From staff reports
North Rowan’s boys basketball team nearly broke through Thursday, and it managed to pick up that elusive first victory Friday.
The Cavaliers won 60-44 against visiting Davie County. Javon Hargrave led North (1-5) with 13 points, and D.J. Hipps contributed 11.
Julian Hicks had nine, Lamonte Bell scored seven, C.J. Fortson posted six and Andre Blakeney tallied five as part of the Cavs’ balanced attack.
North fell behind 19-0 against West Rowan on Thursday, bounced back to take the lead and eventually fell by nine points.
“We talked about how as a team we needed a win for our confidence,” North coach Kelly Everhart said. “(Thursday) we battled back and made West Rowan work for the win. After not playing for the first quarter and a half, our guys realized we can play with anybody.
“The guys were excited to get on the court tonight.”
North led 33-25 at halftime and took control by outscoring Davie by an 18-4 count in the third quarter. Hipps hit back-to-back 3-pointers to open things up.
Drew Absher led the War Eagles (3-4) with 15 points, but he didn’t scratch in the third quarter. Everhart praised the defensive effort Fortson, Blakeney, Ryan Rhames and Jesse Rudisell gave against Absher.
“We kept rotating who we were putting on him because we know he can light it up and hurt you in a hurry,” Everhart said.
DAVIE COUNTY (44) ó Absher 15, Jamal Mayfield 9, Harris 7, Dillard 4, James Mayfield 3, Marion 2, Neely 2, Dulin 1.
NORTH ROWAN (60) ó Hargrave 13, Hipps 11, Hicks 9, Bell 7, Fortson 6, Blakeney 5, Rudisell 3, Sims 3, Gill 2.
Davie Co. 14 11 4 18 ó 44
N. Rowan 16 17 18 9 ó 60n North-Davie girls
Davie County’s girls dominated the third quarter and won 47-36 against North Rowan.
The War Eagles (3-4) trailed 7-2 after one quarter and were behind 14-10 at the half. Davie outscored the Cavaliers (1-5) by a 23-4 margin in the third quarter.
Mechel Gadson led Davie with 12 points, and Elyssa Tucker had 11. Symphony Roberts paced North with 12 points, and Quon Cuthbertson scored 11.
DAVIE COUNTY (47) ó Gadson 12, Tucker 11, Holland 8, Steed 6, Turner 4, J.Dixon 2, K.Dixon 2, Keiser 2.
NORTH ROWAN (36) ó Roberts 12, Q.Cuthbertson 11, Turner 4, Brown 4, Gregory 3, T.Cuthbertson 2.
Davie Co. 2 8 23 14 ó 47
N. Rowan 7 7 4 18 ó 36n West Rowan girls
West Rowan’s girls had a tough night on the road at Lake Norman, one of the NPC’s top teams.
West trailed 11-3 after a quarter and 30-11 at halftime and never threatened the Wildcats in a 56-23 NPC setback.
Lake Norman held high-scoring sophomore Ayana Avery to 11 points. Amber Holloway scored six for West (2-2, 0-2).
Mila Simmons, a senior guard averaging double figures for the Falcons, played little in the second half after banging knees with a Wildcat.
“We’ve just got to learn to play as a team, run our offense and get back on defense,” West coach Erich Epps said. “We had a stretch where we made six straight unforced turnovers from just not catching the ball.”
Mary Stevens scored 12 points for Lake Norman (5-2, 3-1), which lost 53-48 to league-leading Statesville.
“Lake Norman is a fundamentally sound team and every girl on the floor is a threat with the ball,” Epps said.WEST (23) ó Avery 11, Holloway 6, Cross 2, Dutton 2, Watkins 1, Calloway 1, Simmons, Moose, Parker, Gillespie, Turner, Baucom, Watson.
LAKE NORMAN (56) ó Stevens 12, Lewis 9, Riley 8, Vince 6, Howard 6, Mannion 6, Kirkland 3, Shalvey 2, Wright 2, McCollum 2.
W. Rowan 3 8 7 5 ó 23
L. Norman 11 19 14 12 ó 56