From staff reports

CHINA GROVE — A running clock kicked in with Carson’s boys basketball team leading 71-31.

The last thing anyone expected in such a big rivalry game was a running clock, but there it was. It’s been a frustrating season for Carson, but on Friday’s Senior Night, the Cougars put it all together and crushed East Rowan 75-38.

“A running clock — that’s crazy,” Carson coach Brian Perry said.

Thanks to a 79-67 victory when the teams met at a neutral site in the Christmas tournament, the Cougars took two out of three for the season. East pulled out a 63-62 decision in Granite Quarry.

Has a team ever running-clocked a team it lost to a month earlier?

Maybe, but it can’t have happened often.

Emotionally, Perry was thrilled for his seniors, but he also had to feel like kicking a chair, wondering why the Cougars (9-12, 2-10) haven’t played like that all season.

But for one night at least, everything was perfect.

“Our seniors played great and (sophomore guard) Jonah Drye was just awesome,” Perry said. “Jay McGruder and BJ Howard did a great job against (East’s 6-foot-6 post man) Tee Harris and they got help from everyone.”

Carson played a triangle-and-two defense, focused on Harris and East guard Dylan Valley. Valley still scored 24 and reached the 1,000-point milestone for his career (see story in Sunday’s edition), but the Mustangs were able to take Harris out of it. He came in averaging almost 23 per game.

“They surrounded Tee everywhere,” East coach Andrew Porter said. “They played really physical in the post with him.”

Drye and seniors Mikey Beasley and Emory Taylor made 3-pointers in the first quarter to get the Cougars rolling to a 15-6 advantage.

“Carson came out hot and never cooled off,” Porter said.

Drye went off in the second quarter, raining four 3-pointers, as Carson took a 31-16 halftime lead.

Drye scored nine more in the third quarter as the Cougars turned the game into a blowout. It was 58-28 after three quarters.

Drye finished with a career-high 27 and made seven 3-pointers. Beasley scored 14, while Howard got 13. Taylor got his nine from the 3-point line, while also chasing around Valley as he does in every East-Carson matchup.

“It was our worst game of the season,” Porter said. “We couldn’t get anything going offensively or defensively. Didn’t have any energy and we didn’t match Carson’s intensity at all.”

East Rowan    6     10     12    10  — 38

Carson          15     16     27     17   — 75

East — Valley 24, Wembolua 5, Chesney 3, Jones 2, Ailshie 2, Brooks 2.

Carson — Drye 27, Beasley 14, Howard 13, Taylor 9, Ball 5, Williams 3, Guida 2, Hales 1, McGruder 1.

 

See photo gallery from the game here https://www.salisburypost.com/2023/02/04/photo-gallery-carson-boys-too-much-for-east-valley-scores-1000th-point-for-mustangs/

•••

MOUNT ULLA –  West Rowan’s boys have won 14 of their last 16 games.

The two losses in that stretch for the Falcons have been by 95-43 and 101-57 scores to Central Cabarrus, which tells you something about how good Central Cabarrus is.

That 101-57 South Piedmont Conference romp happened on Friday on Senior Night in Mount Ulla. Central played at a tornado pace and still only made nine turnovers.

West (14-7, 9-3) got a combined 11 3-pointers and 42 points from freshman Brant Graham and junior Will Givens, but it didn’t make much difference. The Vikings shrugged, shot 52 percent from the field, racked up 19 steals and kept right on scoring.

It was a breakout effort for Graham. His previous high was the 11 he scored on Tuesday. He made six 3-pointers.

Givens scored 17 with 5-for-10 accuracy from the 3-point line.

Central (22-0, 12-0) got 21 points from Jaiden Thompson, 21 from Chase Daniel (on 10-for-14 shooting), 18 from Gavin Bullock and 15 from Carson Daniel.

Central has clinched the SPC regular-season title.

Central Cabarrus   21    36    32    12   — 101

West Rowan           15    15    18      9    — 57

West — Graham 25, Givens 17, Norman 4, Little 4, Stockton 4, Walker 2, Holmes 1.

•••

HUNTERSVILLE — South Rowan’s boys led early on Lake Norman Charter’s Senior Night, but the Knights didn’t stay down long.

Isaiah Martino scored 26 as LNC (11-10, 6-6) took a 76-40 South Piedmont Conference victory over the Raiders.

“We had a good start, but then we fell behind in the second quarter,” South coach Daniel Blevins said. “We continued to compete in the second half, but we just ran out of gas. Our three-game week really showed up in the fourth quarter.”

Aaron Jones scored 11 for South (1-20, 0-12). Jones made two 3-pointers in the first quarter as the Raiders started fast.

Carsten Carey added 10 points, his biggest offensive production of the season.

South Rowan    13   8    9    10   — 40

LN Charter       9     25   20  22   — 76

South — Jones 11, Carey 10, McGuire 5, Jackson 4, Blackwell 4, Ritchie 2, Moore 2, Keene 2.

 

 

”