Hornets pull off a great win as Panthers keep struggling

We’ll start things off with a win. In a nail-biter, the Charlotte Hornets beat the Sacramento Kings by 1 point on Friday. It was a needed victory for Charlotte after two losses — and the Hornets pulled it off with seven players off the court due to the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols.

“They had nine dudes — they had five starters and four on the bench,” The Charlotte Observer’s Langston Wertz Jr. told WFAE’s Gwendolyn Glenn on this week’s installment of Time Out for Sports. “(Hornets forward) Cody Martin hitched to one of the two free-throws and he fouled DeAaron Aaron Fox, who missed both, and they got a crazy win they weren’t expecting.”

But things weren’t as good on the field as they were on the court. During a home game in Charlotte on Sunday, the Panthers fell 29-21 to the Atlanta Falcons. Carolina’s now 5-8 in a rocky season that’s seen quarterback Sam Darnold being sidelined, quarterback Cam Newton returning to Charlotte, running back Christian McCaffrey being injured and offensive coordinator Joe Brady being fired.

“The Panthers do have bigger problems than quarterback,” Wertz said. “They have problems all over the place.”

You can listen to the full Time Out for Sports conversation above for some more analysis of the Hornets and the Panthers. And here’s a quick look at what else Glenn and Wertz covered in this week’s installment.

• Raleigh’s Cardinal Gibbons High beat Charlotte’s Chambers High for the state high school football championship. 
• There’s a look at how UNC Chapel Hill’s men’s basketball coach Hubert Davis is doing in his first season.
• Duke is still attracting top men’s basketball players even as the legendary Coach K wraps up his tenure. 
• There was a three-day college basketball event in Rock Hill, South Carolina, this weekend called No Room for Racism. 
• Early National Signing Day for college athletes is this week. 
• The Clemson men’s soccer team won the College Cup.