Cavaliers Get First Win For Everhart

BY ED DUPREE
SALISBURY POST

Mario Sturdivant led the way as North Rowan's Cavaliers got Coach Kelly Everhart his first varsity basketball victory in impressive fashion on Tuesday night - a 71-49 romp over Salisbury in the Hornets' gym.

Sturdivant went 8-for-8 from the floor in the second half and got 20 of his game-high 23 points after halftime as the Cavaliers won their 2A Central Carolina Conference opener and improved to 1-2 overall.

Salisbury, 1-3 overall under first-year head coach Drew Mathews, was also playing its conference opener.

Everhart, a former star athlete at North, said he had felt the pressure after losing the first two games to Kannapolis A.L. Brown and South Rowan.

"I have put a lot of pressure on myself - not the community, or the school, or the players, but just myself. ... I felt like we really needed to win, not so much for me, but for the team to have the confidence. We're such a young team, and I think that they just needed that confidence we needed to get a win. Certainly, coming in here to Salisbury and winning here, I can't think of anywhere that it would be any sweeter," said Everhart of the win over North's biggest rival.

The Cavaliers shot well (13-for-26 for 50 percent) while taking a 33-20 first-half lead, so Mathews had to hope North would cool off in the second half. Led by junior guard Sturdivant (4-for-4) and sophomore forward Marcus Lawing (3-for-3), the visitors almost didn't miss a shot in the third quarter, going 10-for-10 before Greg Headen's missed layup try with about two seconds to play.

"They came out and they still drilled the shots - 10-for-10," said Mathews.

The Cavaliers went an amazing 15-for-19 in the second half and shot 62.2 percent for the night - 28-for-45 - with five 3-pointers.

"I told the kids whenever we left the locker room that it was real important for us to go out with the mentality that we were behind starting the second half," said Everhart. "I said, 'Play like we are behind.

We have to be real careful and guard against Salisbury making a run here to start the second half."

Sturdivant, Lawing and their teammates took Everhart's message to heart. After Salisbury pulled within 33-24 to start the second half, the Cavs broke it open, surging to a 55-30 lead on Sturdivant's basket, his team's 10th straight of the quarter.

"Let's give North credit. They came in our gym, and just gave us a good old butt-whipping. They did a good job," said Mathews. "They executed, they rebounded and they moved the basketball. They did all the things that my team is going to do in the future for us to be successful."

Sturdivant, North's star quarterback in football, finished his career night at 9-for-11 from the floor with two 3s and 3-for-5 at the foul line.

"Mario's been struggling a little bit with his shot. The first two games (6.5 average), he just wasn't on," pointed out Everhart. "We talked about it, and we worked on it real hard on Friday of last week, of him just relaxing and concentrating and knocking down the jump shot. I think that he showed tonight that he's beginning to get back in the basketball swing of things. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come."

Sophomore point guard Dre Byrd added 13 points, which included two 3s, plus five assists and three steals. Another sophomore, Marcus Reddick, had 10 points. Senior guard Anthony Allman came off the bench to lead his team in rebounds with five.

The quick Byrd, a star wide receiver in football, got his three steals in the first quarter, when the Cavs quickly jumped ahead by 12.

"Right off the bat, I thought our defense dictated the tempo of the game," said Everhart. "We were able to get a couple of steals and build up a lead pretty early in the third quarter. He (Byrd) is a talented young man. He's a battler, and he's just a whole lot of fun to watch."

Everhart was glad to get off to a successful start in the CCC, in which North tied for last place a year ago.

"We talked about this being the conference opener and how important it was. Yesterday (Monday), we did not have a very good practice. I was not real satisfied. So, I expected us to play well tonight. A lot of times when you have a bad practice the day before, you come out the next night and you look really sharp," said Everhart.

Can the young Cavs, with four sophomores playing a lot, be a contender in the CCC?

"I certainly think so," replied Everhart. "We're very athletic. We can get up and down the court. Once we have played together and learn each other, I think we can contend. There are lots of areas we have to improve on. We're certainly not at that caliber right now. Hopefully, by the time tournament time rolls around, we can contend."

NOTES: Forward Thad Pryor led Salisbury with 14 points and nine rebounds, and guard Alphonso Davis added nine points. Center Robbie Jefferies, who came into the game with a 16.0 scoring average, had six points. "Robbie is probably a veteran out on the floor who didn't have one of his best games. He played hard," said Mathews of the senior. ... Salisbury was only 16-for-60 (26.7 percent) on field goals. The Hornets outscored North at the foul line, going 16-for-24 as compared to 10-for-18 for the Cavs. North had a 30-29 rebounding edge and had 22 turnovers to Salisbury's 21. ...

North will be at home against South Rowan on Friday in a 6 p.m. twin bill, while Salisbury goes to Alexander Central for a doubleheader that starts at 5. EST