NCHSAA 2A Basketball Playoffs

Cherryville, NC (WNN) - The Lady Ironmen and the Ironmen both punched tickets to a playoff berth in the NCHSAA 2A State Championship tournament. The ladies played in Davidson against the Community School of Davidson Spartans on Monday, February 23rd, and the guys played in Newland, NC, against the Avery County High School Vikings on Tuesday, February 24th. 

Lady Ironmen: Cherryville got off to a slow start, and the Lady Spartans took advantage, racing out to a 19-0 first-quarter lead. Davidson went on a scoring spree, leading 40-5 at halftime. Cherryville tried to battle back, but the defense of the Lady Spartans proved too much. Community School of Davidson won 72-10, advancing to the second round as they improved to 15-11 and ending the season of Cherryville. Emily Allen led the Lady Ironmen with 8 points, and Kate Bookout added 2 points. The Lady Spartans’ leading scorers were Riley Parker and Ella Tomko, with 18 points each. Tomko also had 10 rebounds for a double-double, and Aubrey Sadusky had 16 points.

Emily Allen pushing through opposing players | Lady Ironmen Basketball | Nixon Gym

Ashley Reep (WNN)

Ironmen: Cherryville traveled to Newland, NC, for their playoff matchup against Avery County High School. A recent snowstorm forced Avery County into remote learning today, by NCHSAA rules, which is counted as “an in-school day”, thus allowing athletic competitions to be held as scheduled. The Vikings had a distinct size advantage, so Coach Griggs began the game with a 3-2 zone, then switched to man-to-man, then to a box-and-1, and back to man-to-man. The alternating defensive scheme was successful in the first quarter, as a tight game ended 14-13 in favor of Avery County. The Vikings went up by 10 in the second quarter, but the Ironmen fought back and only trailed 33-32 at the break. The second half began well with Aaron Heavner scoring to put the Ironmen ahead by 1 point, but that would be the last lead for Cherryville. The Ironmen would struggle to be able to shoot over the much taller Vikings. Cherryville was also out-rebounded, grabbing 28 to Avery’s 43. The third quarter was all Avery County as they outscored the Ironmen 33-9 in the period. That was enough for them to take control of the game on their way to a 90-55 victory. 

Paxton Pruett waiting for an oppurtunity to get the ball back from the opposing team | Ironmen Basketball | Nixon Gym

Ashley Reep (WNN)

The Vikings improved to 12-11 and moved on to the second round. Hank Johnson led them with 25 points, Blaine Kirkpatrick scored 16 points and had 9 rebounds, Oak Markland added 14 points, and Landon Liner scored 13 points and came down with 7 rebounds. Cherryville finished its season at 6-19. Paxton Pruett had a strong game, scoring 18 points, 15 of those off three pointers, and he had 5 rebounds. Talon Dalton added 8 points, Karter Willis had a solid performance off the bench, scoring 6 points and grabbing 4 rebounds, Colton Robinson had 5 points, Cole Kelly turned in 4 points, Isaiah Champion and Camden Williams scored 3 points each, and 2 points were scored by Aaron Heavner, Elijah Proctor, Narian Hopper, and Darius Pullen. 

For further WNN articles and news stories, visit https://wisenewsnetwork.com

For more WNN video news stories, visit YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wisenewsnetwork

Contact WNN at newsdesk@wisenewsnetwork.com

North Carolina Press Association Member

©️Copyright 2026 Wise News Network. All rights reserved.