From staff reports

CHINA GROVE — Jacob Mills made a game-winning 3-pointer to lift Carson to a 68-65 win against Lake Norman Charter on Friday.

The Cougars got the sweep of the Knights. They won 81-68 at LNC right before Christmas.

LNC (8-12, 4-9) doesn’t have a good record mostly because it plays in the South Piedmont Conference, but it’s a dangerous team that beat Northwest Cabarrus and lost by one point recently to West Rowan. The Knights also own a three-point loss to Concord.

Carson struggled early and got down by six. Chasen Hall scored six for the Cougars in the second quarter, and the Cougars got back to 28-all at halftime.

Lake Norman Charter owned the third quarter and took an eight-point lead to the final quarter, but Carson was able to rally with a 27-point quarter capped by Mills’ dramatic shot.

Jonah Drye scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half to lead Carson’s comeback.

CP Perry had 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and took three charges. Drew Neve had 11 points, 10 rebounds and blocked two shots.

Mills and Colin Ball scored nine each. Coach Brian Perry said DJ Williams’ defense and energy played a big role in avoiding what could have been a damaging loss.

“We were very fortunate,” Coach Perry said. “Lake Norman Charter played great.”

Carson (12-8, 6-7) is in good shape in the 3A West RPI rankings at No. 21.

Braylon Irelan scored 19 for the Knights. Braden Wilkie made five 3-pointers and scored 17. Jay Morgan had 13.

LN Charter     16    12    21   16   — 65

Carson             10    18    13   27   — 68

CARSON — Drye 19, Perry 14, Neve 11, Mills 9, Ball 9, Hall 6.

•••

MOUNT ULLA — West Rowan had hoped to split with Concord, but that didn’t happen.

The Spiders complete a season sweep of the Falcons, winning 70-57 on the Falcons’ home floor.

Concord (12-8, 9-3) is in third place in the South Piedmont Conference, still hopes to finish second and got up on the Falcons 12-2 right away.

It was one of those nights. West was down 19 going to the fourth quarter,

“We weren’t ready to play from the jump,” West coach Dadrian Cuthbertson said. “And Concord muscled us.”

Concord’s 6-foot-7 Jeremiah Howard can do some muscling. He had 18 points and 10 rebounds. The Spiders got 20 points from athletic Jaden Reid.

West (11-8, 7-5) is certain not to finish in the top three in SPC now, but the Falcons still are in good shape for an at-large berth for the 3A state playoffs. West is 20th in the 3A West RPI rankings, just one spot ahead of Carson. Concord is 18th. Robinson is 16th. Central Cabarrus is second. Northwest Cabarrus is 25th.

Will Givens was held to 13 points by the Spiders, well below his average, but he led West. Josiah Young scored 10. Brant Graham had nine.

It won’t get easier for the Falcons on Tuesday. They’ll take on Central Cabarrus.

Concord     20    22    17    11  — 70

West           13    13     14     17   — 57

CONCORD — Reid 20, Howard 18, Coleman 9, Jadah Freeman 7, Arellano 6, Judah Freeman 5, Rushmeyer 5.

WEST — Givens 13, Young 10, Graham 9, Holmes 7, Kennedy 6, Tucker 5, Hairston 4, Oglesby 2, Martin 1.

•••

LANDIS — There are 59 3A boys basketball teams.

East Rowan is 53rd in the 3A West RPI rankings, while South Rowan is 56th, but they staged a great South Piedmont Conference game on Friday.

The Raiders came close to ending their long losing streak, but the Mustangs stretched it to 41 straight setbacks with a 63-62 victory.

This one was one of the toughest for the Raiders (0-19, 0-12) to take during that agonizing stretch. Fouled 30 feet from the hoop when he was double-teamed and had nowhere to go. East’s Jonathan Wembolua calmly made a decisive free throw with 3.6 seconds left.

“I thought we played a complete game, played hard on both ends of the floor,” East coach Andrew Porter said. “We made the right plays. We stayed calm at the end, and being able to win a close game shows me we’ve improved. We showed some growth.”

Wembolua scored 17 for the Mustangs, one fewer than Logan Bradley, who was playing jayvee ball for the Mustangs (3-17, 2-11) not long ago. Drake Jones made some really tough shots, not just open 3s, and scored 15.

Dalton Young scored 15 to pace South. Drew Blackwell and Aaron Jones scored 11 each.

It was all South early. Blackwell opened the game with a 3-pointer, and fired-up South led 8-0 after three minutes.

Bradley made two 3-pointers to keep the Mustangs from sliding into a deep hole. By the end of the first quarter, South’s lead was down to 13-10.

Bradley hit two more 3s in the second quarter. Wembolua got the last bucket of the half, and the Mustangs led 28-27.

“The guys we brought up from the jayvees have helped the varsity compete and be a better team,” Porter said.

The lead seemed to change hands on every bucket in the third quarter. East took a 42-41 lead to the final eight minutes.

East forged ahead by eight at 51-43 with five minutes left, but Young and Zion Jackson made 3-pointers as South came back one more time.

When Aaron Jones made a 3-pointer for the Raiders with 1:43 left, his second bomb of the fourth quarter, East’s lead was down to one.

Drake Jones made a free throw for East with 34 seconds left for a 62-all tie.

South moved the ball looking for a great shot and got the one it wanted with about 10 seconds to go. It was a little early, but Aaron Jones was in his favorite spot near the right corner, and Jackson got the ball to him. The senior let it fly with confidence, but it caught the front rim, and the Mustangs secured the weak-side rebound and called timeout with 5.3 seconds left.

East had to go the length of the court. Bradley threw long on the inbounds pass, past mid-court, with the ball floating down to Wembolua, who snatched it, but was immediately surrounded by Young and James Ritchie. There was contact, a mild bump, and the whistle blew.

Wembolua made his first free throw for the lead. He missed the second, but it worked out for East. After a brief tussle for the rebound, South had only 2.1 seconds left to work with. Young fired a desperation shot from beyond mid-court that came up short, appropriately enough landing in the arms of Wembolua, and the Mustangs could finally breathe a sigh or relief.

Wembolua and Jaden Reid had double-figure rebounds for East.

East     10    18    14   21    — 63

South    13    14   14   21    — 62

EAST — Bradley 18, Wembolua 17, D. Jones 15, Reid 7, Gibson 2, Krider 2, Arnez 2.

SOUTH — Young 15, A. Jones 11, Blackwell 11, Jackson 8, Littlejohn 7, Ritchie 6, Carey 4.

•••

CONCORD — Cox Mill beat A.L. Brown 72-64 in a Greater Metro Conference game on Friday.

Kadan Williams led the Wonders (8-13, 1-8) with 18 points. Nazir Reaves scored 16, and Derick Brazil added 14.