Whisnant, Wright lead All-SPC basketball team

Cherryville’s Terry Whisnant and East Lincoln’s Lindsy Wright were voted basketball players of the year in the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A Conference.

Highland Tech swept top coaching honors, as Butch Blalock was voted boys coach of the year and Jerry Jordan was named girls coach of the year.

Whisnant, a junior guard, averaged 27.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists while leading Cherryville to the league’s regular-season and tournament championships.

Whisnant was best known for his shooting accuracy, as he knocked down 50.7 percent of his shots from 3-point range and 54.3 percent from the field. Whisnant went 109-for-216 from behind the arc, making the same number of 3s as Cherryville’s 27 opponents did against the Ironmen.

Whisnant reached 30 points in 12 games, including a high of 40 against West Lincoln, as the Ironmen went 13-1 in the SPC and 24-3 overall after a sectional final loss to Kernersville Bishop McGuinness.

Whisnant is undecided on his college destination but is drawing Division I recruiting attention and has been offered by Charlotte and UNC Asheville.

Wright, a senior center and Wake Forest recruit, averaged 21.2 points and 9.4 rebounds, helping East Lincoln finish second in the regular-season conference standings but win the tournament title. Wright scored 30 or more points three times and twice had 19 rebounds, including a monster 32-point, 19-point outing in a loss to North Lincoln. The Mustangs went 12-2 in league play and finished 22-6 after reaching the second round of the state playoffs.

Blalock and Jordan took over the Highland Tech girls coaching staff this season while continuing to coach the boys team. Although they initially considered themselves co-head coaches, Jordan emerged as the girls head coach, leading the Rams to a 9-4 record conference record for third place. Included in that record was an upset of East Lincoln. Highland Tech went on to reach the sectional semifinals for the first time in school history and finished 14-10.

Blalock guided the Highland Tech boys to an 8-5 league mark, finishing in a fourth-place tie with Bessemer City. The Rams beat the Yellow Jackets in the conference tournament for the league’s No. 2 Class 1A playoff seed and reached the second round before finishing 11-12.

The awards were voted upon by the league’s head coaches prior to the conference tournament.

You can reach Phillip Gardner at 704-869-1843.

All-Southern Piedmont 1A/2A Conference basketball teams

Boys top awards

Player of the year — Terry Whisnant, Cherryville

Coach of the year — Butch Blalock, Highland Tech

Boys all-conference

Cherryville — Terry Whisnant, Thomas Bess, Brandon Heavner

East Lincoln — Kendall Bethea, Patrick Rendleman

Lincolnton — Lorenzo Carter, Jonathan Gidney

Highland Tech — Christian Walker, A.J. McKenzie

Bessemer City — Kameron Wilson, Reggie Williams

North Lincoln — Gray Brotherton

West Lincoln — Dylan Jenkins

Challenger — Tashawn Byrd

Girls top awards

Player of the year — Lindsy Wright, East Lincoln

Coach of the year — Jerry Jordan, Highland Tech

Girls all-conference

North Lincoln — Sarah Barr, Jill Baxter, Sydney Wilkinson

East Lincoln — Lindsy Wright, Kiandra Long

Highland Tech — Leah Graham, Bry’Anne Robbins

Lincolnton — Maggie Cline, Treasure Avery

Cherryville — Ariel Bumgardner

West Lincoln — Sadie Saine

Bessemer City — Kiera Ussery

Challenger — Melodee Osborne