A 32-minute game slipped away from East Rowan in a 60-second burst by the South Rowan
Raiders.South’s boys
pulled away for a 61-56 win Wednesday in the consolation bracket of the Sam Moir Christmas
Classic at Catawba’s Goodman Gymnasium. The win improved the Raiders to 3-8 on the
year, while East dropped to 2-10.
All the Raiders needed, besides
near spotless shooting from the free-throw line, was a 9-0 run over the final 30 seconds
of the third quarter and first 30 of the fourth.
When East’s Taylor Weber
drove the lane and scored, he cut South’s lead to 40-38 with a minute to play in the
third quarter. But 30 seconds later, Raider Doug Daugherty pulled up and drilled a
3-pointer and Scott Beck stole the inbounds pass and converted the layup to close the
quarter with a 45-38 edge.
South’s first possession of
the fourth quarter netted a Jon Faggart tip-in, and the defense came through again when
Tore’ Girty stole a pass and hit a layup for a 49-38 advantage.
“We just turned up the
defensive pressure and turned it into baskets at the other end,”South head coach John
Davis said. “We had been struggling the last couple of games and we talked to the
guys about coming out with pride and intensity.”
East tried to match that
intensity, pulling to within three points in the final minute, but the Raiders connected
on 5-of-6 free throws in the final 24 seconds to secure the win. For the game, South
knocked down 18-of-20 foul shots.
“You’ve got to give
credit to them. They made the plays and hit the shots,”Mustangs head coach Mark Flynn
said. “They hit big shots throughout the game, hit their free throws — all the
little things offensively you need to do to win.”
Whenever South needed the big
shot, Girty was there to deliver. The 6-foot junior guard scored a game-high 18 points on
a variety of moves, from 3-pointers to drives to long jumpers. His 18-point effort
followed Tuesday’s 17 in the first round against Salisbury.
“The last two games he’s
played the best basketball since he’s been at South Rowan,”Davis said of Girty.
“His confidence is up, and it’s important for a kid to have that when he steps
on the court.”
Leading the way for East was 6-4
junior forward Cedric Gill. Gill didn’t start and finished the first quarter with no
points, two rebounds and a block, but he was all over the court in the next two quarters.
He pulled East within 19-16 with a tip-in to open the second quarter and got the Mustangs
within two points on a jumper with two minutes to go in the half.
His three-point play for
East’s first score of the third quarter chopped South’s halftime lead from six
to three, and his long arms confounded the Raiders’ rebounding efforts. For the game,
Gill finished with 15 rebounds and four blocks, but Davis credited Faggart’s defense
with containing Gill late in the game.
n
NOTES: The Raiders, who lost to
Salisbury in the first round minus two starters, had both back Wednesday. Damien Argrett,
feared out with a broken hand, started but didn’t score. Maurice Torrence recovered
from a bout of food poisoning to score two points with four rebounds and two blocks.
… East shot only 5-for-10 from the free-throw line, a 13-point difference from South.
… Both teams handled the ball fairly well, with East committing 11 turnovers and
South 13.
EASTROWAN (56) — Ledbetter 4,
Sides, Cornelius 9, Weber 8, Gill 15, Misenheimer 12, Hollifield, M. Shepherd 2, Rusher 6.
SOUTHROWAN(61) — King 8,
Diggs 7, Daugherty 11, Beck 7, Kennedy, Torrence 2, Girty 18, Faggart 4, Cook 4, Argrett.
East Rowan 14 11 13 18 — 56
South Rowan 19 12 14 16 — 61 |
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