By Sean Rinehart
sports@salisburypost.com
GRANITE QUARRY — The holiday season was in full swing tonight at the East Rowan gymnasium as the Mustangs rolled to a 52-30 win over the visiting North Iredell Raiders.
East Rowan’s student section came ready to help coach Trey Ledbetter get his Christmas wish, which was to continue the phenomenal streak his team has been on lately. They came dressed in Santa Claus outfits, Christmas presents, and tacky sweaters in order to support their home team.
“This was a big win for us coming off another big win over West Rowan,” said head coach Trey Ledbetter. “Our defense was outstanding all night long.”
Not only was East’s defense immaculate, but so was their shooting. The Mustangs shot 57 percent from the field and made big shots when they needed to. East was led by senior guard Hakeem Gittens, who accumulated 12 points on 8 shots. Maybe more impressive than his 12 points were the tenacious 12 rebounds he pulled down this evening.
“Hakeem rebounded incredibly well tonight,” said Ledbetter.
Gittens was crashing the boards all night long, trying to give his team the fuel down the stretch to close out the Raiders. “I felt we really kept our intensity help the whole game,” said Gittens.
“From the beginning of the game, we knew exactly what we had to do.” The Mustangs’ bench provided a spark near the end of the second half in the play of sophomore guard Dante Means. “Dante came in and played how I knew Dante could play,” said Ledbetter. “He really provided a spark.”
There was no questioning his confidence as soon as he stepped on the court, as he hit two quick 3-pointers to give his team a huge energy boost.
“I wanted to help the team,” said a beaming Means. “We did whatever we could to win.”
The Raiders never could get in a groove throughout the entire contest. They struggled all night in every phase of the game.
“We never got into a rhythm, and that caused us to lose confidence,” said head coach Tony Davenport.
Leading the Raiders was Chase Colvin, who managed 11 points on 2 of 6 shooting. As a team, the Raiders struggled from the field, going 10 of 42 for a rough 24 percent.
“They play really hard and are very patient,” said Davenport. “They rebound very well and seem to play under control.”
The Mustangs are currently on a 6 game winning streak and are 4-0 in the conference.
“As a team, we played outstanding tonight,” said Ledbetter.
NORTH IREDELL (30) — Colvin 11, St. John 6, Laws 4, Jordan 3, Mullins 2, Hunt 2, Nolen 2, Ely, Brown, Webley.
E. ROWAN (52) — Gittens 12, Hough 11, Shepherd 9, Means 6, Gobble 5, Edwards 4, Rogers 3, B. Nelson 2, Honeycutt, Holmes, L’Hommedieu, Bradshaw, D. Nelson.
N. Iredell 8 9 2 11 — 30
E. Rowan 15 20 8 9 — 52