By Bret Strelow
bstrelow@salisburypost.com
OLIN ó Dakota Walker covered his mouth with his right hand.
Steven Johnson and Blake Houston hugged as they rose from the bench. South Rowan coach John Davis smiled and pointed approvingly at B.J. Grant.
South struggled in many stretches of its 61-51 win at North Iredell on Tuesday night, but excitement over Grant’s rim-rattling dunk caused a late lapse in concentration.
Grant sprinted down the left sideline to catch a home-run pass from Reid Shaver, dribbled in from the wing and threw home a one-handed jam over 6-foot-4 Thomas Stuckey with three minutes left.
Describing the scene made Grant smile.
“The stands going crazy,” he said. “Coach Davis jumping and laughing.”
Grant had an all-around impact for fourth-place South (10-9, 7-6 NPC). He made two of his six blocks and hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in a 10-3 run to close the third quarter, which ended with North Iredell (2-14, 1-12) trailing 49-38.
Hunter Morrison, who also drilled a 3-pointer during the decisive run, led South with 14 points. Shaver scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
South went into the break with momentum and took control in the third quarter.
Junior guard John Davis, the coach’s son, tied the game at 23-all with a baseline jumper as the first half ended. South didn’t have much post presence in the first two periods, and Walker started the second half. He scored seven of the Raiders’ next nine points and teamed with Grant as part of a formidable duo.
“We had to get something going inside,” coach John Davis said. “B.J. likes the free-throw line area and will wander out to the 3-point line. Dakota loves underneath the block, and that’s what we needed at that time.
“We needed somebody underneath that knows how to position his body and make himself available to get those easy ones inside.”SOUTH ROWAN (61) ó Morrison 14, Shaver 12, Grant 9, Walker 9, Johnson 8, Davis 8, Corriher 1, Honeycutt, Dessasore.NORTH IREDELL (51) ó K.Sharpe 12, Jordan 11, S.Sharpe 10, Ward 8, Sloan 4, Stuckey 4, Pierce 2, Pharr, Smith, Haynes.
S. Rowan 11 12 26 12 ó 61
N. Iredell 11 12 15 13 ó 51