By Marny Hendrick

sports@salisburypost.com

CHINA GROVE — Sophomore forward Jamarius Hairston had his coming out party Friday night at Carson High, scoring a career high 33 points to lead the Cougars to a crucial South Piedmont conference win, 72-54, over Northwest Cabarrus.

The Cougars (6-4, 4-3 SPC) pushed all the right buttons in the second half as they broke a 28-28 deadlock and pulled away with a 31-point final quarter to win by a deceptively wide margin. Carson trailed almost the entire first half until Hairston went on a personal nine-point scoring binge to knot the game at the half. They built a small working margin in the third period, then buried the Trojans with perfection at the foul line down the stretch.

Hairston led the foul shooting parade with a perfect 14 of 14, including eight in the second half. “I work on foul shooting every day in practice,” Hairston said. “Coach always tells us it can be a game changer.”

In addition to the foul shooting, a stifling 2-3 zone in the second half was an equally big game changer as the Trojans seemed unable to find an open shot after intermission.

“I think our zone was the turning point of the game,” Carson coach Brian Perry said. “We decided to switch in the second half but were just going to use it a couple of possessions to see what happened. But we got in a good flow so we decided to stick with it.”

The Trojans (4-4. 3-4 SPC) led by as many as 8 on three occasions in the first half as guards Jordan Stephens (18 points) and Nathan Clark (11) were able to penetrate at will and hit the mid-range jumpers. After intermission, the Cougars’ 2-3 zone, with Hairston and big man Ryan Bearden (10 rebounds) locking down the middle, had the Trojans out of synch.

“We did a better job of communicating in our zone,” Perry said, “identifying the shooters and cutters and it paid off.”

Carson led by five late in the third period but a long three by Trojan point guard Jamie Baker cut the margin to 41-39 heading to the fourth period. The Cougars responded in a big way, however, with a 13-2 run to open the final quarter as Owen White nailed a three pointer and junior Brendan Westbrook used his speed to score seven quick points in transition. Hairston then went on his own scoring binge with eight straight as Carson was suddenly up 14 and pulling away.

Six straight foul shots in the final minute kept the Trojans at bay as Carson erased the bad memories of two losses earlier this week.

“We came out strong in the second half tonight,” Hairston said. “Coach told us at halftime to come out in the first three minutes, play hard and take it from them. We were not ahead that much but we got aggressive and started knocking some shots down.”

For the game, Carson hit 21 of 24 foul shots while the Trojans only went to the free throw line 10 times, connecting on just 5. Northwest was hampered in the game with the absence of their top scorer Anthony Caldwell (17 ppg) due to illness. Yet the way Hairston and his teammates were lighting it up in the second half, it may not have mattered.

The Cougars now are off until the upcoming Dale Sporting Goods Sam Moir Christmas tournament beginning Dec. 28, likely seeded fourth or fifth, based on overall records.

 

NW Cabarrus (54) — Stephens 18, Clark 11, Baker 7, Burns 7, Cammack 7, Bennett 2, England 2, Moseley.

Carson (72) — Hairston 33, Westbrook 13, Williams 9, White 8, Herron-Cuthbertson 6, Prugh 3, Perry, Hogue, Whicker, Bearden.

NW Cabarrus    18  10  11  15 — 54

Carson   12   16  13  31 — 72