By David Shaw
dshaw@salisburypost.com
SPENCER — So far, North Rowan’s postseason bears a strong resemblance to its regular season.
The Cavaliers barely altered the blueprint Monday night when they opened the 1A state playoffs with a 4-on-the-floor, 89-34 win over visiting West Montgomery.
“I hope so,” junior Malik Ford said when asked if the defending state champs expect to face tougher opponents in the upcoming rounds.“We’re not really showing how good we can be.”
Ford was at his late-season best as North (24-3) earned its sixth straight victory and a berth in Wednesday’s second round against Lake Norman Charter, a winner over YVC foe Albemarle. He finished with 14 points and eight rebounds, but 12 of his points came in an explosive first quarter.
“For Malik, that’s great,” said second-year North Rowan coach Andrew Mitchell. “The last several weeks he’s been floating around and not really into it much. But the last few days he’s been a leader again. He’s been putting people in the right position on defense and offense.”
Including himself. He scored five of North’s first nine points on dribble drives and layups. Later, he elevated for a tip-in, giving the Cavs a 20-point lead. And when he added a three-point play that made it 30-5, West (9-13) was cooked after a little more than six minutes in North’s oven.
“They pressed the whole first quarter,” losing coach Kevin King said after North forced 31 turnovers, 11 of them in the first period. “We shouldn’t have thrown the ball away like that. It’s really not surprising. We’ve seen this before.”
Ford’s final basket came on another stickback that provided a 46-14 halftime lead. Teammate Pierre Givens offered some you-are-there insight after the blowout.
“We came out with intensity and had our heads screwed on right,” Givens said after contributing seven assists. “We knew we needed to take a really good first step tonight. Down the road we’re going to face much better teams, but this was a good start.”
North’s second and third stringers ensured a spectacular finish. Kasaun Coney knocked down a 3-pointer from the left corner to open the fourth quarter. And then slender, 6-foot-8 junior Devin Tate introduced himself with a career-best 13 points and six rebounds — all in the first 6:55 of the final period.
“He’s going to be a really good player,” Mitchell said. “We finally got his footwork where we like it. Now we’ve just got to get him stronger pushing on those weights. When he does he’s going to do a great job for us.”
For now he’s another weapon in North’s arsenal.
“I just wanted to stay focused, attack the rim and play with confidence,” said Tate, one of 12 Cavs to score. “It shows we’ve got some depth, some bench strength.”
King offered North a postgame endorsement.
“This was their day,” he said. “If they keep playing like this, I see them repeating at champions.”
WEST MONTGOMERY (34) — Capel 8, Drake 5, McDonald 5, Bowden 5, Marshall 3, Morse 3, Little 3, Simms 2.
NORTH ROWAN (89) — West 15, Ford 14, Tate 13, Connor 9, Watlington 9, Givens 8, Coney 8, Chambers 4, Bowman 3, Barber 2, Ellis 2, Kelly 2, Holshouser, Lemmon, Bost.
W. Mont. 5 9 10 10 — 34
N. Rowan 31 15 20 23 — 89