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What happens when Comets meet a Hornet?
They all win.
The North Stanly Middle School boys basketball team was already celebrating before last Saturday.
The team was 14-0 in the Rocky River Conference and it won the conference tournament, outscoring opponents 833-318, with an average margin of victory of 34 points, according to coach Dusty Mason.
“Normally when the middle school tournament is over that’s it for middle school basketball because there traditionally isn’t another school tournament available to play in,” Mason said.
However, the Comets had eyes on another tournament. The Muggsy Bogues Family Foundation, led by the former Charlotte Hornets player of the same name, began hosting a middle school tournament three years ago where teams from 20 counties could compete.
North was one of more than 40 teams, Mason said, and it won, beating Charlotte Latin 57-38 in the semifinals and Erwin Elite 45-43 in the finals.
As the winners, North’s players get to watch the March 18 game between the Charlotte Hornets and Atlanta Hawks from their own luxury suite.
Mason has been coaching the team alongside North Stanly High coach George Walker on weekends.
“I contribute a lot of their success on how much work they have put in and improved over these last few years,” Mason said. “I started coaching them as the middle school coach this summer. I took them to Catawba’s team camp this summer in July, and they went undefeated there and since then we have played over 35 competitive games between Catawba team camp, their RRC middle school season, Muggsy tournament, and various tournaments in between, They haven’t lost a game in those 35+ games.”
The Muggsy Bogues Family Foundation’s mission is to “empower underserved youth and families to improve their quality of life through food security, access to education and workforce development.”
Learn more about the foundation at boguesfoundation.org.

B.J. Drye is general manager/editor of The Stanly News & Press. Call 704-982-2123.