Staff report

Tuesday’s roundup ….

GRANITE QUARRY — Ahmed Ali drilled a 3-pointer, grinned and gestured cheerfully at East Rowan’s student section.

There’s nothing quite like Senior Night smiles, and Ali and several buddies constructed some life-long memories as the Mustangs pounded South Rowan 73-37 on Tuesday.

With South (1-21, 0-13) proving to be cooperative guest in the South Piedmont Conference game, East (6-15, 3-10) had no trouble bouncing back from a disappointing loss at Carson.

“I thought we played one of our best games,” East coach Andrew Porter said. “Played hard, shared the ball and played aggressive defense. We were able to speed South up and keep them from getting into a rhythm.”

It also helps to have seniors like Dylan Valley and Tee Harris. South doesn’t have anyone quite like those two. They scored 16 each despite sitting down very early.

Jonathan Wembolua worked hard on the boards and scored 13 for the Mustangs.

Aaron Jones provided most of the Raiders’ offense with two 3-pointers and 14 points. Carter Rohletter made two 3-pointers in the third quarter.

East didn’t start great and led 14-7 after a quarter.

Then Valley hit three deep 3-pointers in a row to make it 23-7. The Mustangs were able to maintain separation the rest of the night. It was 36-15 at the half.

The 6-foot-6 Harris had an impressive third quarter that included 12 points,two slams and two 3-pointers.

East led by 31 after three quarters and had the 40-point lead needed for a running clock during the final minutes.

South Rowan    7    8    10   11 — 36

East Rowan      14  22   20   17  — 73

South — Jones 14, Rohletter 6, Blackwell 6, Carey 4,  Jackson 3, Cromer 3,

East — Harris 16, Valley 16, Wembolua 13, Brooks 8, Sprinkle 6, Haynes 4, Ali 3, Hoesman 3, Everhart 2, Chesney 2.

•••

CONCORD — In a short span of time, a reasonably competitive South Piedmont Conference boys basketball game became a mind-boggling romp on Tuesday.

Central Cabarrus’ top-ranked and undefeated boys assaulted Carson with a 47-0 run that lasted from late in the second quarter to midway through the fourth quarter and beat the shell-shocked Cougars 94-44.

Jaiden Thompson, who had 24 points, 10 rebounds, seven steals and five assists, was the leading man for Central’s Vikings (23-0, 13-0).

“You get to the half down 51-36 and feeling like you’re playing pretty well — I know that sounds crazy, but we really were,” Carson coach Brian Perry said. “But then they shut us out in the third quarter. They had a big run. We got worn down some, and Central had more energy than we did in the second half. They got a lot of steals, but they also hit the offensive boards. They go after every missed shot at full speed and with a purpose.”

The Vikings had 17 offensive rebounds.

Jay McGruder got Carson out of the blocks in good shape with some tough inside buckets, mostly finishing through contact. When Jonah Drye made Carson’s first 3-pointer, the Cougars were down 15-11 about five minutes into the game.

By the end of the first quarter, the Vikings had stretched their lead out to 27-14, but then Carson (9-13, 2-11) played a whale of a second quarter.

Carson put up 22 in the second quarter, with Colin Ball making three 3-pointers and scoring 11. McGruder added two more buckets. When BJ Howard scored for the Cougars with 1:34 left in the first half, the Cougars were down 11 at 45-34.

Central scored the last four of the half for a 15-point lead at the break.

Chase Daniel made a 3-pointer for the Vikings to start the second half, and the entire third quarter was a 33-0 Central run for an 84-36 reading on the scoreboard. At 76-36, it became a running-clock game.

Central wasn’t quite done, scoring the first 10 of the fourth quarter to make it 47 unanswered points. It was 94-36.

Mike Beasley’s three-point play with the clock ticking under four minutes finally ended the Carson drought. The Cougars scored five more on a Drye 3-pointer and a McGruder layup.

Carson    14     22     0   8   — 44

Central    27    24    33  10  — 94

Carson — McGruder 15, Ball 11, Drye 9, Howard 4, Beasley 3, Guida 2.

•••

CONCORD — A highly anticipated battle for second place in the South Piedmont Conference turned into a rout as Concord crushed West Rowan 60-25 on Tuesday.

The quick-handed Spiders had more energy, took control early and never lost it.

The game was stopped late in the third quarter. West players exited Rimer Gym and head coach Dadrian Cuthbertson remained as a one-man handshake line and congratulated each of the Spiders on their victory.

Concord’s Brayden Blue scored 21 points. He made two 3-pointers in the first quarter as Concord took a 20-12 lead.

The Falcons didn’t appear to be in a disastrous situation in the first quarter, but they turned the ball over repeatedly in the second quarter for easy Concord buckets and slid behind 39-21 at the half.

A 3-point play by Blue put the Spiders (15-7, 10-3) ahead 52-22 in the third quarter.

West (14-8, 9-4) made only three field goals in the second quarter and one in the third. That was an Athan Gill dunk that made it a 57-24 game.

Braden Graham made a free throw for West’s last point.

West           12     9      4    x  — 25

Concord     20    19   21    x  — 60

West — Gill 11, Holmes 5, Graham 4, Stockton 2, Givens 2, Norman 1.