UNC Asheville’s Abee scores 1,500th collegiate point
Freedom High School 2019 graduate Fletcher Abee (12) scored the 1,500th point of his collegiate career during a recent UNC Asheville men’s basketball game. Abee is currently in his third season with the Bulldogs after spending his first two years at The Citadel.
For the second time in less than three weeks, a former Freedom High School basketball standout reached 1,500 career points at the collegiate level.
Valdese native and 2019 Freedom graduate Fletcher Abee scored 10 points during UNC Asheville’s Feb. 8 men’s hoops contest at High Point, bringing his career total to 1,509 points. Currently in his fifth year of college eligibility, the 6-foot-4 guard scored 651 points in two seasons at The Citadel before transferring to UNCA, where he has 858 points since the beginning of the 2022-23 campaign (not counting the Bulldogs’ road game against USC Upstate on Wednesday).
Fellow former Patriots star Blaikley Crooks, who is presently in her fifth year as a member of the Lenoir-Rhyne women’s basketball team, previously surpassed the 1,500-point mark on Jan. 22. And Abee joined her on a 3-pointer less than 5 minutes into the game against High Point, ultimately finishing with at least 10 points for the 13th time in 22 games (all starts) for the Bulldogs (17-7, 8-2 NCAA Division I Big South Conf.) this winter.
For the season, Abee is averaging 11.0 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 0.7 steals per game. In addition, he is shooting a team-high 44.0% from 3-point range.
EB’s Fox commits to Brevard football
Fox
East Burke senior football player Jordan Fox verbally committed to NCAA D-III Brevard College on Feb. 8, making the announcement on both Facebook and X.
The Cavaliers linebacker, who chose Brevard over Guilford College, the University of Minnesota Morris, and Capital University, this past fall notched a county-high 106 tackles (68 solo) one year after ranking second in the county with 94 tackles.
Fox also finished the season with 11 tackles for loss and added three forced fumbles, two pass deflections, one interception, one sack, and one fumble recovery in his repeat All-Burke County and All-Catawba Valley 2A Conference season.
The Tornados posted a 6-3 record in 2024, including a 5-2 mark in the USA South Athletic Conference.
Bennick posts runner-up finish in season opener
Bennick
Morganton native Daxton Bennick began his second season as a professional in the Monster Energy American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Supercross Championship, a dirt track racing series that was established in 1974, with his best finish yet.
A year after finishing third in his first pro race — becoming the first rookie in a decade to make it to the podium in their debut — Bennick was the runner-up behind fellow Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team member Max Anstie during a 250SX East Region race on Feb. 8 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. The 19-year-old Bennick finished 3.326 seconds behind his 31-year-old teammate, and his best lap time was 55.734 seconds.
“Obviously, last year I was on the podium and we had a really hard year from there, I ended up getting sick, and it feels like a little bit of a comeback story,” said Bennick, who finished ninth in the season standings in 2024 but was forced to miss the end of the season due to illness and dealt with injuries throughout the year as well, during a post-race interview with NBC Sports. “We’ve got eight more rounds to bang bars with these guys, but I’ve just got to give it up to the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s been a long road, but it’s good to be back up here.”
The 250SX East riders return to action today (Saturday, Feb. 15) at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich.
Straka, Bock continue strong start to 2025
Sepp Straka couldn’t finish out another early 2025 PGA Tour victory despite holding the 54-hole lead at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Jan. 30 through Feb. 2, though he continued a stellar start to his season alongside Morganton caddie Duane Bock.
Straka finished with a final-round 72 for a 16-under-par total and a tie for seventh place after shooting back-to-back 65s in the first two rounds in northern California.
The finish was good for $640,000 and came two weeks after Straka took home $1,584,000 for winning the The American Express in La Quinta, Calif.
Straka also came in 15th during last weekend’s Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale, where he finished 12-under thanks to a Sunday 66 that was preceded by a 70 in the opening round and 68s in both the second and third rounds.
Straka’s most recent performance earned him $167,900, and he is currently first in the tour’s 2025 FedEx Cup rankings and 17th in this week’s Official World Golf Rankings. Bock has been on the bag for Straka for around 18 months, and the win at The American Express was the duo’s second together.
Spartans youth football signups underway
The Western Carolina Spartans youth travel football organization is currently holding signups for the 2025 spring season.
The first set of signups and player workouts was held Feb. 6 at Freedom Park, and the teams’ first official practice will be March 1. Additional workouts and in-person signups will be held on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays throughout the month.
Registration fee is $100 per player, and all players must verify their age with state ID and have a physical prior to the first game. For more information, call Jeremy Davis at 828-403-7371 or Cody Bryant at 828-800-1901.
Silver Creek Super Bowl Scramble winners
Silver Creek Golf Club on Sunday held its Super Bowl Scramble tournament under ideal weather conditions, and the team of Daniel Honeycutt, Bobby Patel, Jeremy LeMaster, and Matt McCarthy was victorious with a score of 9-under 135.
Each of the 10 teams in the event contained an A, B, C, and D list player (grouped by handicap) as drafted before the round by the A listers, who served as captains. Teams played their best drive off each hole before each golfer played his or her own ball in from there, and only the team’s top two scores per hole were counted.
Just one shot back at 8-under were runners up David Simpson, Turner South, Joseph Agunias, and Tom Chapman.
Next up, the club’s Couples Valentine’s Scramble will be held today (Saturday, Feb. 15) with an 11 a.m. shotgun start. Silver Creek also last week announced dates for this spring’s Augusta Par 3 tournament (April 9), fifth annual Bubba tournament (April 19-20), and Adult-Junior tournament (April 27).
Call the pro shop at 828-584-6911 for more details or to register for any of the upcoming tournaments.
Josh McKinney and Paul Schenkel can be reached at 828-445-8595 or josh@thepaper.media and paul@thepaper.media.
