By Mike London
mlondon@salisburypost.com
Neither team wanted to be there.
Carson’s boys made the most of the situation with a routine 61-45 win against South Rowan in the third-place game of the Sam Moir Christmas Classic.
Top-seeded Carson wasn’t competitive with Salisbury in a semifinal loss, but it proved again on Wednesday it could be the best 3A team in Rowan County and the NPC.
Sixth-seeded South played the entire game in a relative daze, obviously still reeling from a bitter 59-57 loss to North Rowan in the semis.
“I kind of could see it coming and I told (assistant coach Andrew) Misenheimer in warmups we didn’t have any energy,” South coach John Davis said. “Tough loss for us on Tuesday, and I could understand the emotions of our kids. It was tough for an adult to come back today so I know it was tough for teenagers.”
Darius Moose, held to eight points by Salisbury, returned to looking like one of the county’s elite players. He had 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Cougars (11-2), who are just one win away from matching the school record.
“Salisbury played great defense on me with two people and made me kick the ball all out all night,” Moose said.Moose had few troubles against South (5-8), shooting 7-for-11 from the floor.
Carson settled it with a torrid start. Moose, Brandon Ferrare, Cody Clanton and Nick Houston buried 3-pointers in the first five minutes for a 14-6 lead. After the first quarter it was 22-10, and the sizzling Cougars already had six 3-pointers in the books.
“One night after playing in front of a packed house, you’re playing in the afternoon, looking at your watch and realizing how quick the turnaround was,” Carson coach Brian Perry said. “I know both teams were disappointed, the energy was low on both sides, and that made it a real scary game. I’m just glad we shot so well early. That gave us a cushion.”
Carson cooled off after that early shooting spree and made only one 3-pointer during the final three quarters.
But the Cougars’ defense held a cold-shooting South team to 30.9-percent accuracy for the game, and the Raiders never made a serious push to get back into it.
Moose gave the Cougars a 41-30 lead with a whirling, three-point play late in the third quarter, changing hands as he banked the ball in.
“I saw them bringing the double-team so I made a spin and went up with my left hand,” Moose explained.
South crept as close as 41-34 with 7:42 left in the game on a pair of John Davis free throws, but Carson guard Devon Heggins kept breaking down South’s defense and finding open teammates for layups and free-throw opportunities. Heggins’ five assists matched South’s team total.
“We just knew we had to beat South or we’d be running laps in practice,” Heggins said. “Moose shot the ball more today, and we really needed that.”
Houston had 12 points for the Cougars, while Clanton, who had a solid tournament, contributed 11 points and six rebounds.
Davis led South with 14 points, including 6-for-9 from the foul line. Mark McDaniel scored 10 points for the Raiders, but none of the starters shot accurately.
“I asked my guys at halftime to raise their hand if they were playing their hardest,” Coach Davis said. There wasn’t a single hand.”
Neither team had anything to give emotionally.
“But we got it done,” Perry said. “We got the win.”
south ROWAN (45) ó Davis 14, McDaniel 10, B. Houston 6, Glaspy 5, Akers 4, Grant 2, Gaddy 2, Maxwell 2, Sharpe, Dessasore.
Carson (61) ó Moose 19, N. Houston 12, Clanton 11, Ferrare 8, Wagner 7, Heggins 4, Sewell.
S. Rowan 10 13 9 13 ó 45
Carson 22 11 8 20 ó 61