Thursday, October 1, 2026
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Cherryville, NC (WNN)- It was a very good week for the Ironmen men’s basketball team as they defeated Highland Tech and went toe-to-toe with conference-leading Burns, barely missing an incredible upset. The Ironmen have now won 3 out of their last 5 games. The Lady Ironmen have not been as successful, yet have won 1 of their last 3. Winter weather forced some rearranging of this week’s schedule, yet all games were able to be played.
Lady Ironmen: Cherryville faced a Lady Rams team that has been improving during the second half of the season. Highland Tech has been getting good play from Lily Johnson, averaging 12.5 points per game, and Nyla Rae Baily coming in with 2.8 blocks and 12.9 rebounds per game.
In the last meeting at Highland Tech in December, the Lady Rams won 56-26. This game was much closer, yet Cherryville fell 56-34. The loss dropped the Lady Ironmen to 3-15 overall and 1-11 in the conference. The Lady Rams improved to 14-7 overall and 6-6 in conference play.
Ironmen: Cherryville avenged their 60-58 loss from the first meeting in mid-December with a 63-55 win over the Highland Tech Rams. Coach Antonio Griggs has been pushing the players hard during practice, and it is beginning to pay dividends.
The Ironmen took control early and led 28-25 after Paxton Pruett converted a three-point play with 29 seconds left in the half. As the second half got underway, Coleman Schafer tied the game, and the Rams went ahead on a Darius Stinson Jr. layup. Paxton Pruett buried a three-pointer to give the Ironmen the lead again.
The game went back and forth, and at the end of three quarters, the game was tied at 39-39. Cherryville began to pull away midway through the final period and led by as many as 9 points twice. They would hold on to win 63-55 and improve their record to 6-12 overall and 3-9 in the conference.
Cherryville is on a two-game winning streak. Paxton Pruett scored 21 points, and Talon Dalton added 15. Highland Tech dropped to 6-15 overall and 3-9 in the conference. Darius Stinson Jr. had 19 points, and Coleman Schafer added 16 points.
Lady Ironmen: Cherryville ran into a red-hot Burns Lady Bulldogs team. The Lady Ironmen have been getting strong play from Kate Bookout, Emily Allen, Jenny Brown, and Jenna Anthony. Their efforts, this time, were not enough to keep pace with the Lady Bulldogs, who pulled out a 70-30 win to extend their conference record to 9-2 and 14-3 overall. Cherryville dropped to 3-16 overall and 1-12 in conference play.
Ironmen: Two weeks ago in Cherryville, Burns easily defeated the Ironmen 79-45. The Bulldogs ran into an Ironmen team that came off the bus ready to play.
The results against Burns
Coach Antonio Griggs
As the game began, it was difficult to believe the Ironmen were underdogs to conference-leading Burns. Paxton Pruett opened the game with a layup, followed by two 3-pointers from Isaiah Champion, as Cherryville shocked Burns with an early 8-0 lead. The Bulldogs went into a full-court press and battled back, resulting in a back-and-forth battle. At the end of the first quarter, Burns led 20-16.
The Bulldogs went on a run to begin the second quarter and went up by as much as 12 points, but Cherryville was scrappy and fought back to close the score to within 6 points. By intermission, Burns held a 43-33 lead. Cherryville refused to cave in, and Cole Kelly opened the second half with a basket to cut the lead back to single digits.
The feisty Ironmen chipped away at the score and would get to within 6 points before Tye Clay would score a couple of key baskets to give Burns a double-digit lead once again. The resilient Ironmen refused to go away in the fourth quarter and gave the Bulldogs all they could handle. The Bulldogs’ lead was down to 4 points with just under two minutes remaining in the game.
Once again, Tye Clay, who was having a career night, made two timely baskets. The game was iced at the free-throw line, and Burns, after a scare, escaped with a 73-65 victory. The Bulldogs, led by Tye Clay’s 31 points, improved to 10-7 overall and 10-1 in the conference to remain in first place.
The Ironmen were once again led by Paxton Pruett’s 20 points as Isaiah Champion added 13 points and Talon Dalton contributed 10 points. Champion was huge on defense as he drew multiple charges to create several key changes of possession. The loss dropped Cherryville to 6-13 overall and 3-10 in the conference.
Five games remain on the regular season schedule. The Ironmen will be at home on Tuesday, February 3rd, hosting Shelby, and will travel to Belmont on Friday, February 6th, to face Stuart W. Cramer. The schedule is subject to change pending inclement weather.
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