North Rowan, by virtue of an easy 65-23 victory Tuesday over East in the first round of the Sam Moir Christmas Classic, will meet the 10-0 West Rowan Falcons. It doesn’t matter that the semifinal game is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. It will be championship quality.

Meanwhile, East (2-9) was scheduled to play South Rowan at 1:30 in a loser’s bracket game. But make no mistake about it. A Mustang win would be just as important.

“You gotta keep playing, man,” sighed Mustang Cedric Gill. “You just gotta keep your head up and try to come back.”

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Bouncing back is what North will try to do this afternoon against West. The Cavs’ only two losses in eight games have come to Mike Gurley’s team.

The last one, a painful 82-81 Falcon victory on Dec. 8, seemed like a sure North victory with a few seconds left. But key turnovers and some typical late-game heroics by (who else?) Scooter Sherrill left a madhouse crowd stumbling out of North’s gym physically, mentally and emotionally drained.

A North victory will send the Cavs soaring into league play next week with even more confidence than they have now, if that’s possible.

“We’re ready,’’ assured point guard Dre Byrd, a whirling dervish, whose hair and quick hands remind you a lot of Allen Iverson. “Everybody knows Scooter is going to be Scooter. We just have to play with intensity and play team ball and maybe we can come out on top.”

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Intensity was the key issue for Cavs coach Kelly Everhart going into the first round Tuesday. Although North had whipped East twice, it had been outrebounded in the previous meeting.

After four minutes, North had two points and it was a 2-2 game.

That’s when North Rowan began playing like the North Rowan.

A layup was blocked by Gill but Bryan McCullough crashed the boards for a putback. An airball turned into a rebound bucket by Mario Sturdivant. Graham Hosch soared in the lane. Swish. Sturdivant pulled up for a three. Bottom.

It was relentless. Suddenly, North led 33-5.

Flynn stood on the sidelines, hands on hips. Then, he stood with arms folded. Then, he paced. Then, he kneeled. It didn’t matter what position he was in. It hurt to watch.

“We want to be a team that plays hard,” Flynn said, “We want to do the little stuff like boxing out. We want to play a patient, fundamental offense. And we didn’t do any of that tonight.”

It got worse for East after halftime. Two points in the third quarter and nine in the fourth.

“It’s terrible to get embarrassed like that,” Flynn said.

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Gill and Flynn expect East to play better today. Why? This is the Sam Moir Christmas Tournament.

“They get excited,” said North’s Everhart of every player who steps onto the Goodman Gym floor. “You hear them even in August talking about playing in the Christmas tournament. It’s simply because all of the Rowan County schools are here together. This is the biggest part of the season, playing against people you know.”

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And North Rowan knows West Rowan. Oh yeah, it knows.

That 82-81 defeat is hard to forget, although Everhart and his players are trying their best.

“Itold them you can’t live in the past. Focus on what’s ahead,” he said.

That’s the same thing Flynn was telling his players after Tuesday’s debacle.

“We’re up here to get better.,” he said. “We have three big conference games next week.”

East has suffered through 49 losses in its last 57 games. But as the Mustangs have proven — even after a 42-point loss to North — high school athletes and coaches are the most resilient.

“It’s rough right now,” admitted Flynn. “But I enjoy coaching. Istill enjoy working with guys to make them better.”

“Coach Flynn is a great coach,” Gill said. “He wants us to play to our ability. We didn’t do that this game.”

When asked about the early loser’s bracket matchup, Gill — a transfer from West Rowan, by the way — had the same response as Byrd.

“I’m ready. I want to win.”

It proves once again that regardless of the records, regardless of the starting time, today’s theme is the same for the East Rowan and North Rowan basketball teams.

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