By Mike London

mike.london@salisburypost.com

GRANITE QUARRY — Ugliness, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.
East Rowan boys basketball coach Kurt Misenheimer had never beheld anything quite so unsightly as the Mustangs 55-44 SPC loss to visiting Carson on Tuesday.
“That was a terrible game, really ugly,” Misenheimer said. “And we were the uglier team.”
The Mustangs missed 15 free throws, shooting 21-for-36 from the foul line, and some were one-and-one opportunities.
There was a point in the third quarter where Carson had 10 team fouls, while the Mustangs had two. That was a big factor in East (1-3, 0-2 SPC) eventually fighting back to make a game of it after Carson (2-1, 1-1 SPC) appeared to be in control.
“East got into the double-bonus so early that I knew it was going to get tight,” Carson coach Brian Perry said. “We made a ton of young mistakes, committed some fouls 84 feet from the hoop. We know we’ve got to play smarter, but I can’t complain much. It’s a conference win and it’s a road win, and those are hard to get.”
Carson’s 26-18 halftime lead was forged mostly by the right arm of guard Malon Herron-Cuthbertson. He was the only one making shots. He had 10 points at halftime.
East’s explosive forward Naquis Caldwell, the team’s leading rebounder, went down with an injury early, and that was a devastating blow to the Mustangs’ chances.
“Losing him hurt us tremendously,” East guard Austin Love said. “But at the same time, (freshman) Brevin Goodlett stepped up in his place. We could’t have asked for any more from Brevin. He helped us make a run at them.”
East made only two field goals in the third quarter and trailed 39-27 entering the fourth.
“We’re just taking too many low-percentage shots, a lot of contested two-point jump shots,” Misenheimer said. “That shot’s just not working for us.”
Carson took a 43-33 lead with 5:36 left to play when Jamarius Hairston made a tough move inside, but then East made a charge. Veteran Bravon Goodlett, Brevin’s big brother, led it. He was attacking and getting to the foul line, and Carson’s lead was whittled to 43-40 with 1:56 remaining.
With 1:36 left, Carson sophomore Jailen Williams made the game’s biggest hoop — a drive down the lane with a lefty finish.
“Just a huge play by a young guy,” Perry said. “A lot was going against us when he made that shot. East had momentum.”
Jailen has good genes. He’s the younger brother of Tre Williams, one of the best guards in Carson history.
“We just wanted to get a really good shot on that possession because East was making a good run,” Williams said. “I looked at the basket, I saw an open lane, and I was able to make the layup.”
Then Williams finished off the Mustangs with clutch free throws.
“Carson won because they were tougher than us,” Misenheimer said. “They got the extra rebounds and they got the loose balls.”

Carson 55, East Rowan 44

CARSON (55) — Hairston 13, Williams 11, Herron-Cuthbertson 10, White 6, Westbrook 5, Hogue 4, Banks 2, Prugh 2, Perry, Whicker.
EAST ROWAN (44) — Bravon Goodlett 15, Love 9, Brevin Goodlett 7, Dowling 5, Caldwell 4, Shuping 4, Morton, Sprinkle, Taylor, Elliott.

Carson 13 13 11 18 — 55
East Rowan 11 7 9 17 — 44