MOUNT ULLA — West Rowan, already unbeaten in the 3A South Piedmont Conference, got a little stronger here last night.

That’s because 6-foot-4 senior forward Terris Sifford was back in action for the West boys basketball team, which downed visiting Piedmont 62-46.

Sifford, who fractured his kneecap in late November, scored eight points in his first game of the season.

“T Sifford’s not a hundred percent yet. He played hard. He’s still going to take time. He’s got to be patient,” said coach Mike Gurley.

Gurley said he expects Sifford, a defensive standout, to add senior leadership as the regular season heads into its stretch run.

“He’s been there. We’ve got a limited number of guys who have been there, have been in those big games,” said the West coach, referring to Sifford’s experience on West teams that won 28 games each of the past two seasons.

“T, coming into his senior year, was ticketed to be our senior leader, and he played great for us this summer. He’s probably playing 85 percent, 90 at the tops. If we get him healthy, it’s a whole different element. His defense: When he wants to defend, he’s as good as we’ve got,” Gurley added.

TimmyMauldin, who made three 3-pointers, was West’s scoring leader with 15 points. The senior had 15 of the Falcons’ first 39 points.

“He played well.I think it was good for him to come. He struggled last night (Tuesday’s victory over Harding in Charlotte). He came out and he played hard,” said Gurley of Mauldin.

Junior Hairston, the 6-6 forward, and Donte Minter, the 6-7 center, added 13 and 10 points, respectively, as West improved to 13-4 overall and 9-0 atop the SPC.

Sixth-place Piedmont (4-8, 3-7) was led by 6-6 center Tony Baker with 18 points and 13 rebounds and husky forward Jason Baucom with 13 points.

West, ahead by 11 a couple of times in the third period, watched its lead trimmed to 41-37 on a 3-pointer by Daniel Gilbert with 6:52 to play.

The Falcons responded with T.J. Gaither’s short jumper, Phillip Williams’ basket in the lane and Williams’ layup off an inbounds pass from Gaither to go up by 10.

Piedmont got within six at 47-41 with 3:30 to play after two baskets by Baucom, but the Falcons outscored the Panthers 15-5 the rest of the way.

Gurley wasn’t concerned that Piedmont got within four early in the final quarter.

“Piedmont’s got a good basketball team. Baker was tough. Their guards play hard. I’m not disappointed at all. What we’re trying to do right now is play 32 minutes of basketball, respect your opponent and don’t make any rash judgments, because rash judgments will get you beat,” he said.

“I was very pleased with our effort. They were focused, they were ready to play. Coming off a big win last night (victory over Harding in Charlotte) and a long drive back, sometimes you worry about that. I just feel good about how hard they played.

“I thought we got some good energy from a lot of people,” Gurley added.

Key contributions, other than the double-figure scorers and Sifford, came from Phillip Williams, who got all six of his points in the final five and a half minutes; Horatio Everhart, who came up with several second-half steals; and Gaither, who ran the offense that had only 12 turnovers.

Gurley thought back to last season’s team, which was led by All-American Scooter Sherrill, now a freshman player at N.C. State.

“I’m not making a comparison or contrasting either team from last year to this year, but we’re probably harder to defend this year in some respects, because you don’t know who’s going to shoot,” he pointed out.

Minter, averaging 19.7 for the season, has been the Falcons’ scoring leader 10 times.

But Phillip Williams, Mauldin and Everhart had taken their turns as leaders, and sophomore Hairston has been the steadiest Falcon since the Christmholidays as, scoring in double figures six times.

“I thought Junior did well. Junior has put together a string of solid basketball games,” said the West coach.

Hairston led West’s first-half scoring with 11 points and wound up with six rebounds, tying Minter for the team lead on the boards.

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NOTES: The Falcons return to action at East Rowan in another SPC contest on Friday night. Gurley is expecting yet another tough test against the neighboring Mustangs. ... West went 23-for-56 (41.1 percent) on field goals and 12-for-19 at the foul line, while Piedmont was 20-for-53 (37.7 percent) from the floor and 4-for-5 on free throws. ... Baker led the Panthers to a 34-29 edge in rebounds. ...Minter blocked five shots. ... West’s defense helped cause 28 Piedmont turnovers. Eighteen of the Piedmont turnovers came in the second half.

PIEDMONT (46) — Christian 5, Stauffer, Baker 18, Gilbert 3, Hunter 2, Cuff 2, Baucom 13, Burnette, Dunn 3, Correll.

WEST ROWAN (62)— Hairston 13, P. Williams 6, Minter 10, Everhart 2, Mauldin 15, Gaither 4, Goodnight, Sifford 8, Diggs, Trosper 2, High 2, Pritchard, J. Williams, Barringer.

Piedmont 13 12 7 14 — 46

West Rowan 14 16 11 21 — 62