Raiders Hold On For 62-59 Win Over East

BY BRYAN STRICKLAND
SALISBURY POST

A season ago, the East Rowan boys basketball team managed a grand total of one victory.

But even after making a serious run at tying that total in Tuesday night's season opener, the Mustangs weren't feeling grand.

"There are no moral victories," East coach Mark Flynn said after a 62-59 loss at South Rowan. "We're a different team because we only have two players back. We won't be satisfied unless we win."

On the other bench, South Rowan wasn't exactly satisfied in victory. The Raiders darted out to a 12-point lead in the opening quarter but allowed East to stick around, and the Mustangs nearly stuck it to them.

"The fourth quarter it looked like we had control of the game," South coach Bob Parker said, "but then

it looked like we got a little selfish.

"We were fortunate to come out on top."

The Raiders, who evened their record at 1-1, held a comfortable 59-46 lead with just 2:57 remaining before East pieced together a frantic 10-0 run.

A free throw by Weber and a jumper by Travis Sloop got things started. Then, after South superstar Carlos Dixon missed the front end of a one-and-one, East's Michael Shepherd hit a basket and then Justin Miller hit a 3-pointer from out top after a backcourt steal.

Suddenly, with 1:36 still to play, it was 59-54.

And Miller, playing in his first varsity game, was far from finished. After South's Drew King missed a free throw, Miller drew King's fifth foul and hit both free throws to make it 59-56.

Adam Cornelius then knocked the ball away from Dixon, who committed his fifth foul in the scramble for the loose ball. Miller made one more free throw, and with a minute left the Mustangs were within 59-57 and had finally found a way to stop Dixon: Foul him out.

"We were about out of people who can go one-on-one," Parker said.

There was, however, one player left that fit the bill. South's Cornell Roseborough tried to dribble out the clock, but with 30 seconds left he saw a seam to the right of the lane and slashed his way through, ending it with a clutch layup to push the lead back to 61-57.

With just 7.2 seconds to go Miller drew a foul from Jeremy Chavis on a 3-point shot, and Miller made two of three free throws to trim the deficit to 61-59.

Roseborough answered with a free throw with 5.9 seconds left, but when his second shot missed,

Miller split a double-team and heaved a 30-footer as time expired.

The shot hit the front rim.

"I thought we had a good shot at the basket," Flynn said. "They kind of departed like the Red Sea.

"I'd take Justin Miller in that situation every time."

If Miller owned the final three minutes, then Dixon owned the first three minutes Ð and plenty of other minutes in between. Dixon (28 points) opened the game by hitting 3-pointers from either side, then made it 8-0 with a backcourt steal and layup.

The rest of Dixon's game consisted of taking it to Cornelius. Dixon drained nine more field goals after

the torrid start, and all nine involved drives to the basket that produced pull-up jumpers over the 5-foot-11 Cornelius.

"Dixon is unbelievable," Flynn said of the UNC-Greensboro signee. "I haven't found a weakness in his game yet.

"Adam Cornelius did everything I asked him to do against Dixon, but when you're 6-5 you can elevate over people."

Dixon was slowed when he drew his second foul early in the first quarter, and that helped East stay within shouting distance.

The Mustangs' sagging defense also helped, an approach that kept South off the free throw line. With five minutes left in the game, South's only free throws had come on a technical foul against Flynn in the third quarter.

East, by contrast, had already tried 21 free throws.

"They set a trap for us, and we fell right into it," Parker said. "They backed off of us and didn't put us on the free throw line. And on offense they figured that if they held the ball 20 seconds we'd foul them.

"They turned it into a free throw shooting contest, but there was only one team participating."

South did get to the line in the fourth quarter, but the Raiders made only 3 of 10 to set up the thrilling conclusion.

"We didn't have hardly any varsity experience, and I think it showed the first four or five minutes," Flynn said. "But the guys showed tremendous courage coming back.

"It's encouraging. It's something to build on."

NOTES: Roseborough complemented Dixon with 19 points. Miller paced East with 17, while Cornelius had 15 and Sloop added 13. ... South didn't commit any turnovers until the second quarter. ... East finished 20 of 32 from the foul line; South finished 5 of 12.