MT. ULLA — Talk about taking care of business.

When West Rowan visited East Rowan on Dec. 7, the Falcons actually trailed at halftime. In the rematch Friday night, however, there were no surprises. This time West wore out the Mustangs from opening tip to final buzzer, winning 91-35 in their biggest romp of the season.

West improved to 16-1 overall and 10-0 in the South Piedmont Conference and has won six straight. East (3-15, 2-8) has lost nine of its last 10.

“Obviously, we didn’t play as well as the first time we saw them,” said East coach Mark Flynn. “At the same time, West has improved. They just hit you with athletes, athletes and more athletes.”

It was 10-0 before Adam Cornelius sank a jumper for East’s initial points three minutes into the game. And it was 22-2 before Curt Rusher hit a free throw four minutes later for the Mustangs’ next scorebook entry. East didn’t score back-to-back buckets until Justin Miller and Cornelius nailed contested jump shots three minutes prior to halftime.

At the half, West superstars Scooter Sherrill and Donte Minter had 10 points apiece and the Falcons’ lead was an overwhelming 45-15. And West’s lead grew steadily in the second half, no matter whom coach Mike Gurley put on the floor.

Sherrill called it an early night with a modest 16 points, his second lowest total of the season. Minter, who scored 14, took a seat for good with 7:04 left in the contest and West up by a staggering 70-22. A dozen Falcons connected as Gurley’s gang rang up its biggest offensive output of the season. West’s previous high came in an 89-59 pasting of Concord.

“We played hard and that’s always our first goal,” said Gurley. “East obviously doesn’t match up well with the Sherrills and the Minters, especially in our packed gym. But that’s no disrespect at all to them. Coach Flynn does a quality job and his kids competed as hard as they could. Miller and Cornelius got after it. Taylor Weber (10 rebounds and a block of a Sherrill drive that brought the loudest cheers of the night from Mustang supporters) is one of my favorite players in this conference.”

But like Flynn said, Gurley has an awesome array of athletes at his disposal. And West fans saw what some of their “other guys” could do last night. The one-sided contest gave a number of Falcon reserves a chance to shine and they rose to the occasion, particularly junior Vicco Barringer. Barringer, a star on West’s jayvees last year, has struggled most of this season. But this was like old times for the aggressive left-hander. Barringer scored 13 points (his previous best was four) and assaulted the offensive glass for five fourth-quarter rebounds.

“Vicco lifted us,” said Gurley. “He gave us good play. A lot of the kids on our bench can play, but it’s a young group. They’re still adjusting to the pace and the crowds of varsity ball.”

Backup guard Brandon Mattox also showed well, stroking two tough jumpers, making a trio of steals and finding open teammates.

Meanwhile, starting ballhawks Terris Sifford and Horatio Everhart, who always think defense first, got their offense going and combined for 20 points. Frankie Williams had another solid effort off the bench with eight points and five boards. Then there was chemistry major, Scooter Dalton. The 5-11 power forward, who has verbally committed to play football at Western Carolina University, only scored five, but also kept his teammates smiling with his unselfishness.

“Having fun is what this game is all about,” said Dalton. “This is fun right now, because we’re playing well as a team. We’re definitely getting better with the adjustments we’ve made.”

Cornelius, who made two of East’s five 3s, led the Mustangs with 10 points, but East was held under 40 points for the sixth time.

“I don’t know if there were any positives for us,” said Flynn. “I told the kids at halftime to pretend the game was tied and to just go back out and work on getting better. But we’re still not there. Our shots aren’t falling and our confidence is sagging.”

“East will be OK,” offered Gurley. “They’ll have nights when their 3s go down and their opponents will pay — like Concord did not too long ago.”

Flynn, meanwhile, thinks West will be considerably more than OK.

“That’s a veteran team that’s starting to come together,” he said. “They’re definitely in the upper echelon in the state. They look like they’re ready for another run.”

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NOTES: Bryan Hyde scored his first two points for West. He was dressing for only the second game, after missing the bulk of the season with a broken finger. ... West’s 6-8 reserve Brandon White, whose shot-blocking has been a factor, did not dress and will also miss the Falcons’ next game. Gurley said that White is temporarily out of action for “disciplinary reasons.” He will be re-instated.

EAST ROWAN (35) — Weber 5, Cornelius 10, Miller 7, Hollifield, Shepherd, Misenheimer 5, Rusher 1, Ledbetter 3, Martinez, Sides 4.

WEST ROWAN (91) — Sherrill 16, Minter 14, Sifford 11, Dalton 5, Everhart 9, Mauldin 4, Williams 8, Diggs, Goodnight 3, Barringer 13, Mattox 4, Trosper 2, Hyde 2.

East Rowan 3 12 7 13 — 35