Intensity.
The North Rowan boys basketball team painted the walls with it in the second half of Tuesday’s 74-55 win over visiting Lexington.
“This is more like it,” coach Kelly Everhart smiled after the unblemished Cavs extended their victory binge to 20 games. “It seems like we’ve been doing just well enough to win lately. We wanted to get back to playing solid basketball tonight.”
They did so in a big way. Led by Bryan McCullough (21 points) and Marcus Lawing (16 points, 14 rebounds), North (10-0 CCC) won its 25th straight regular-season league game and can clinch its second consecutive title with a victory at High Point Central on Friday night.
“This was our last home game before the playoffs,” McCullough said after shooting 6-for-10 from the field and blocking three shots. “It meant a lot. We were fired up. You can’t lose on Senior’s Night. That’s against the law.”
The game provided both a comparison and contrast to the teams’ previous meeting, a 72-71 North victory on Jan. 10. The Cavs played a cautious first half and found themselves battling from behind until McCullough’s late 3-pointer gave them a 39-38 lead at the break.
“When you play dead like we did in the first half, you get a close game,” said teammate Marcus Reddick. “We had no intensity. That’s how you end up losing.”
The second half was just the opposite.
The Cavs played a tight, man-to-man defense that limited the Jackets (9-11, 6-3 CCC) to six field goals and 17 points.
“We switched from a zone because I wanted us to focus more,” said Everhart. “We weren’t doing a good job of rotating our press and getting back. That gave them some easy baskets. In a man defense, you have to pay closer attention.”
Losing coach Don Corry felt his team’s sudden lack of desire in the second half was pivotal.
“We got lackadaisical and self-destructed,” he said. “We had no discipline and went cold. And when you go cold, that’s when you’ve got to have the fortitude to wait for a good shot.”
The shot worth waiting for came with 3:55 remaining in the third quarter, when Lawing hit a short jumper in the lane and was fouled. His ensuing free throw gave North a 48-44 lead and kicked off a decisive 17-2 run.
“We decided we weren’t going to play their kind of game,” said McCullough. “They just wanted to run the court and shoot. They didn’t care if they missed. We tried to slow it down in the second half and look for the best shots.”
North had only one sloppy spell during the final quarter, when it turned the ball over four straight times and failed to score for two-and-a-half minutes. The Cavs snapped out of it in time to net the game’s last eight points.
“I think we had to make a statement,” said McCullough. “They’ve been talking junk on us, saying it’s time for us to lose. We had to make an example of them.”
Friday night’s game with the Bison (14-8, 9-1 CCC) has McCullough just as excited. “That’s the showdown,” he said. “You know they want it, but we want it more.”
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NOTES: Lawing (7-for-12,) and Reddick (6-for-12, 16 points) also shot well from the field. Teammate Chris Phillips had eight assists and three steals. ... The game featured a rare four-point play in the second quarter when McCullough — who scored 18 first-half points — drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key, was fouled and hit the free throw.
LEXINGTON (55) — Saunders 14, Hogan 12, Shaw 8, Carroll 5, Cobbs 5, McNeair 5, Holt 4, Ellison 2.
NORTHROWAN (74) — McCullough 21, Reddick 16, Lawing 16, Phillips 9, Hosch 4, Witherspoon 4, Davis 2, Peoples 2, Bates, House, Farmer.
Lexington 11 27 8 9 — 55
North Rowan 17 22 18 17 — 74
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