Staff report

GRANITE QUARRY — East Rowan’s boys basketball team left no doubt about who the eighth-best team in the South Piedmont Conference is.

The Mustangs jumped out to a 23-4 lead at home, went up by 25 points at halftime and won 66-47 against South Rowan on Tuesday night.

“We hadn’t been in the position of having a big lead all season,’ East head coach Trey Ledbetter said. “It’s a great win. The game never felt close even when South made a few shots and made a dent in our lead. We missed a lot of layups and free throws and that helped them hang around.”

East (2-18, 2-11) ended an eight-game losing streak by earning its first victory since it played South in early January. East won 60-53 at South in the first meeting, shortly after South installed Justin Pauley as interim head coach.

Jaden Reid had the game of his life to lead the Mustangs. He had 18 points and 16 rebounds.

“He had a lot of grown-man rebounds,” Ledbetter said. “He was a force. It was a physical game and we responded appropriately.”

East’s planned rotation was disrupted by an injury to Logan Bradley in the second quarter and early foul trouble for Brady Ailshie, but freshmen Jaden Eudy and Jaxon Lyons came in and played well.

South has a senior-heavy team, but the future is pretty bright for the Mustangs, who have a lot of freshmen and sophomore playing major minutes.

Brody Thomas, East’s leading scored for the season, got eight in the first quarter as East started fast.

“Brody was getting downhill and finishing all night,” Ledbetter.

Ailshie made two 3-pointers in the second quarter, as East took a 40-15 lead to the break.

South (1-20, 0-14) played much better in the second half. Jadon Moore scored all 13 of his points after halftime, but the hole was much too deep to climb out of. Carter Rohletter scored 10.

Thomas scored 19, while Ailshie scored 14. Reid came in averaging about 4 points per game, so his 18 was a huge lift.

The 66 points marked a season high for the Mustangs. East’s previous best offense was in a 68-65 to West Rowan in the Christmas Tournament.

Only the top eight teams in the SPC make the conference tournament, so South’s season will be over at the end of the regular season. East will finish eighth. That’s going to mean a first-round game at Robinson that is unlikely to have a favorable result, but that’s preferable to not being in the event.

South Rowan    4    11   17   15   — 47

East Rowan      23  17    9   17   —  66

South — Moore 13, Rohletter 10, Goodman 7, Littelejohn 5, Collins 5, King 4, Long 2, Overcash 1.

East   —  Thomas 19, Reid 18, Ailshie 14, Eudy 6, Lino 3, Bradley 3, Raiti 2, Klingler 1.