THOMASVILLE — Right before the Sam Moir Christmas Classic, big Junior Farmer accidentally dislocated North Rowan teammate Marcus Reddick’s thumb in practice.
Maybe Doc Farmer should start offering that painful cure to every player in the county. He could charge good money for it, because Reddick’s been on fire ever since it happened. Reddick was scoring 9 ppg prior to his “injury.” Since he got the treatment from the big guy, the senior guard has averaged 15.5 ppg and has led North in scoring six times.
Reddick had a team-high 18 points on Monday night as the Cavalier boys romped to a 75-35 2A Central Carolina Conference win at East Davidson.
“Since I got hurt, I’ve had to shoot, using my fingertips,” said a laughing
Reddick. “That’s the way you’re supposed to do it.”
All the North players are smiling these days, because it’s great to be young and a
Cav. Seventeen straight wins — the latest one tied the school record set by the 1985-86 state champions — has a way of making everyone feel good.
“Records are nice, but not important,” said Everhart. “These are just hard-working kids who enjoy performing every night. They know how to win and expect to win when they walk on the court. They’ve been a special group since they were undefeated in seventh (and eighth) grade.”
You don’t have to tell East Davidson coach Matt Ridge how unique the Cavs are. He was the last CCC coach to beat the
Cavs. He got them in last year’s conference tournament when he was coaching High Point Central. Ridge’s magic formula to corral the Cavs (17-0, 7-0) calls for slowing the game down and getting them frustrated. But, this time, his kids couldn’t execute the game plan.
“We had to control tempo to have any shot,” said Ridge. “But you have to complement North. They are not just athletic, they’re skilled and they’re big. We couldn’t handle their pressure. We lost our poise.”
Everhart knew that his veteran Reddick-Chris Phillips-Bryan McCullough-Marcus Lawing nucleus lost at East Davidson when they were sophomores, but he chose not to mention that piece of history prior to the game. Everhart didn’t need to refresh their memories, anyway. The Cav seniors had replayed that 85-68 nightmare in their heads more than once.
“Yeah, Lawing and me were talking about that game a little bit,” said
Reddick. “We reflected on it. That was the night that (Russ) Snyder shot us out of here.”
But Snyder, a 1,000-point scorer, is long gone and has been tough to replace.
East (6-11, 2-5) hung in for a short while. North starter Graham Hosch was burdened by three quick fouls and the Cavs led only 11-7 midway through the first quarter. But the Cavs forced 17 turnovers by halftime to build a comfortable 35-17 lead.
“East Davidson is a slow-down team,” said Reddick. “But we played tough defense and forced the tempo we wanted. They only scored in the 30s, so their slow-down didn’t work so well.”
The third quarter was the Cavs at their flying best. Phillips had eight of his 14 points and McCullough had 10 of his 13 in the quarter. North dominated 28-5 during those eight minutes
One third-quarter play told the story. Lawing slapped a ball loose in the lane. A Golden Eagle fell on it, but as he lay on the floor trying to find an open teammate, the relentless Lawing smacked it away a second time. Reddick scooped up the loose pumpkin. And who did he spot as the finisher at the other end? None other than
Lawing, who had outraced everyone. That’s how hard the Cavs went at it — even after the game was in the bag. They were up 41 at the end of three quarters and the lead skied as high as 46 in the fourth.
“We were concerned about East Davidson,” said Everhart, “because they are so much like East Rowan. They’re patient and can wear you out making you play defense. But we really moved our feet defensively and our quickness knocked them off balance.”
NOTES:Phillips did a great job of locking up shooter Scott Bame. ... The whistles kept finding Farmer, who fouled out in a brief appearance. ... The Cavs will go for win No. 18 in the streak against Ledford on Wednesday. ... East was led by young big man Mitch Mullis, who scored 11, including his team’s first seven. ... Lawing had 14 points and eight boards, while Phillips had five steals.
NORTH ROWAN (75) — Reddick 18, Phillips 14, Lawing 14, McCullough 13, Hosch 8, Witherspoon 2, Bates 4, Peoples 2, Davis, Farmer.
EASTDAVIDSON (35)— Mullis 11, Culler 10, Lambeth 4, Baer 4, Waterhouse 2, Bame 2, Everhart 1, Clinard 1,Matt Bryant, Matt D. Bryant.
North Rowan 19 16 28 12 — 75
East Davidson 7 10 5 13 — 35
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