Ironmen Basketball Teams Open Conference Play

Cherryville, NC (WNN) - The Lady Ironmen and Ironmen basketball teams began conference play this week. A non-conference matchup with North Gaston was rescheduled for February 12th; the remaining two games were against conference opponents. Unfortunately, both teams dropped their conference bouts. The ladies are still a developing young team, and the guys have improved over the last few seasons, correcting some of the weaker areas of their game. The season is still very young, with plenty of time for each team to tweak its game plan and have a competitive season.

Conference Opener with West Lincoln

Lady Ironmen: The Lady Rebels of West Lincoln hosted the Lady Ironmen on December 2nd in the conference opener for both teams. West Lincoln jumped out to a big lead early, and even with a gallant effort, Cherryville could not dig out of the early hole. The first quarter saw the Lady Rebels go up 19-2, which proved to be too large a hill for the Lady Ironmen to climb. The final score was 53-23. Emily Allen led Cherryville with 14 points, and Quinlyn Avery of West Lincoln led all scorers with 18 points. Avery came into the game averaging 22 points, 16 rebounds, and 7 assists per game. The Lady Ironmen defense can be proud to have slowed her down, holding her under her season average. The loss dropped Cherryville to 1-4 overall and 0-1 in conference play. West Lincoln improves to 3-1 and 1-0.

#15 Narian Hopper attempting to block a shot - Cherryville Ironmen Basketball - Nixon Gym - November 19th, 2025

Mason Beam (WNN)

  During a preseason scrimmage at home on November 11th against Maiden, Senior center Raylei Gidney went down with a knee injury. After not playing in any of the following games, the suspected heartbreaking news has been confirmed. She tore her anterior cruciate ligament, commonly known as an ACL tear. This is the ligament in the knee that controls front-to-back motion and provides rotational stability. She will be requiring surgery soon, and with a recovery and rehabilitation time of 6-12 months, her season has ended. Gidney has been a driving force for the team; she earned all-conference honors last year while averaging 13.9 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. We wish her well with her recovery.

Ironmen: Coming into this game, both Cherryville and West Lincoln were evenly matched on paper. Cole Kelly’s average was 14.7 points per game, Camden Williams 8 rebounds, Talon Dalton 4.3 assists, Darius Pullen 3.3 blocks, and 3.3 per game. As for West Lincoln, their top averages entering this matchup were Landon Blevins 16.7 points, Kaeden Steele 9 rebounds and 3.7 assists, Landyn Ford 2 steals, and Solomon Robinson 1 block per game. As expected, the game played out the same on the court as it did on paper. The Ironmen trailed by 3 after the first and were down 41-33 at the half. Cherryville’s Achilles heel was at the foul line, shooting just 50% to the Rebels’ 77%. The second half saw the Ironmen clawing back, cutting the lead down to 62-59 with 1:42 remaining. West Lincoln’s leading scorer, Landon Blevins, was then fouled as he drove in for a layup, then completed the three-point play at the foul line to put the game out of reach. The Rebels would win the game 70-63. Isaiah Champion led the Ironmen with 23 points, Talon Dalton added 16 points, and Cole Kelly contributed 10 points. West Lincoln was led by Landon Blevins’ 19 points, followed by Mason Blevins with 17 points, and Landyn Ford scored 11 points as Kaeden Steele rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points. Cherryville dropped to 3-2 overall and 0-1 in conference play as West Lincoln improved to 1-3 and 1-0.

Home Against Lincolnton Wolves

Lady Ironmen: The Lady Wolves invaded Nixon Gym on the night of December 4th and proceeded to have a dominant performance. The Lady Ironmen just couldn’t get on track as they fell to Lincolnton High School in a conference matchup. The Wolves improved to 3-1 and 2-0, while Cherryville fell to 1-5 and 0-2. Lincolnton has only allowed 49 points in its last two games, due in part to lights-out rebounding and incredible defense. As a team, they had 51 rebounds and 39 steals against the Lady Ironmen. That combination is tough even for the most experienced team to overcome. The Lady Wolves’ Curmiya Tillman had a career high 14 steals as she recorded a double-double, scoring 17 points, with 14 steals and grabbing 5 rebounds. Nyjaiviah Blake was close behind her with 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 steals. Jazlyn Elmore scored 7 and added 4 rebounds, with Addison Beam scoring 6 points, getting 4 steals, and pulling down 6 rebounds. Although not an easy night for the CHS ladies, they showed poise, sportsmanship, and determination as they battled to the end, even with the game out of reach.

#2 Isaiah Champion dribbling the ball - Cherryville Ironmen Basketball - Nixon Gym - November 19th, 2025

Mason Beam (WNN)

Ironmen: Lincolnton scored the first six points of the game, including an alley-oop pass and a stuff from Tucker Robinette to Josiah Guyton, who entered the game averaging 23 points per game. Cole Kelly then got the Ironmen on the scoreboard. Unfortunately, Cherryville’s defense was a little too aggressive, as they committed too many fouls, which helped the Wolves break open a close first quarter. Cherryville then went cold from the floor, and Lincolnton took quick advantage with clutch shooting and a swarming defense. Brayden Bass drilled five three-pointers, Josiah Guyton entertained the visiting fans with three dunks, and Cam Smith also got involved in the dunk contest. The Ironmen gave up their second-most points of the season, while scoring their lowest of the season. They dropped to 3-3 overall and 0-2 in the conference. The good news is they have shown vast improvement through the season and just need to tighten up in a few areas to be competitive throughout the remainder of the season. Although this game got away from them early, it is not reflective of their overall performance thus far. This is a much better team than Thursday’s showing. Cherryville spread the scoring among nine players, led by Narian Hopper with 8 points and Isaiah Champion with 7 points. The Wolves were led by Josiah Guyton’s 18 points, followed by Bradyn Bass with 17 and Cam Smith with 15. Both the Lady Ironmen and Ironmen have two games next week and an opportunity to bounce back as they travel to East Gaston on December 9th and Highland Tech on December 12th. 

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