Staff report
North Rowan’s boys claimed sole possession of first place in the YVC with a 67-62 road win over West Montgomery.
Javon Hargrave had 18 points and 17 rebounds for the Cavaliers (6-1, 4-0). North and the Warriors (3-3, 3-1) entered the game tied atop the league standings.
“Down the stretch we held onto the ball,” North coach Kelly Everhart said. “Their press gave us trouble early, but in the second half I thought we did a pretty good job of handling it.”
Sam Starks scored 17 points, Daniel Chambers contributed 15 and Greg Sims added 10.
North trailed 32-27 at halftime, fell behind by 10 points in the third quarter and was down 49-46 entering the fourth.
Starks hit a crucial 3-pointer in each of the last two quarters for the Cavs, who went ahead for good with about three minutes remaining one night after pulling out a tough win against West Rowan. Hargrave’s work on the glass also played a key role.
“We struggled early on and acted like we didn’t have any legs about us,” Everhart said. “We had a slew of unforced turnovers in the first half. We got down by 10 in the third, battled right back, and it was nip-and-tuck until the last two minutes.”
NORTH ROWAN (67) ó Hargrave 18, Starks 17, Chambers 15, Sims 10, West 6, Givens 2, Bush 2, Ford, Smyre, Barker, Witherspoon.
WEST MONTGOMERY (62) ó M.Robinson 19, Baldwin 19, Moore 13, Pratt 4, Sturdivant 3, Parter 2, Britt 2, Harkins, Pegues.
North Rowan 11 16 19 21 ó 67
W. Montgomery 11 21 17 13 ó 62