KANNAPOLIS — The circumstances hadn’t changed that much in a matter of 24 hours.
East Rowan coach Derek Kurnitsky stood outside the locker room on Wednesday, and much like he had the night before, talked about a game that featured a senior-laden team taking care of his young Mustangs with relative ease.
But this time, after a 34-point loss to Northwest Cabarrus, Kurnitsky was much happier than he was following East’s 23-point setback to Mooresville on Tuesday.
The Trojans defeated the Mustangs 88-54 on Wednesday night, and even though the margin of defeat was greater, East performed better than in its loss to the Blue Devils.
“We didn’t play bad,”Kurnitsky said. “ Once again, it was five seniors against a bunch of young kids, and we looked like a jayvee team out there at times, which isn’t a bad thing. A lot of times you saw a freshman and three sophomores on the court.”
The Trojans (6-13, 4-4 NPC) were never threatened seriously thanks to a first-quarter outburst from Jimmy Lindsey, who finished with 22 points.
Lindsey, who sat on the bench in the fourth quarter against North Iredell on Tuesday night, hit six of his first eight shots and scored 14 of Northwest’s first 17 points.
The Trojans led 31-19 after one quarter and 48-34 at the half.
“For whatever reason, I just didn’t play him,” Northwest coach Greg McKenzie said. “We had a little meeting after school today and discussed everything. Jimmy’s a really good offensive player, and it’s great to see him come out and hit those shots.”
The Mustangs (2-17, 0-8) got as close as 48-37 less than two minutes into the second half, but Northwest opened up a 25-point advantage after three quarters.
Kenny Abel led East with 17 points, and Eric Taylor added eight. Abel, who hit 7 of 14 shots from the field, has assumed a bigger scoring responsibility with Matt Belk out of the lineup.
“He has big-time potential, he just has to get to the point where he’s doing it every night,”Kurnitsky said.
Said Abel, “I just have to step up because Matt Belk’s out. He’s been helping me with my post moves.”
Belk’s injury has also opened the door for sophomore Jason Cauble, who had eight points and 10 rebounds.
“He’s one of those guys who brings his lunch pail and his hard hat and works,”Kurnitsky said.
Effort like that is enough to bring a smile to Kurnitsky’s face, even in a losing cause.
EAST ROWAN (54) — Abel 17, Taylor 9, Cauble 8, Talbert 6, Shepherd 5, Whitley 4, Miller 3, Lefko 2, Harwood.
NORTHWEST CABARRUS (88) — Lindsey 22, Lyerly 16, Godwin 16, Johnson 14, Argo 6, Caldwell 4, Nance 4, Swinton 4, Thomas 2, Guale, Patterson.
East Rowan 19 15 9 11 — 54
NW Cabarrus 31 17 20 20 — 88
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Contact Bret Strelow at 704-797-4258 or bstrelow@salisburypost.com
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