“The first time we played them at their place they got the best of me,” said Minter, who was held to 10 points in a 65-63 double-overtime win by the Falcons in their conference opener. “Tonight, I wanted to get back at them.”

Talk about payback being a ... well, a switch. Minter had nine rejections of the runty Rams, with five of them coming in the final quarter when Harding (10-7, 5-4) was desperately digging away at the Falcon lead.

“Donte got a little pumped up,” said West’s senior star Scooter Sherrill, more than happy to share the headlines with his towering sophomore teammate. “He blocked one shot and then he just started blocking everything out there.”

Sherrill piled up 24 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, while a motivated Minter lofted in 13 and ripped down 10 boards. Still, West (15-1, 9-0) needed big-time efforts off the bench from Timmy Mauldin (4-for-5, two 3s, 10 points) and Frankie Williams (seven boards, two blocks) to outlast its feisty foes.

“Any time you play Harding, you know you’re gonna be in for it,” said West coach Mike Gurley. “They go hard all the time. Any time you can beat a Harding team, it’s a good win, no matter what the score is.”

The scoreboard said this was a 15-point game, but don’t be fooled. Sherrill and Scooter Dalton nailed late free throws as West rang up the last six points, but it was very much a contest until the final minute or so. Sherrill was able to rest only the last 26 seconds.

West led by six when the fourth quarter began in a game slowed to a crawl by some good zone defense on the part of Harding and some good patience on the part of the Falcons.

Williams swished a corner jumper to break a dry spell and push West ahead 45-37 at the 6:45 mark. That was the signal for Minter to throw his ample mass at the glass.

First, the big guy blocked a Harding layup. Then after Ram star Rico Grier, who led his squad with 21 points, scored to slice West’s lead back to six, Minter finished after a clever bounce pass from Williams to boost the lead to 47-39 with 5:40 left.

That brought up a pivotal possession. Harding coach Myron Lowery used a timeout and went to a set play. His team executed, getting the ball down low, but again Minter rose up for a rejection, spurring West back to a 10-point lead.

Still, the Rams weren’t done, fighting back yet again to 49-43 at 4:02 on a couple of quick hoops by Courtney Crawford. But over the final four minutes, Minter was worth a mint, blocking three more shots and scoring twice more inside as the Falcons secured their fifth straight victory.

“Donte’s post defense is improving and his rebounding’s getting much better,” praised Gurley. “Offensively, he won’t jump over you, but he’s got all those old-man moves.”

Minter showed off most of what Gurley refers to as his “Kevin McHale” arsenal against the Rams, drop-stepping and up-and-undering his way to his 13th double-figure effort of the season.

It was West’s fifth straight win with the “new” lineup that Gurley first unveiled in a Christmas tournament consolation game — one day after the Falcons suffered their only loss of the season to North Rowan.

It’s a smallish, versatile lineup that showcases the defensive quickness of Horatio Everhart, the rebounding skills of the undersized but muscle-rippling Dalton and the defense of Terris Sifford. Plus the unstoppable Sherrill and Minter. It’s also a lineup that needs people like Williams and Mauldin to jump into games and keep things rolling when called upon.

“Frankie’s been ideal in his role so far,” said Gurley. “This is four of five games that he’s been a factor off the bench. He gave us a huge lift with his boards.”

Gurley smiled about Williams’ resurgence and also about the fact that West managed to win once again against a team playing almost exclusively zone.

“Let me give the whole world the scouting report on West Rowan,” bellowed Gurley. “Don’t let West play up-tempo! Zone us! Go ahead world, zone away, because we’re getting pretty good at playing against a zone.”

“We’ve got so much quickness at guard and we’ve got Donte inside,” analyzed Sherrill, trying to observe the Falcons as an opposing coach would. “North Rowan’s the only team that has played us man. We figure it’ll be zone defenses from here on out — even the state playoffs.”

It might be premature to be talking state playoffs in mid-January, but not with this team. It’s obviously pretty darned good and getting better all the time.

n

NOTES: Harding’s only lead was a 22-21 with 4:43 left in the first half. But West responded with a 12-2 run. Sherrill scored five quick points; Sifford took a charge; Dalton kept three balls alive on the offensive board; and Minter had a three-point play. When Lowery was assessed a technical during the spree, Sherrill added two free throws. ... West plays East at home on Friday. ... Gurley is 66-9 since coming to West. ... Gurley called Grier the best point guard in the SPC. ... Sherrill is taking on a lot more of the ballhandling responsibilities in West’s new lineup. ... Harding suited up only eight players, one of them Nate Hayes, just back from a broken jaw. ... West has scored 65 points in both of its games with Harding, its lowest winning production. It scored 64 in the loss to North.

HARDING (50) — Jeter 2, Grier 21, Barnett 2, Lewis 2, Hines 7, Boyce 7, Crawford 7, Hayes 2.

WESTROWAN (65) — Sherrill 24, Sifford 8, Minter 13, Williams 4, White, Everhart, Dalton 4, Mauldin 10, Diggs, Mattox 2, Barringer, Trosper, Goodnight.

Harding 13 11 13 13 — 50