Prep basketball: Statesville boys 50, East Rowan 31

By Jordan Honeycutt

sports@salisburypost.com

STATESVILLE — Hounded.

The East Rowan Mustangs barely had room to breathe Monday as the suffocating Statesville defense was all over them.

It was senior night for the Hounds and they came out of the gate firing on all cylinders and established a 35-18 halftime lead before winning 50-31.

“They beat us up in that first quarter and giving up 23 points, you aren’t going to beat most teams,” East Rowan coach Trey Ledbetter said.

“They were physical with us and we couldn’t get into an offensive rhythm at all, forced bad shots and just didn’t execute.”

Statesville didn’t recieve an outstanding performance from anyone on offense, but out-toughed the Mustangs on rebounds and loose balls to preserve the victory.

Senior guard, Nick Schofield scored 11 points to lead the Hounds. He was saddled with foul trouble and poor shooting in the second half that took him out of the game.

Schofield reached a momentous milestone as he surpassed 1,000 points and was given a commemorative ball before the game.

“We played flat and terrible in that second half and really didn’t execute as a team and we are better than that,” Schofield said.

“We will be ready though next week and we are coming to win it to get back from last year.”

For East, it didn’t have a single player in double figures, as Weston Rogers’ eight led the way.

The one positive that Ledbetter was able to take from the loss was that his team toughened up on defense and showed some pride in the second half.

“We went to a 1-3-1 zone after halftime that really seemed to give them some trouble and stymie them a bit, so I’m happy with the defense holding them to 50 points,” Ledbetter said.

The game was very physical and provided countless scrums for loose balls and a few heated moments.

The physicality seemed to take its toll on both teams as neither squad could find the net in the second half.

“That’s their game, I mean they are definitely more physical than us and it’s hard to beat them that way,” Ledbetter sighed.

Statesville also accomplished a team goal, as it won a second consecutive regular season NPC crown.

“It feels good, really good,” Statesville point guard Jarod Gill said.

“We can now check off one goal and we still have a sour taste in our mouths from losing the conference tournament to West Rowan last year, so we are ready for this upcoming tournament.”

The Hounds head coach Sonny Schofield should get the award for least satisfied coach after a win, as he was less than thrilled to say the least.

“Selfish play. That’s what it comes down to plain and simple,” he said.

“Our guys broke our rhythm and we had some hidden agendas and egos that have got to be dealt with and you can rest assured that we will deal with them at practice tomorrow.”

The Mustangs will also have to go back to the drawing board in anticipation of their first round conference matchup.

Ledbetter’s team has shown that it can bounce back from a rough stretch before and hope to peak at just the right time.

STATESVILLE (56) — Schofield 11, Borders 8, Daniels 8, Gill 5, Warren 5, Knox 4, Lowery 4, Gaither 3, Tucker 2, Savoy, Thompson, Williams, Willis, Witherspoon.

EAST ROWAN (31) — Rogers 8, Gittens 7, Hough 7, Shepherd 3, Edwards 2, Gobble 2, Means 2, Bradshaw, Holmes, Honeycutt, L’Hommedieu, B.Nelson, D.Nelson.

E. Rowan 06 12 05 08 — 31

Statesville 23 12 08 07 — 56