By David Shaw
dshaw@salisburypost.com
MOUNT ULLA ó West Rowan launched the get-down-to-business portion of its schedule Monday night with a little bit of payback.
The top-seeded Falcons avenged last season’s first-round loss to Statesville by smothering the Greyhounds 89-51 in an NPC tournament opener.
“They beat us last year because we didn’t come to play,” West senior K.J. Sherrill said. “That was our motivation.”
It was all West (22-2) needed to win its 13th consecutive game and advance to Wednesday’s 8 p.m. semifinal against South Rowan at West Iredell High School.
“Sometimes when you don’t have a girls game beforehand, it creates a docile atmosphere,” West Rowan coach Mike Gurley said. “We still had a good crowd, but we had to create our own energy, our own electricity.”
Sherrill provided more sparks than a downed power line.
The 6-foot-7 center was a low-post terror, contributing 20 points, 13 rebounds, four blocked shots and four steals. Freshman Keshun Sherrill, K.J.’s kid brother, added 18 points and five assists.
“I wasn’t with the team last year,” he said. “But I knew we weren’t gonna let that happen again.”
The feeling was mutual among the Falcons. They converted their first six field-goal attempts and built a 13-4 lead when Kaleb Kimber knocked down a 12-foot jump shot from the right side with 5:31 remaining in the first quarter.
“We hit our first six, and they were good shots,” Gurley said. “They weren’t prayers or lucky or anything like that.”
The lead ballooned to 25-10 on Keshun Sherrill’s foul-line jumper late in the opening period, taking most of the drama out of the final three periods.
“They came out blazing,” Statesville coach Sonny Schofield said after his team punched out with a 5-20 record. “We never could find our flow. They were very strong, and sometimes that gets in your mind. It seemed like we lost confidence early.”
West quickly padded a 16-point halftime edge with a third-quarter knockout punch. Sherrill made a free throw and a couple of jailbreak layups, K.J. Sherrill extended his right arm for an easy tip-in and B.J. Sherrill threaded a 3-pointer that made it 53-30 midway through the third stanza.
Statesville, which rotated five freshmen into its lineup, received a game-high 22 points from Tevin Corr. Teammate Salif Mott buried three 3-pointers in the first half but was blanked the rest of the way.
“That was important,” Gurley said. “There was some time during the second quarter when they put some pressure on us with their dribble-drives and offensive rebounds ó and (Mott) knocking down some 3s was really good for them. But I thought we adjusted at halftime. If he did make any baskets in the second half, it wasn’t part of their flow.”
The Hounds offered little resistance down the stretch.
“Every time they went on a little run,” Keshun Sherrill quipped, “we remembered last year. That’s all we needed to say.”
By game’s end 13 West players had cracked the scoring column, including last-man-off-the-bench Coleman Phifer ó who drilled a 3-pointer from the right side with a minute to play.
“We’re getting a lot of good play out of a lot of people,” Gurley said. “If we keep that up, maybe something good can happen.”
Even Schofield has picked up that vibe.
“They’re so deep and they play with a lot of control,” he said. “The only team that could beat them right now is Lake Norman ó and that’s a maybe.”
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NOTES: The 89-point total was West’s season high. … K.J. Sherrill suffered a stinger in his left elbow in the first quarter but missed only a minute or so of action. … West has collected a pair of victories against South Rowan (14-11) this winter, winning 83-61 and 63-46. The Falcons haven’t lost since Jan. 7, when they fell to conference co-champion Lake Norman. … The NPC boys final is set for 8 p.m. on Friday.
statesville (51) ó Corr 22, Mott 9, Edwards 7, Gill 6, Nichols 3, Feimster 2, Lackey 2.
west Rowan (89) ó K.J. Sherrill 20, Ke.Sherrill 18, B.J. Sherrill 9, K.Kimber 6, Smith 6, Crucitti 6, Noble 6, J.Kimber 4, Grant 4, Phifer 3, Moore 3, Parks 2, Huffman 2, Gore.
Statesville 13 12 7 19 ó 51
W. Rowan 25 16 20 28 ó 89