The big news in Tuesday’s early Sam Moir Christmas Classic games was South Rowan senior guard Avery Locklear breaking the school scoring record. Jill Cress’ record of 1,529 points had stood since 1997.

A four-year starter, Locklear needed 21 entering the game. She scored four in the opening seconds and had 19 by halftime. She finished with 30 points as No. 3 South Rowan easily won 68-48 against No. 5 Carson.

“The game where I was getting close to 1,000 points I got really nervous, so I was determined not to even think about the record today,” Locklear said. “I knew it might happen, but I just focused on beating Carson.”

Locklear broke the record with a driving layup early in the third quarter. Her achievement was acknowledged by tournament officials at Catawba’s Goodman Gym, and she received an ovation from fans.

“I heard them blow a whistle after I made that layup, but I thought someone had called timeout,” Locklear said. “I didn’t realize that was the record until everyone started cheering.”

South Rowan coach Jarrod Smith was excited about the record and his team.

“Avery earned it, she deserved it, and her team helped her,” Smith said. “She’s been hot in this tournament, and her teammates were looking for her.”

South Rowan (8-4 ) won a tight one with Carson (6-7) in an earlier meeting, but the Raiders settled this one with a 15-0 run late in the first quarter that gave them a 21-9 lead.

South Rowan forced 26 turnovers and had 23 offensive rebounds.

“The first half was the best defense we’ve played this year, and that set the tone,” Smith said. “This was our best game of the season as far as sharing the ball and crashing the boards.”

Locklear shot 12-for-15 on free throws and had 11 rebounds. Cassidy Chipman had 15 points and eight rebounds. Sylvetta Bost had 12 points and six steals.

For Carson, Alex Allen had 15 points and 11 rebounds and had three straight double-doubles in the tournament. Freshman Olivia Gabriel scored 16 points.

 

CARSON (48): Gabriel 16, Allen 15, Huffman 7, Roberson 5, Wiggins 3, Shumaker 2, Turney, Furr, Ketchie, Jackson, McClary, Taylor.

SOUTH ROWAN (68): Locklear 30, Chipman 15, Bost 12, Martin 3, Bunn 2, McClendon 2, Figueroa 2, Williams 2, Hubbard,  Neal, Waters, Smith, Chabala.

Carson                              9     11     14     14 — 48

South Rowan                  21     17     11    19 —  68

 

Mooresville vs. Salisbury boys

Third-seeded Mooresville shot 58.6 percent in the second half and pulled away from top-seeded Salisbury for a 70-48 victory.

It was tied 26-all late in the first half, but Mooresville had a 9-0 run before halftime and kept rolling.

Mooresville beat the Hornets 42-27 on the glass and had a 19-8 edge in offensive rebounds.

Sophomore Jay Davis had an impressive performance for the Blue Devils (7-4) with 18 points and 13 rebounds. T.J. Daniels scored 13, and former Hornet Corban Usry added 11.

Deshawn Troutman scored 16 for the Hornets. Wes Fazia had 14.

Salisbury (9-4) had 19 turnovers and shot 39 percent.

 

MOORESVILLE (70): Davis 18, Daniels 13, Usry 11, Beatty 8, Vanderburg 7, Dukes 6, Holbrook 4, Ingram 2, Donaldson 1,  Hull,, Greenwell, Lee .

SALISBURY (48): Troutman 16, Fazia 14, Oats 6, Williams 6, Alexander 4, Milsaps 2, Rayner, Crosby, J. Yang, A. Yang, Leckonby, McNeely.

Mooresville                13     22     20     15 — 70

Salisbury                   11      15      15     7 —  48

 

North Rowan vs. Carson boys

No. 2 seed North Rowan shot 50 percent and rolled to a 65-45 win against No. 4 seed Carson.

The Cavaliers (7-4) got 21 points from Josh Handy, 16 from Jalen Sanders and 14 from Alexis Archie and ended a three-game losing streak.

Freshman Jamarius Hairston paced the Cougars with 12 points and nine rebounds, but Carson (5-8) shot just 30.6 percent. The Cougars have lost five in a row.

 

CARSON (45): Hairston 12, Rucker 6, Westbrook 5, McCain 5, Isom 4, Hogue 3, Linker 3, Collins 2, Whicker 2, Prugh 2, Williams 1, Moss, Bearden, Herron.

NORTH ROWAN (65): Handy 21, Sanders 16, Archie 14, Scott 7, Chambers 2, Jefferies 2, DeBose 2. Shields 1, Alexander, Stoner, Hillie, Sirleaf.

Carson                          7      14   14      10 — 45

North Rowan             11     24    12    18 — 65

 

West Rowan vs. Salisbury girls

Seventh-seeded West Rowan held eighth-seeded Salisbury to 10 points in the first half and breezed to a 54-38 victory.

Khaila Hall scored 17 for the Falcons (5-8), while Taylor Martin had 10 points and five steals.

Tyzarea Alexander scored 13 for the Hornets (2-11).  Breya Philpot pulled down 14 rebounds, and Bryanna Caldwell had 11.

SALISBURY (38): Alexander 13, Philpot 9, Capito 6, Caldwell 4, Houston 3, Hightower 2, K. Jones 1, Hillie, Phifer, Riche, Wolfe.

WEST ROWAN (54): Hall 17, Martin 10, Lovell 6, Charles 5, Linder 4, Yow 4, Miller 3, Greene 3, Goddard 2, Vaughers, T. Jones, Spratt, Cowan.

Salisbury             6     4     8     20- 38

West Rowan    10   11   16      17 – 54