Staff reports

West Rowan’s boys earned their 18th win on Tuesday, taking an 85-74 victory at Waynesville Tuscola in a No. 8 vs. No. 9 matchup in the first round of the 3A state playoffs.

The Falcons will travel to familiar SPC foe Cox Mill on Thursday night in the second round.

Paris Hillie scored a season-high 23 points for the Falcons. Caleb Mauldin added 19 points. West (18-9) got nine each from Jayson Delgado and Austin  Love and eight teach from Darius Kure and Kortez Weeks.

Armoni Hogue scored six for West, and Martavio Rankin added three.

Delgado, who hadn’t scored a point in a while, was huge in the first half, making three 3-pointers. West started fast behind Delgado and Hillie and led 36-31 at halftime. Tuscola charged in the third quarter, but Hillie answered with a big fourth quarter.

Tuscola (19-6) got 20 points from Anthony Westhusing and 12 each from Lane Kervin and Max Rogers.

WEST ROWAN (85) — Hillie 23, Mauldin 19, Love 9, Delgado 9, Weeks 8, Kure 8, Hogue 6, Rankin 3, Robinson.

TUSCOLA (74) — Westhusing 20, Rogers 12, Kervin 12, Henley 11, Perkins 8, Wilson 5, Sutton 2, McFalls 2, Swanger 2.

W. Rowan   24  13  21  27  — 85

Tuscola        13  18  23  20 — 74

 

Carson boys

“Just too much stuff to overcome,” Carson coach Brian Perry summed up.

Carson’s boys lost at South Point, 74-71, on Tuesday  in the first round of the 3A state playoffs. It was a miracle that the Cougars actually had two desperate shots in the final seconds, trying to tie.

Carson’s leading scorer Jamarius Hairston barely played.  Hairston was hit with two quick personals and sat. He picked up his third foul shortly after reporting to the scorer’s table for the second quarter.

When the Cougars (14-11) came out of the locker room for the second half, Perry was stunned to learn that the home book had four fouls on Hairston.

So Hairston sat some more. With South Point threatening to pull away late in the third quarter, Hairston had to go in. He scored 15 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter.

Carson senior Brandon Westbrook fouled out with four fouls. The South Point book had him with five, and the home book is what counts.

“Just some scorebook mixups, but it was all pretty insane,” Perry said. “It was a lot to deal with.”

Carson was short-handed playing without Cameron Prugh, absent  missing due to the death of his grandfather.

Cole Perry scored a career-high 18 points. Owen White scored 15, and Jailen Williams had 14.

“We fought to the end, and that’s all about we could ask for,” Perry said.

Blake Zieske scored 19 for South Point (16-10), including his 1,000th career point.

CARSON (71)

Perry 18, Hairston 18, White 15, Williams 14, Westbrook 6, Hales, Daniels, Sifford.

SOUTH POINT (74)

Zieske 19, Nueman 16, Muse 15, Baker 12, Cason 5, Johal 5, Hale 2.

Carson             16      9  20  26  — 71

South Point      17     14  22  21 — 74

 

Salisbury boys

Salisbury’s  boys rallied  in the fourth quarter for a  64-57 victory at North Wilkes on Tuesday in the opening round of the 2A state playoffs.

Senior Tre Oats led Salisbury with 26 points, including nine in the fourth quarter. Two free throws by Oats gave the Hornets (15-7) a 53-52 lead after a long night of playing catch-up.

Salisbury, a No. 21 seed, made more free throws (16) than the Vikings attempted (15).

Jordan Wallis paced the 11th-seeded Vikings (19-8) with 26 points.

The Hornets play at Forest Hills on Thursday.

North Rowan boys

North Rowan’s boys ended the season with a 77-61 loss at Lake Norman Charter on Tuesday in the first round of the 2A state playoffs.

The Cavaliers (14-12)  were only down four points at halftime.

Henderson Lentz led the 13th-seeded Cavaliers with 20 points. Joe Scott scored 17, and Brevin Goodlett had 11.

Troy Cracknell and Grayson Hickert scored 19 each for Lake Norman Charter (20-7).

NORTH (61)

Lentz 20, Scott 17, Goodlett 11, McCombs 6, Cuthbertson 4, Cooke 3.

LNC (77)

Hickert 19, Cracknell 19, Allen 13, Reed 12, Watts 9, Martino 5.

N. Rowan                         12  11  16  22 — 61

Lake Norman Charter 16    11  21  29  — 77

West girls

West Rowan’s girls ended the season with a 68-50 loss at Gastonia Ashbrook, a No. 2 seed.

West, a No. 15 seed, got 11 points each from Egypt Alexander, Shyann Vaughters and Abigail Wilson and finished 13-13.

Ashbrook (25-2) got 25 points each from Trinity Jones and Jada Davie.

WEST (50)

Wilson 11, Alexander 11, Vaughters 11, Hillie 5, Sobataka 4, Pruitt 3, Connolly 2, Poole 2, Fesperman 1, Robinson, Blabon.

ASHBROOK (68)

Jones 25, Davie 25, McGill 10, Barrett 4, Duckett 2, Hall 2.

W. Rowan   14  17   11  8 — 50

Ashbrook   15  16  16  21  — 68

 

South girls

South Rowan’s girls were up 12 points midway through the third quarter but awful foul trouble crushed the Raiders in a 62-45 loss at Canton Pisgah.

Janiya Downs scored 22 points for the Raiders (14-12),and Riley Corriher scored 14.

South was a No. 13 seed, playing on the road at a No. 4 seed.

Downs had four fouls early in the third quarter, and Corriher fouled out with about three minutes left. All the South starters were in foul trouble by the third quarter.

Lani Woods, a freshman, scored 36 points for Pisgah (20-5).

SOUTH (45)

Downs 22, Corriher 14, Hardin 4, Car. Carlton 3, Lowery 2, McClary, Rollins, Spratt, Arnott, Wagner, Cam. Corriher.

PISGAH (62)

Woods 36, Webb 13, Norris 5, Gibson 4, Sorrels 4.

S. Rowan   11   15   10   9 —  45

Pisgah       9    11    18   24  — 62