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TYRO — North Rowan’s undefeated boys basketball team didn’t have a cakewalk, but the Cavaliers advanced to the championship game of the 2A Central Carolina Conference Tournament with a win here Wednesday night.
Top-seeded North, 23-0, had a tough time with No. 4 Ledford for most of three quarters before finishing strong for a 67-53 semifinal victory at West Davidson High’s gym.
“After all these games, we showed in the second quarter we weren’t jelling tonight,” said North point guard Chris Phillips. “Down the stretch, anything can happen, because we’ve been playing together for so long. We just find a way to win.”
Center Bryan McCullough, who hit a career-high 3-pointers, led North’s scoring with 22 points. Forward Marcus Lawing (12), guard Marcus Reddick(11) and Phillips (10) joined him in double figures.
The Cavaliers led by only six at 52-46 with six minutes to play, then surged to a 17-point lead with just under two minutes left.
Coach Kelly Everhart’s Cavs appeared to be on their way to a lopsided victory when leading 29-16 in the first half, but the Panthers rallied to within four at 31-27 at halftime.
“I thought that they did a real good job of keeping the pressure on and bouncing back after we made a run on them,” said Everhart. “We looked like we maybe took a glance at the scoreboard and lost our focus there during that one spell (second quarter). I thought that we were a little too selfish on offense and a little too quick with our shots.”
North came back to outscore the Panthers 19-13 in the third quarter, then broke it open with about four minutes left in the game.
“In the second half, it was one of those uphill struggles. We had to battle and claw and scratch. That’s good. That’s what you expect this time of the year,” said Everhart.
Ledford (13-11), coached by Gil Maxwell, had lost to the Cavaliers by 20 and seven in the two regular-season meetings.
“We played them tough,” said Maxwell. “I thought the difference in the ballgame was the first quarter. We shot poorly(2-for-15). I thought we got rattled a little bit. The second quarter, I thought we regained our composure. We started making some baskets.”
Ledford outscored the Cavaliers 21-11 in that second quarter with center Jared Hall and forward Sam Cecil getting big baskets inside.
“We were not doing a real good job of fronting the post,” said Everhart. “We were letting them get in there a little too easy. That’s stuff that we work on every day in practice, and I was disappointed that we didn’t do a better job of fronting the low post and making it tough to get it in there. We talked about that at halftime.”
Hall and guard Chase Adams led Ledford’ scoring for the night with 14 points apiece, while Cecil scored 12.
Coach Maxwell, whose team had downed East Davidson the previous night to reach the semifinals, thought his club got tired as the game progressed. North drew a first-round bye and was playing its first tourney game.
“It’s tough when they haven’t played and we played. That’s their reward for being the No. 1 seed,” said Maxwell.
“I thought, when it came down to clutch time, Bryan (McCullough) stepped up very well for them. I think he’s a very good ballplayer,” he added.
McCullough got two of his 3-pointers and 10 points in the second half.
“I thought Marcus Lawing kind of kept them in the ballgame, getting the inside push,” Maxwell added.
Lawing had seven points in North’s big third quarter.
“They’re very dangerous. I hope that we are fortunate enough to see them next Wednesday,” Maxwell added.
Ledford has a rematch with Lincolnton, which beat the Panthers on a controversial call in the playoffs last year, at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Lincolnton. The first-round winner plays North Rowan at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the second round at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory.
North’s Everhart wasn’t concerned that the Panthers made it close most of the way.
“We’re going to get everybody’s best shot, and I felt like Ledford gave us everything they had. My hat’s off to those guys,” said the North coach.
“All in all, I’m pleased that we got the win. This time of the year, you’re surviving and advancing,” he added.
The Cavaliers will play tonight’s HighPoint Central-Lexington winner in Friday’s 7:30 p.m. championship game. Everhart’s club can become only the second in North history to win conference regular-season and tournament championships.
“Athletically, I think Lexington is the better of the two, but High Point Central has some players back. It should be a real good ballgame between those tow teams. We’re just glad to be here. Hopefully, we’ll come and play a little better,” said Everhart.
North, of course, is trying to protect a perfect record as it heads toward the state playoffs, but Phillips says his team isn’t nervous about the pressure of the unbeaten mark.
“I think it’s a good thing on our side. It motivates us just to keep taking every game,” said the point guard.
No North team in history has stayed unbeaten this far into the season.
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NOTES: The Cavaliers were 26-for-55 (47.3 percent) on field goals as compared to 19-for-61 (31.1 percent) for Ledford. ... McCullough and Lawing led North on the boards with nine and eight rebounds, respectively. ... Hall had 14 boards for Ledford. ... Phillips led North in assists with four.
LEDFORD (53) — Sensing 2, Cecil 12, Hall 14, Coleman 4, S. Smith 7, Adams 14, Myers, W. Smith.
NORTH ROWAN (67) — McCullough 22, Reddick 11, Lawing 12, Phillips 10, Hosch 4, Davis 2, Witherspoon 2, Peoples, Bates, Farmer 2, House 2.
Ledford 6 21 13 13 — 53
N. Rowan 20 11 19 17 — 67
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