From staff reports

Friday games …

CHINA GROVE – Carson had a clear path to the 3A state playoffs, simply by finishing in the top three in the South Piedmont Conference for an automatic berth, but things got muddier with an almost unbelievable 73-72 overtime loss to Concord.

Down 18, Concord was beaten, but someone forgot to tell the Spiders. They came back, forced overtime and won in OT.

The rally gave Concord (15-7, 9-5) a sweep of the Cougars. That could lead to complications for Carson (14-8, 9-5). On paper, the teams are tied for fourth in the standings, but Concord obviously owns the head-to-head advantage if they stay tied. Carson is 22nd in the 3A West RPI rankings. That looks pretty comfortable with a 32-team bracket, but Concord is 30th and is perched a lot closer to the bubble. With the NCHSAA’s leap frog rule, if Concord finishes ahead of Carson in the SPC standings, Carson can’t make the playoffs ahead of Concord, regardless of RPI.

But it’s all hypotheticals for now. Both teams have two SPC games left. That will determine a lot. There’s not much doubt Carson will beat South Rowan, but the Cougars’ season-ender at Northwest Cabarrus could go either way. Concord has two challenging games left, as the Spiders will play Northwest Cabarrus and Central Cabarrus. They could win both, they could split, or they could lose both. There’s also the conference tournament that will be hosted by Concord. Winning that event is a golden ticket to the playoffs. Robinson will be the team to beat, but Concord and Carson are certainly capable of winning the event.

Jonah Drye had a remarkable game for the Cougars in a losing cause. The senior scored a career-high 30, making seven 3-pointers and going 9-for-9 at the foul line. He scored 22 in the second half.

Carson now has four players who have produced a 30-point game this season.

Concord was ice-cold early. Carson led 13-4 after a quarter. The Spiders were down 25-15 at the half.

When Drye went crazy in the third quarter — he drilled five straight 3-pointers — and Maverick Walters made two 3s, it appeared to be all over, but Concord outscored Carson 28-10 in the fourth quarter to force overtime.

Jayden Beyan scored 18 of his 29 for Concord in the fourth quarter. Ty Rushmeyer scored 16.

Jacob Mills scored 22 for the Cougars. He made two 3-pointers and was 6-for-6 on free throws.

Concord     4    11     20    28   10   — 73

Carson        13   12   28    19      9    — 72

CARSON scoring — Drye 30, Mills 22, Neve 8, Walters 6, Perry 5, Martin 1.

•••

CONCORD — Central Cabarrus stopped West Rowan’s modest two-game winning streak with a 72-55 South Piedmont Conference win.

It was a more competitive game than it sounds. West was down 46-42 early in the third quarter when what appeared to be a three-point play by Evan Kennedy was erased from the books. Kennedy was bumped as he put up a shot in the lane, but officials ruled the foul came prior to the shot. Kennedy stood at the foul line in disbelief, as the Falcons were instructed to take the ball out of bounds.

That was the biggest call of the night, as Central Cabarus started to get separation from the Falcons right after that.

West didn’t get the benefit of many whistles even with Kennedy, Ja’mih Tucker and Josiah Young attacking the rim frequently and with gusto. West got three points all night at the foul line. One of those came when Jaylen Neely went to the stripe with 10 seconds left to play.

Kennedy made five 3-pointers and scored 17. Jalen Moten made four 3s and scored 14. Young accounted for 13 points, blocked a half-dozen shots and pulled down a bushel of rebounds. On a normal shooting night for Brant Graham, it may have been a dogfight all the way, but Graham made only one 3-pointer.

Central’s Kevonta Martin scored 29 points, mostly on the offensive board and in transition. West couldn’t handle his combination of size and speed. Central’s burly post man Infinite Morrow got 13 points, primarily second-chance points. Kameron Cook made two 3-pointers and scored 11.

West (7-14, 5-10) played hard at the outset, got two early 3-pointers from Jalen Moten and trailed 18-16 after a quarter.

Central (12-10, 10-4) worked for a nine-point lead in the second quarter, but Moten made another 3 right before the half to cut the Vikings’ lead to 33-27 at the break.

When Moten connected on his fourth 3-pointer to open the second half and Young battled for a couple of tough hoops, West was down 36-34 two minutes into the second half.

Central got up 46-39, but Kennedy made a 3-pointer for 46-42, Moments later, Kennedy pulled up in the lane for that apparent three-point play that was waved off. Central scored the next four to go up by eight and had a 55-46 edge by the end of the third quarter.

West ran out of energy and hope in the fourth quarter. Martin got nine in the quarter as the Vikings pulled away.

“Fatigue was a factor,” West head coach Dadrian Cuthbertson said. “Sixth game in 11 days for us.”

West Rowan               16    11    19    9   — 55

Cemtral Cabarrus     18    15   22    17 — 72

West — Kennedy 17, Moten 14, Young 13, Tucker 4, Graham 3, Blackwell 2, Neely 1, Ford 1.

Central — Martin 29, Infinite Morrow 13, Cook 11, Smith 7, Ish Morrow 5, Montague 3, Lowry 2,  Eziebo 2.

•••

GRANITE QUARRY — East Rowan took another loss in South Piedmont Conference play, but almost every Mustang game at least offers hope for better nights in the future.

Freshman Jaxon Lyons was a bright spot in East’s latest loss. He scored a season-best 10 points in a 70-42 home setback against Lake Norman Charter.

Sophomore Brody Thomas has been East’s leading scorer just about all season. He had 12 points.

Lake Norman Charter (7-12, 6-9) moved past West Rowan into sixth place in the SPC standings. The Knights got 17 points each from Major Leak and Braden Wilkie.

East (2-19, 2-12) did not have a good shooting night. The Mustangs were 12-for-25 at the foul line and did not make a 3-pointer.

The Knights made three 3-pointers and were close to automatic at the foul line.

LN Charter     17   13   17    23   — 70

East Rowan    9    11     9     13    — 42

EAST scoring — Thomas 12, Lyons 10, Ailshie 7, Reid 4, Rait 4, Shive 4, Klingler 1.

•••

CONCORD — South Piedmont Conference champ Robinson (19-3, 13-1) won 68-66 in overtime at Northwest Cabarrus.

It was ragged until the fourth quarter when both teams started playing like the league’s top teams.

Landon Rowe made a 3-pointer for the Trojans (13-8, 10-4) with one second left in regulation to force overtime.

Northwest’s Anderson Lee made a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left in overtime for a 66-all tie, but Northwest had been in comeback mode and at least one Trojan didn’t realize his team had tied the game. Robinson’s Jamell Reid was grabbed at midcourt with seven seconds left and made two decisive free throws.

Northwest nearly tied it again at the buzzer, but a layup was ruled to have come after time expired.