady Ironmen were getting good looks at the basket early, but nothing seemed to fall for them. Shelby’s speed and a smothering defense, combined with lights-out shooting, were more than Cherryville could overcome. Dereon Kee hit a scoring milestone of 1000 points for her career at Shelby High School. She finished the game with 13 points as the Lady Golden Lions improved to 10-10 overall and 9-6 in the conference. Bre McEntire led all scorers with 20 points, and Sanai McNeil added 16 points. Cherryville was led again by Emily Allen with 7 points, followed by 3 points each by Isabelle Robinson and Jenny Brown. Morgan Wray and Jenna Anthony were also in the scoring column with 1 point each. The Lady Ironmen’s record now stands at 3-14 overall and 1-14 in the conference.
Ironmen: Cherryville raced out of the gate looking to knock off the conference-leading Golden Lions. Paxton Pruett gave the Ironmen a 6-0 lead with back-to-back three-point shots to begin the game. The much bigger Shelby seemed shell-shocked as Cherryville was playing a very physical game. During the first quarter, Cole Kelly, Darius Pullen, and Isaiah Champion were creating turnovers on defense with their strong play. After one quarter, Cherryville held a surprising 25-22 lead. The second quarter would turn out to be the Achilles heel for the Ironmen as Shelby opened the quarter, going on a 9-0 run and would outscore the Ironmen by 20 to run out to a 49-32 halftime lead. The Lions had used their size advantage to wear down Cherryville. After the break, the Ironmen proved scrappy as they were only outscored by 2 points in the second half of the game. Coming off the bench, Elijah Proctor, Colton Robinson, and Narian Hopper contributed solid minutes. The damage Shelby caused in the second quarter proved to be the difference in the game, as they went on to win 87-68. Shelby is now 18-3 overall and 13-2 in the conference, setting up a regular-season conference title showdown with county rival Burns to end the week. Their leading scorer was Lorenzo Roseboro with 17 points, followed by Brison Gulatte’s 14 and Darius Young’s 13 points. The Ironmen got 14 points out of Paxton Pruett, Colton Robinson added 10, Cole Kelly and Talon Dalton each scored 9, Darius Pullen had 7, Elijah Proctor had 6, Isaiah Champion and Narian Hopper each scored 5, and Camden Williams rounded out the scoring with 2 points. The Ironmen are now 6-16 overall and 3-12 in the conference.
Cherryville at Bessemer City 2-13-2026
Lady Ironmen: The Lady Ironmen had a tough time getting on track early, and the Lady Jackets took advantage. This battle of county rivals went in favor of Bessemer City, and they downed Cherryville 65-19 in the regular season finale. The Jackets finished the season with an overall record of 8-15 and 5-11 in the conference. They were led by Saniyah Moore with 30 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists, and by Marissa Kiser’s double-double performance of 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Ironmen: Cherryville came into the game averaging 70.9 points in their last eight games. The points on this night, however, were difficult to produce. After some strong performances recently, the Ironmen had an off night as they fell to Bessmer City 78-48. Darius Pullen led the Ironmen by scoring 12 points, and Colton Robinson turned in another strong performance, adding 11 points. Cherryville’s regular season record overall is 6-17 and 3-13 in conference play. The Yellow Jackets’ top scorers were Tristen Gordon and Jonathan Black, each with 18 points. BCHS finishes the regular season at 14-9 overall and 12-4 for a 3rd place conference finish.
The Southern Piedmont 2A/3A/4A Conference Tournament is scheduled to take place the week of February 16th - February 20th at various sites. Final pairings and locations have not yet been announced. Each team’s school social media platforms will list the dates, times, and locations once finalized.
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