By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

LANDIS— CP Perry didn’t make a shot for the first 11 minutes, Jacob Mills made only one bucket in the first half, and Drew Neve’s first-half production was two free throws.

It didn’t matter much. Carson has a bunch of guys who can play and juniors Jonah Drye and Colin Ball dominated until the freshmen got rolling. The Cougars trounced South Rowan 80-41 on Friday for their fourth straight win. Carson (15-8, 9-7) finished fourth in the South Piedmont Conference and is certain to be in the 3A state playoffs.

The Raiders (0-23, 0-16) ended a winless season on Senior Night. The losing streak is at 45 games. Dalton Young (17 points), Zion Jackson (10) and Jadon Moore (8) kept South in the game as long as they could, but Carson had too much firepower.

“I feel like we could’ve finished in the middle of some 3A leagues,” South coach Daniel Blevins said ruefully. “But we’re blessed to be close to those Cabarrus schools.”

Carson’s lead was only 12-10 after almost six minutes, but that’s when Ball provided separation with back-to-back 3-pointers from the left wing. On both of them, he was so deep that he could have shaken hands with Blevins in front of the South bench.

Carson led 31-21 after Young made a tough driving shot. It could’ve been a three-point play, but no foul was called, and Young got a technical when he let the official know he’d missed the call.

Drye made two technical free throws, and Carson finished the half on a run to lead 43-23. Drye scored 11 points in the second quarter.

Carson’s three freshmen wrecked South in the third quarter, combining for 26 points as the Cougars put 31 on the board. A 3-pointer by the still-growing, 6-foot-5 Neve made it 74-32 late in the third quarter and triggered a running clock. That was Carson’s 10th 3-pointer.

Drye (17), Mills (13), Ball (12), Neve (11) and Perry (10) scored in double figures. Senior Jay McGruder was the finisher on some fine passes and added nine points. While his shots weren’t falling with the frequency they normally do, Perry did have 12 rebounds. Neve had eight, Ball had seven, and Mills had six. Perry and Drye had four assists each.

While South’s season is over as the ninth-place team in a league where the top eight move on to the conference tournament, Carson plays at home on Monday at 6 p.m. against Northwest Cabarrus in the 4 vs. 5 first-round game. Concord is hosting the semifinals and finals.

Carson      20    23     31    6    — 80

South        10     13      11    7    — 41

CARSON — Drye 17, Mills 13, Ball 12, Neve 11, Perry 10, McGruder 9, Hall 4, D. Williams 2, Walters 2.

SOUTH — Young 17, Jackson 10, Moore 8, Carey 4, Blackwell 2.