The prep basketball notebook ...
For two quarters in Friday night’s game with East Rowan, West Rowan’s Donte Minter looked like a good bet to break the school scoring record of 44 points that he set in November of 2000 against Salisbury.
Minter had 24 points by halftime, but eventually settled for 28, after settling on the bench most of the second half.
Still, it was one of the better games of Minter’s career — and that’s saying something. Had he gone the distance, he may well have posted a quadruple-double with double figures in blocks, steals and rebounds, as well as points.
The 6-foot-8 senior was inches away from a perfect night from the field (11-for-12) and snatched eight steals.
A model of consistency throughout his four-year varsity career, Minter’s scored 20-plus points in six straight games and has scored in double figures 25 straight times.
Minter’s been in double figures in 92 of his 104 career games, which helps explain why he’s the county’s No. 3 all-time scorer behind Scooter Sherrill and Bobby Phillips. Friday’s game marked the 34th time Minter’s topped 20 points.
PACKEDHOUSE:There are never many empty seats at West’s “Gurley Dome,” but Friday’s game was SRO, and then some.
There were so many fans vying for space that the West Rowan cheerleaders graciously gave up their bleacher seats to paying customers and cheered on Minter and company from the floor.
SHAYLAWATCH:When Salisbury freshman guard Shayla Fields scored 30 points in her team’s loss to Lexington on Friday, it was only the ninth time a Salisbury girl had scored 30 in a single outing.
No Hornet had scored 30 against Lexington since Gerry Spain did it 21 years ago.
Donna Carr’s school single-game record of 38 (in 1995) still stands, but Fields fans are wondering for how long.
HILLARYUPDATE: West Rowan sophomore guard Hillary Hampton scored 27 points in her team’s loss to East Rowan on Friday.
Hampton pushed her season-point total to 313 and became the 11th girl in West history to put up two 300-point seasons.
Three Falcon girls — Wendy Hampton, Andrea Grissett and Kari Schenk — topped 300 three times.
Hampton will likely be the first to do it four times.
MAGGIEUPDATE:East sophomore forward Maggie Rich scored 23 in her team’s win over West on Friday and has 526 for her career, which places her 27th on East’s career list.
Next in line for Rich are Rita Lanning (541) and Cindy Miller (552).
STRUGGLINGCAVS:After excruciating losses to Central Davidson and Ledford, there doesn’t appear much hope for North boys coach Kelly Everhart to avoid his first losing season.
Everhart was 63-19 in his first three seasons as head coach.
SIDELINED:South Rowan girls coach James Greene expects center Brittney Gaddy to miss the entire season. Gaddy tore an ACL over the summer, but had hoped to play at least a portion of her senior year.
Runner-up in the Rowan County player of the year voting last season, Gaddy scored 886 points and stands as the No. 8 scorer in Raider history. Her injury will prevent her from becoming the seventh South girls to reach 1,000 points.
Gaddy will return to the court next season at UNCPembroke.
THESTREAK:After mauling East by 50 on Friday, coach Mike Gurley’s West Rowan Falcons have won 44 straight regular-season conference games since a 62-58 loss at Harding in the middle of the 1998-99 South Piedmont Conference season.
Since arriving at West, Gurley’s teams have a record of 66-2 in regular-season conference games.
STRANGELEAGUE:Only two 2A Central Carolina Conference boys teams stand better than 3-3 in the league.
Conversely, only two girls teams have records worse than 3-3.
SHOWDOWN:West Stokes visits Lexington tonight in a game that will break a tie atop the CCC boys standings. Both are 6-0.
DRYSPELL:A.L. Brown’s girls dropped a critical home game to North Iredell on Friday. The Wonders were in control until they made just one of their last 15 shots from the field.
TIGHTEN UP:Mooresville’s win over Statesville on Friday helped A.L. Brown’s boys. Four NPC teams (A.L. Brown, Statesville, Northwest Cabarrus and Mooresville) are now battling for second place with two league losses apiece.
The Wonders have the toughest road of the quartet, because they must play at Mooresville and at Statesville, and still have two games left with West. The Wonders have to win at least one of those four to have a chance.
MILLER’SHOT:Junior guard Caleb Miller scored double figures in only three of his first 13 games, but has been East’s leading scorer in his last two outings. Miller has scored 36 points in his last two, while nailing 10 3-pointers.
TAYLOR MADE: East freshman guard Eric Taylor hasn’t gotten as much attention as high-scoring Salisbury frosh Sharmari Spears, but has also been impressive.
Taylor’s averaged 11 ppg over his last five outings.
PERRY TALE: West jayvee boys coach Brian Perry lost to East, his alma mater, for the first time on Friday.
Ironically, back in his playing days, Perry was part of the last Mustang varsity team to knock off West. Perry scored eight points when East beat the Falcons 60-58 early in the 1988-89 season.
Later that season, West got revenge, winning 59-45 behind Toby Brown’s 18 points. The Falcons haven’t fallen to the Mustangs since in a streak that has now reached 30 straight.
THENEW M.J. West’s boys win so many games so big, that “garbage time” is plentiful. But the great thing about the end of West’s bench is that those guys don’t treat late minutes as roundball waste. Instead, they make the most of every second.
All 14 Falcons scored on Friday, something that’s happened twice in West’s last three games. The reserves were led on Friday by guard Michael Johnson, who pumped in seven in a big hurry.
“Michael Johnson is a stud,” offered starter Junior Hairston with a grin.
“Johnson is a kid that works hard, does everything you ask and he’s become a scoring magnet,” said Gurley. “He’s like Mark Johnson was for us in 1999.”
Despite being only 5-foot-6, Johnson also did a nice job as a wideout in football.
MIXEDCOMPANY:Former North Rowan basketball player Omar “Spoon” Witherspoon was in the hallways at West after Friday’s game.
When it was pointed out to Gurley that an enemy was in the house, he chuckled, “Spoon’s a Cavalier, but he’s got the good sense to date a Falcon.”
Witherspoon’s girlfriend is West basketball player Mandy Massey.
NOTQUITE: West’s 109-point outing on Friday was not a school record, because the Falcons pounded Concord 112-65 last season.
Friday marked the sixth time West has cracked the 100-point barrier in the last five seasons.
YES, ITWAS:When Davie County beat South Rowan 103-70 on Friday, the Raiders set a record for the most points allowed by a South squad.
The Raiders’ previous defensive disaster was a 101-77 loss to the War Eagles in the 1999-2000 season.
OUCH! South’s boys were on the wrong end of another record the previous week when they were blasted 94-36 by West Forsyth.
The 58-point margin was the most lopsided loss in school history. The previous longest night for the Raiders was an 87-32 setback at the hands of 4A state champ R.J. Reynolds two seasons ago.
ROUGHRIDE:One thing about South’s boys — no one plays a stiffer schedule. South will take on West Forsyth, West Rowan and R.J. Reynolds, arguably three of the top five in the western half of the state, at least seven times.
TURNAROUND: East’s boys have lost 11 straight (seven by single digits), but coach Derek Kurnitsky said his team’s played better since his locker-room tirade at halftime of a recent loss to Mooresville.
“I went crazy. I threw chairs, I threw the ballrack,” Coach K said. “Then we went out and played a great second half. Then in our next game we played basket for basket with A.L. Brown. The rest of the year, I think people can expect a dogfight from East.”
The Mustangs might break through for their first NPC win soon — provided senior Matt Belk’s injury isn’t serious. Belk, who’s been one of the county’s best all season, hurt an ankle in the second quarter of the West game.
JUSTDOIT:Most coaches like for their guys to think on the court, but Coach K says he wouldn’t mind if his team thought a little less.
“We’ve got so many smart kids, National Honor Society kids,” he said. “Sometimes, they think too much. I just want them to react and play. Just have fun and play the game.”
SCOOTERSUPPORT:The Falcon boys traveled to the ESA on Saturday to watch N.C. State’s win over Georgia Tech.
“We’d originally planned to see the Maryland game, but that was the first ACC game and tickets were sold out,” said Gurley.
Gurley had promised his guys a Raleigh outing if they won the Christmas Tournament.
The timing was good. The Falcons got to see former teammate Scooter Sherrill hit a key 3-pointer.
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