SPENCER — James House, North Rowan’s most imposing post player, picked up his second foul 37 seconds into Tuesday’s CCC Tournament matchup with Ledford.
The Cavaliers decided then to take their act outside, even though they eventually found a viable inside option to take House’s place.
North Rowan relied on the 3-point shooting of Lamar Geter and Tristan Rankin to build a comfortable lead over the Panthers, and Jamar Connor pitched in with a nice effort off the bench to push the Cavaliers to a 51-39 win against Ledford.
Rankin led North with 16 points and Geter scored 12, and the two combined for four 3-pointers in the first half with House out of the game.
“I knew I had to start shooting more when our big offensive scorer was out,” said Geter, who finished 3-for-7 from behind the arc and had five assists. “They were falling for me.”
The Cavaliers (12-13) got off to a slow start Tuesday and trailed 11-8 early in the second quarter. North missed 18 of its first 21 shots from the field, but the Cavs found their touch and went on a 16-2 run over the next five minutes to take an 11-point lead.
Rankin scored seven points during that run, including a 3-pointer that gave North a 13-11 edge and started a Cav string of six makes in nine attempts.
Geter followed up Rankin’s rainbow by banking in a trifecta from the right wing, and the Cavs led 24-15 at the break thanks to their 4-for-11 effort from behind the arc.
“Still, the ball was coming inside and coming back out,” North coach Kelly Everhart said. “We were getting good looks at 3-pointers.”
Connor, who replaced House early in the game, also got in on the offensive action right before the end of the half. The Cavs led 20-13 before Geter fed Connor for two easy buckets in the last 78 seconds of the second quarter.
Connor finished the contest with 10 points and eight rebounds, including five on the offensive end.
“I had to take up his slack because he got the quick fouls,” Connor said of replacing House. “I felt that I had to be the big man.”
House finally returned to the game at the start of the third quarter, and he didn’t pick up his third foul until 3:48 remained with North leading 41-27. House finished with eight points and seven rebounds in the second half, and he and Rankin each came up with key blocks down the stretch.
Ledford had cut a 13-point deficit down to seven before Rankin hit two free throws, then blocked a shot by Brad Myers with 2:05 left.
House added two free throws six seconds later to put North ahead 46-35, then blocked an attempt by Justin Motsinger to seal the game.
The third-seeded Cavs advanced to the CCC semifinals on Thursday, when they will face No. 2 seed West Stokes at 7:30 p.m. at Lexington.
Ledford (39) — Myers 10, Johnson 9, Talley 6, Stephens 6, Motsinger 4, Reeves 4, Disher, Julian.
north rowan (51) — Rankin 16, Geter 12, Connor 10, House 8, Pemberton 3, Bates 2, Mitchell, Rutherford, Hawkins, Horton.
Ledford 6 9 9 15 — 39
North Rowan 8 16 9 18 — 51
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