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GRANITE QUARRY — Northwest Cabarrus and East Rowan played a boys basketball game Friday night and the final score was 88-56.
In the past, a 32-point difference was nothing out of the ordinary in a game between these two teams. Only this time, the big difference was who won the game.
In what guard Justin Miller agreed was a statement game, East Rowan dominated the shooting, the rebounding and the defensive end. The lead was 15 midway through the second quarter, 23 by the end of the third and when Brent Whitley hit two free throws to end the game, the Mustangs had their biggest lead.
“It was 32 minutes of total team effort,” said a beaming East coach Mark Flynn. “We’ve been blown out a lot in the past but the key this year is that we’ve played big-time contenders like North and West Rowan and not quit on anybody. We’re hoping that produces some wins later in the year.”
Forget about later. The East fan want to savor this win for awhile. In fact, no one could even remember the last time the Mustangs won by 32. One fan guessed 1975.
So that’s why this win meant so much to this year’s team, especially seniors like Miller and Adam Cornelius, who have waded through their share of losses over the past two seasons.
“It feels good because we’re a better and we play as a team,” said Miller, who finished with a 26-point night, including seven 3-pointers. “It feels even better because we’ve lost to them two straight years.”
Cornelius, who played a heady floor game, didn’t force shots. He just drained them. He had 4 treys and 15 points.
Cornelius fed Miller early and Miller thanked his buddy by ripping the cords. He had 11 after the first quarter and East’s lead was 18-12.
Northwest, which came in 0-9, was within 18-16 when East simply exploded.
While Miller rested his right wrist, Taylor Weber and Cornelius took over. Weber hit two buckets and fed Cornelius for a 3. Cornelius then hit a three, was fouled and completed the 4-point play. When Raymondo Brady put in a rebound basket, it was 31-16 and McKenzie knew it was an uphill battle.
“What happens every game is that our inexperience shows,” he said. “All of a sudden, we’re down 12,13 and it’s hard to come back.”
Somehow, the undersized Trojans were within nine early in the third period. And that concerned Flynn.
“We’ve had problems with slacking off in the third quarter but it didn’t happen tonight,” he said.
That’s because Miller went on another shooting rampage.
He took a shot from the right side. Swish. He took a shot from the left side. Bottom. He took a shot with a man in his face. Yes. And finally, when Brady rebounded and popped a pass out to Miller he never hesitated and — you guessed it — bombed in a 3-pointer, his fourth of the quarter and East was up 54-36.
“Sometimes, I just feel it,” said Miller.
Doesn’t McKenzie know it. He sat on the bench helplessly shaking his head.
“Miller was unreal,” McKenzie said. “It was like shooting layups.
“But East didn’t just walk down the court and get open shots. They did a good job of running their offense and passing the ball.”
Whitley, a 6-0 sophomore, scored the final six East points of the third for a 60-37 advantage and the rest of the game was for nothing more than padding stats.
Espcially rebounding stats. Whitley, Weber, Brady, Matt Belk, Mark Misenheimer, Matt Butler — they made the All-Windex team the way they cleaned the glass.
“The 3’s hurt,” McKenzie said, “but what killed us was rebounding. They dominated the boards. When you get three shots and then kick it out for a 3, that’s a killer.”
“Give the back line of the zone a lot of credit,” said Flynn. “Rebounding out of the zone has been a weakness for us in the past.”
The good play early by Miller, and Cornelius rubbed off on everybody. Brent Jones played the last couple of minutes and scored on a nifty pass from sophomore Derek Talbert, who also hit a 3-pointer and finished with six.
Whitley was the most impressive of the subs, finishing as one of four Mustangs in double figures with 12.
“It seemed like in the fourth quarter, if there was a loose ball, he went after it,” praised Flynn. “He hit free throws, he rebounded and like everybody else, he played hard.”
This was exactly how Flynn wanted his team to be playing going into the holidays: Cheerful and wininng.
“I told the guys it’s a lot better going into the Christmas break 3-5 instead of 2-6,” he said.
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NOTES: East is 2-3 in the South Piedmont Conference. ... Weber scored 10. ... While McKenzie’s team is floundering with a wave of inexperience, Flynn isn’t counting them out. “I told the guys that’s one of the best (0-10) teams they’ll face,” he said. “They’ll be a good team. Coach McKenzie does a good job.” ... Brady had nine points and seven rebounds. ... With 2:38 left in the game, East’s Trey Ledbetter and Northwest’s A.J. Hendry were ejected. They will miss the next game. ... Chris Lyerly led Northwest with 14. ... East finished with a flourish, scoring 28 points in the final period. Seven different Mustangs scored in those eight minutes.
NW CABARRUS (56) — Lyerly 14, Andrews 11, Hendry 11, Nance 8, Johnson 4, Burgess 4, Paterson 2, Caldwell 2.
EAST ROWAN (88)— Miller 26, Cornelius 15, Whitley 12, Weber 10, Brady 9, Talbert 6, Misenheimer 5, Belk 3, Jones 2, Butler, Ledbetter.
NW Cabarrus 12 14 11 19 — 56
East Rowan 18 19 23 28 — 88
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