SPC Girls

There’s a three-way tie in the SPC girls basketball race at 10-2, and East Rowan, South Rowan and Hickory Ridge all have four league games remaining.

South Rowan still has a game left with both of the other contenders and lost to both the first time around, but it’s easy to put a positive spin on the Raiders’ position. As South Rowan coach Jarrod Smith points out, if the Raiders win out, they win an outright league championship.

That’s something the program hasn’t accomplished since  the 1998-99 season.

But first things first for the Raiders. South Rowan has to go to Carson on Friday, and while South Rowan (13-5, 10-2) flattened Carson 68-48 in the Christmas tournament, the Raiders had to fight to beat Carson 61-57 when the teams played at South Rowan.

Tied for fourth, Carson (9-10, 6-5) did a good  job against Avery Locklear in the first meeting, but Cassidy Chipman scored 33. Carson did a good job against Chipman in the second meeting, but Locklear scored 30. It’s hard to limit both of them at the same time.

A Carson victory would be the 100th of coach Brooke Misenheimer’s head-coaching career.

Freshman Olivia Gabriel has scored 32 points for Carson in the two games with South Rowan this season, while Alex Allen has scored 31. To beat South Rowan, Carson probably needs a big game from both of them, plus a big game from Sydney Huffman, who had 22 points on Tuesday. Huffman didn”t score much in the first two games with the Raiders.

The teams met three times last season, with South Rowan winning twice. Two of those three were decided by two points.

East Rowan (16-2, 10-2) shouldn’t have any trouble Friday, as the Mustangs go to Northwest Cabarrus. The Trojans (0-16, 0-12) lost 70-35 to the Mustangs in the first meeting.

Sixth-place West Rowan (7-12, 5-6) is at Central Cabarrus (9-9, 6-5), which is tied for fourth with Carson. Both teams are capable of playing well. West Rowan won against Hickory Ridge, while Central Cabarrus won against East Rowan.

West Rowan thumped the Vikings 59-44 in Mount Ulla, with Khaila Hall, Taylor Martin and Shanice Miller scoring in double figures.

Concord (4-15, 1-11) plays at Cox Mill (5-13, 4-8). Hickory Ridge (15-4, 10-2) is off Friday.

 

SPC boys

Third-place Concord (14-6, 9-3) plays at tied-for-first Cox Mill (14-6, 10-2) in the biggest game on Friday. Cox Mill beat Concord 71-61 on Dec. 12.

Hickory Ridge (15-4, 10-2) also is tied for first but is off Friday.

South Rowan (4-14, 3-9) is capable of knocking off  up-and-down Carson (9-10, 6-5), but the  fifth-place Cougars were up on Tuesday when they beat West Rowan 64-55.

Carson needed a career game from Armoni Hogue to win 53-50 in the first  meeting with South Rowan.

Carson has won five in a row and seven of its last eight with the Raiders.

West Rowan (11-8, 7-4)  seeks to bounce back from a sub-par performance against Carson Tuesday when it goes to struggling Central Cabarrus (5-13, 2-9). The Falcons got 15 points from freshman Caleb Mauldin in a 53-52 win against the Vikings in Mount Ulla.

Central Cabarrus has lost its last three outings.

East Rowan (7-11, 4-8) has a chance to right the ship against Northwest Cabarrus (2-13, 1-10), but it promises to be a dogfight. East Rowan won 49-47 in the first meeting, with Logan Shuping leading the way with 12 points.

 

CCC boys

Andrew Mitchell’s record as North Rowan boys coach has been extraordinary. In his first four seasons, North Rowan won two outright conference championships (2011, 2014) and shared two conference championships (2012, 2013).

Mitchell’s record in regular-season conference games was 54-4 coming into this season, and the front-running Cavaliers  (12-4) take  a 5-0 CCC record into a Friday home game against Lexington that promises to be a tremendous battle.

Lexington (14-4, 4-1) shared the league title with North Rowan last season and is currently in second place. North Rowan got 16 points from Jalen Sanders and won a 46-44  struggle at Lexington in the CCC opener for both teams.

North Rowan won two of three against Lexington last season, splitting the league meetings and then blowing out the Yellow Jackets on their home floor in the CCC tournament championship game.

Both teams are even better than their records, as they have taken on very challenging schedules outside the league. Both teams may be among the 10 best in the state in 2A.

A North Rowan win Friday would make it very likely that the Cavaliers will win another conference championship. They’d have a two-game lead on everyone.

Salisbury (13-6, 3-2) should get another league win tonight. The Hornets take on East Davidson (2-16, 0-5). Salisbury routed the Golden Eagles 86-31 in the first meeting.

West Davidson (10-8, 2-3) is at Thomasville (5-10, 1-4), with the Green Dragons trying to sweep the Bulldogs.

 

CCC girls

North Rowan (9-5, 4-1) has faced more than its share of adversity, but the Cavaliers reached the halfway point in the league race  in second place.

The Cavaliers host Lexington (6-9, 3-2) Friday. The Yellow Jackets can tie North Rowan for second if they win, but North Rowan romped 62-27 in the first meeting.

Salisbury (3-16. 1-4) hosts East Davidson (19-0, 5-0), one of the state’s best teams. The Hornets lost 69-19 at East Davidson.

West Davidson (1-17, 0-5) is at Thomasville (5-10, 1-4).

 

Area

Davie is at R,J. Reynolds in the CPC. Davie’s girls (14-5, 6-2) are tied for second, but the Demons (18-0, 7-0) have been a machine and are coming off a 107-point outing, even with a running clock.

A.L. Brown’s teams are in the midst of a 2-0 week, beating MECKA opponent Vance Tuesday and Northwest Cabarrus outside the league on Wednesday. Jaylon Neal, Joekeem Neal and Tyree Cummings led the Wonders against Northwest.

Both A.L. Brown teams will be underdogs Friday when Robinson visits Bullock Gym.