By David Shaw
dshaw@salisburypost.com
CHINA GROVE ó Darius Moose didn’t set out to make history, but it found him anyway Friday night.
Carson’s low-post banger with the sweet shooting touch joined the Loyal Order of 1,000-Point Scorers in an 81-45 NPC rout of visiting North Iredell.
“I love to score. I don’t know why,” said Moose, the fourth Rowan County player ó and the only junior ó to reach the century mark this season. “Mostly I just wanted to get it over with so we could focus on getting the win. That was the main thing.”
Moose became Carson’s first 1,000-point scorer and he did it with a signature performance. The 6-foot-3 slasher had 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Cougars (7-9, 3-7) kicked off the second half of their league season with a high-octane effort.
“He’s been really special for us,” gushed CHS coach Brian Perry. “We’ve gone through some tough times here at Carson and he stuck with us the whole time, fighting and trying to make us better. It’s really special to see a good kid like that reach an accomplishment like this.”
Moose entered play with 984 career points and quickly established himself as Carson’s go-to guy. Despite a pair of early fouls he maneuvered for four layups in the opening 4:38, lifting the Cougars to a 17-2 lead.
“We helped him out a lot,” teammate Brandon Ferrare said after contributing six assists. “We all wanted him to get his 1,000 and were looking for him every chance we got. The guy’s been playing basketball his whole life. He’s got it in him.”
Moose added another basket in the second quarter as the Carson Crazies ó a student cheering section that kept a running count of his total ó offered encourgement.
“Every time I ran by they were telling me what I needed,” Moose said, cradling the historic ball afterward. “They were yelling, ‘Moose, you need this,’ or ‘Moose, you need that.’ It felt great.”
North Iredell (2-11, 1-9 NPC) got to read the Moose Code with 3:03 remaining in the third period. That’s when he took a pass from moptop Nick Houston on the left side of the lane, faked a defender and drove for a history-making over-and-under layup.
“I told him before the game I’d be looking for him ó ‘so get open,'” said Houston, a sophomore who netted a game-high 23 points and added four assists.
Moose, who finished the night with 1,004 career points, said he watched the video Michael Jordan To The Max earlier in the day.
“I guess it helped,” he said with a boyish smile.
It capped a game in which Carson could do little wrong. Houston hit five of the team’s eight 3-pointers, including back-to-back treys that put the hosts ahead 23-3 in the first quarter.
Afterward, Perry wore a grin that wouldn’t quit. He felt Carson had played a complete game, the Cougars’ best of the season.
“I was telling the guys, that was the best team basketball game we’ve played in the whole three years we’ve been here,” he said. “We made the extra pass time and time again and we played good defense.”
But when they rolled the final credits, only one name had earned top billing ó Moose’s.
“I’m proud of him,” Perry said. “What he did tonight was a great thing.”
north iredell (45) ó Sloan 11, K.Sharpe 9, Jordan 7, Smith 4, Haynes 4, Ward 3, Stuckey 2, R.Sharpe 2, Mitchell 2, Pharr 1.carson (81) ó Houston 23, Moose 20, Doby 9, Ferrare 6, Clanton 6, Sewell 4. Begic 4, Jones 4, Holloway 3, Britt 2, Barringer, Harden, Walser, Ramic.
N. Iredell 6 18 11 10 ó 45
Carson 25 20 13 23 ó 81