By Mike London
mlondon@salisburypost.com
MOORESVILLE ó Freshman Keshun Sherrill’s running 23-footer danced off the front of the rim at the buzzer, and unbeaten Lake Norman established itself as the team to beat in the NPC with a 71-68 victory over visiting West Rowan.
“We played good ó but not very good,” said West coach Mike Gurley after the Falcons suffered their first league loss.
A few more stops and a few more minutes out of foul-plagued stud K.J. Sherrill may have gotten it done for West, although third-ranked Lake Norman (13-0, 8-0) lived up to the hype with a solid performance that included 52.9-percent field-goal shooting.
B.J. Sherrill’s career-best 16 points gave West (9-2, 5-1) a chance.
“I just came out feeling good tonight and I let it come to me better than I have been,” he said.
West also got a career-high 13 points from senior slasher Jason Grant and another 13 from silky freshman Jordan Kimber.
Lake Norman experienced a bumpy ride to the finish line, missing five late free throws, but that flaw was understandable. The Wildcats hadn’t been in a tight game.
“We’ll learn from this,” coach Brandon Jolly said. “Every game so far we’d won by double figures.”
Point guard Kevin Canevari, a 5-foot-11 pest, controlled the pace for the Wildcats. Lake Norman also got a huge offensive night from Reggie Price (23 points) and the usual solid effort from Paul Larsen, who contributed 15 points and 14 boards.
“West came out strong, they were really ready, and they’re an athletic team,” Canevari said. “But we got K.J. in foul trouble. That was key.”
West’s big man was saddled with two fouls with 4:44 left in the first quarter. The rest of the half Gurley slipped him in for an occasional offensive possession, but he wasn’t a factor the first 16 minutes.
“It seems like that’s been a common thing,” Gurley said. “Obviously, we’d love to have the big fella in the game. What happens to us when he’s out is guys kinda lose their roles. Not that anyone is being selfish, but they’re saying, ‘I gotta help,’ and they try to do too much.”
With Chris Smith working the boards hard, West built a 22-16 lead in the second quarter, but the athletic, Mohawk-maned Price jumped off the bench and took over the last five minutes of the half. He drilled five shots, including a 3 that beat the horn and gave LN a 34-28 lead at halftime.
Reggie has been an offensive and defensive spark off the bench,” Jolly said. “He hit some big-time shots.”
K.J. Sherrill’s third foul came barely a minute into the second half, but the Falcons were fine until Canevari was the catalyst for a disastrous 30 seconds that pushed Lake Norman’s lead from three points to 52-42. Price made a jumper, and then two steals by Canevari created a layup for himself and a three-point play by Larsen, who had nine points in the third quarter.
That burst forced West into a scramble-and-gamble defense. The Falcons created a few turnovers, but Lake Norman also got some layups.
“Their first pass out of our trap was a survival pass,” Gurley analyzed. “But on their second pass they usually made a great play.”
West, which played overtime on Tuesday, drew energy from a monster dunk by Kaleb Kimber and pushed hard late. K.J. Sherrill was whistled for his fourth foul with 4:59 remaining, but he had six boards and four blocks down the stretch.
Two fourth-quarter 3s by B.J. Sherrill helped West fight within two points, and the Falcons twice missed three throws that would have made it a one-point game.
After Price hit a free throw for a 70-67 lead with 16 seconds left, Kaleb Kimber had a decent look at a 3 from the right wing to tie with eight seconds left, but he was long. K.J. Sherrill was fouled fighting for the rebound and made one free throw to make it 70-68.Dorian Albritton split two free throws for Lake Norman with 4.3 seconds left. That gave Keshun Sherrill a desperate chance to force OT, but his shot was inches short.
“They’re a strong team,” Kaleb Kimber said. “The key to beating them is for us get better on defense and on our communication.”
west rowan (68) ó B.J. Sherrill 16, J. Kimber 13, Grant 13, K. Kimber 9, K.J. Sherrill 9, K. Sherrill 4, Moore 2, C. Smith 2, Crucitti, Huffman,Gorelake norman (71) ó Price 23, Larsen 15, Denyes 12, Canevari 9, Eller 4, Mercer 4, H. Smith 3, Albritton 1, Whalen.
W. Rowan 14 14 18 22 ó 68
L. Norman 14 20 20 17 ó 71