KANNAPOLIS — On opening night this season, West Rowan’s Donte Minter scored 44 points.
But in an eye-opening Friday night 3A South Piedmont Conference Tournament championship game, the entire West Rowan team managed just 40 points in a dismal 55-40 loss to second-seeded Sun Valley.
Heading into the title game, it seemed more likely that a meteorite would land in West coach Mike Gurley’s living room than his top-seeded Falcons (22-5), who average 72, would score 40.
Heck, the Falcon football team topped 40 points twice last fall.
The Falcon basketball squad had topped 40 in its last 342 games. Not since a 48-39 loss to Davie County on opening night in the 1989-90 season had the Falcons been limited to such an ugly number. But when you shoot 25.9 percent like the Falcons, who missed 40 of their 54 field goal tries, did, it can happen.
Sun Valley coach Quinton Toxey, whose team, by the way, is 21-6, and not exactly chopped liver, had a surprise defense for West. It was a no-name defense, because Toxey said he hadn’t come up with a name for it, but here’s what he did. Forward, Will Winchester, all 6-foot-2 of him, played behind West big man Donte Minter, while the other four Spartans played a diamond.
When West 3-point bomber Timmy Mauldin was in the game, the Spartans played man-to-man on both Mauldin and Minter, with the other three guys playing a triangle in the lane.
“Basically, we just tried to know where 55 (Minter) and 15 (Mauldin) were at all times,” said Toxey. “We had to play them like that. We have no height. But Winchester was tough on 55 and we were very lucky that 15 didn’t score a single point, because he is a very good player.”
“It was a defense different from anything we’d seen this year,” said Minter, who scored 16 points, but got off only five field goal tries in the first three quarters. “It took time to adjust.”
“Sun Valley did play good defense,” said Gurley. “But it was a good defense only because we couldn’t throw it in the ocean.”
To be specific, not even the Pacific, which is a rather large target.
Mauldin, West’s designated shooter went 0-for-7. Junior Hairston was 4-for-13 and Horatio Everhart was 1-for-8. West, which had a 13-game winning streak stopped, didn’t make a 3-pointer until Everhart and Minter connected in the final 75 seconds. By then, it didn’t matter.
Even when towering West hit the offensive board — and it did — the putbacks spun in and out and around and into the hands of scrappy Spartans like Winchester, floor general Jason Orbison and Jonathan Knick.
“We let frustration creep in and it snowballed on us,” said Gurley.
“Frustration played a big part,” said Hairston. “We came in overconfident. We’d gone undefeated in this league and we didn’t think anyone was going to play with us. We didn’t do any of the little things and Sun Valley outhustled us and outworked us.”
West led out of the blocks 4-0 on easy transition buckets by Minter and Hairston, but before anyone could say, “Here we go again,” Toxey called a timeout and settled his troops down.
The Spartans tied the game at 4, and grabbed the lead for good at 10-8 on a shot by Alton Alexander. At the quarter break, the lead was up to four and by halftime it was 23-18.
The really devastating stuff happened in the third quarter. Sun Valley started the second half on a 10-0 run and the lead was suddenly 15. Gurley called time, drew three ovations from West’s fans for his inspirational words, and then sent five reserves on to the floor as a unit.
“It was a good move,” said Minter. “We needed some fresh bodies out there.”
For a moment it looked like Gurley might pull off a miracle, as Jason Williams and Adam Pritchard scored quick hoops to slice the gap to 33-22.
But the Spartans answered with three quick 3s, two of them by Knick. Now, West was down 20, and it was obvious there would be no comeback.
“It just seemed like they went from 25 points to 45 in no time at all,” said Gurley. “Other than that stretch our defense was really good, even when we had to gamble and chase.”
West had beaten the Spartans seven straight times since a 60-58 loss in 1998.
“Honestly, laughed Toxey, “I can’t even remember that game.”
But Gurley can. That was the night the Falcons had to listen to the Spartans laugh and sing and beat on the walls down in Indian Trail. That experience fired Gurley’s first West team up enough to reach the regional finals in Hickory.
Last night, Gurley hugged Toxey and congratulated him warmly, but it was zero fun for the Falcons to stand by quietly and watch the Spartans celebrate for the cameras.
“We watched them hold that hardware up and I don’t think any of us enjoyed it,” said Gurley. “I know our guys and I know it hurt them,” said Gurley.
So will the Falcons be mad enough to come hungrier than ever next week when the real fun begins? Hairston says yes.
“Maybe we needed this loss,” he said. “I know I’m coming to practice Monday to play strong and with pride.”
SUN VALLEY (55) — Orbison 8, Alexander 7, Wenger 7, Knick 20, Baldridge 6, Winchester 4, McKinney 3.
WEST ROWAN (40) — Mauldin, Sifford 4, Hairston 8, Everhart 3, Minter 16, P. Williams 3, Barringer, Gaither 2, Goodnight, J. Williams 2, Pritchard 2, Diggs..
Sun Valley 12 11 19 13 — 55
W. Rowan 8 10 7 15 — 40
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