By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — Carson’s boys basketball team won a coin flip with Salisbury for the No. 1 seed in the Dale’s Sporting Goods Christmas Classic.

The Cougars (6-3) needed that break after losing back-to-back overtime road games in Cabarrus County in the days leading up to the flip. In both of those losses, they missed key free throws and allowed key 3-pointers late, but they are a very good team.

Carson shoots the ball really well for a high school squad, so it’s always a shock when a Cougar misses a free throw. Sophomores Jacob Mills (17 points per game), CP Perry (16.9) and Drew Neve (16.4) all are quite special in different ways and all have produced 30-point games this season. Senior Jonah Drye isn’t as gifted as the sophomores — he doesn’t have Perry’s quickness, Neve’s size or Mills’ lift on his jumper —  but he’s a rock-solid guard who scores 15 points per game, mostly on top of the wheel 3-pointers, and he knows how to play.

Coach Brian Perry’s open auditions for the fifth, sixth and seventh Cougars went pretty well. Xavier Phillips can rebound and defend. Corbin Hales provides yet another shooter. Jaxson Martin has provided a lot of positive minutes.

Still, the Cougars have their limitations. They can’t apply much defensive pressure and their 2-3 zone sometimes doesn’t provide enough stops. Foul trouble can be deadly for them, especially when the whistles are on the 6-foot-5 Neve, who is their only paint presence.

As good as Carson is, and they look like a 20-game winner and a conference contender, second-seeded defending champ Salisbury (6-3), probably is the tournament favorite. The Hornets are really deep and really athletic. So what else is new?

Salisbury coach Albert Perkins has been able to replace Juke Harris with Myles Smith, a high-flying, 6-foot-4 senior wing who will throw it down in a heartbeat and averages 21.8 points per game. He’s a transfer from Victory Christian.

Junior Braylon Taylor has emerged as a terrific scorer (18.6). He’s made a major jump from last season.

Perkins is still operating without stellar injured point guard Bryce Dalton, who was injured late in the football season, but he’s got enough strong, athletic bodies to mix and match and he can use a lot of combinations.

The Hornets lost several high-level games early, but they’ve won their last five outings. They scored 100 in a blowout on Friday.

Third-seeded North Rowan (3-2) was in line for the top seed before losing a one-point game at home to Lincoln Charter on Saturday. That one hurt.

Like Salisbury, the Cavaliers have been elevated by a transfer. Emari Russell, who played for two 3A state champions at Central Cabarrus, has been as good as advertised and can do everything there is to do on a basketball court. He defends, he passes, he rebounds, he steals, he flies. He’s 5-foot-10, but he can dunk. Russell (22.8 points per game) scored 32 points on Saturday.

North coach Jason Causby has a lot of other good players, including leaper Dyzarious Carpenter (18.0), who can score in flurries.

Long sophomore Carter Williams (10.6) is emerging as a potential standout, and North has a nice supporting cast with strong JP Polk, quick Jo Jo Tarver, solid Jeremiah Alford and shooter Dillon Mosely.

North has sufficient talent to win the tournament, but it’s a tough road as the 3 seed. Assuming they get past a dangerous West squad in the first round, the Cavaliers would have to beat 2 seed Salisbury just to get to the final.

Fourth-seeded Central Davidson (5-4) provided the opposition for Salisbury in last season’s Moir championship game. The Spartans graduated serious talent, but they are still a solid, tenacious team. They proved that by winning 67-48 at North Rowan this season. Three of their losses were to 4As Davie (twice) and Grimsley.

Fifth-seeded Mount Pleasant (4-4) is a surprisingly good rural 2A, and the matchup with Central Davidson could provide a fine first-round game. The Tigers gave Carson all the Cougars could handle in an early-season game. Cooper Perkins, a 6-foot-3 sophomore, is a scoring machine.

Sixth-seeded West Rowan (1-6) has talent with shooters Brant Graham and Jalen Moten, long post man Josiah Young, tough athletes Evan Kennedy and Israel Ford and quick point guard Ja’mih Tucker, but coach Dadrian Cuthbertson is still trying to pull the Falcons, who lost by 28 at Concord on Friday, together. The schedule has been rugged, and it hasn’t been pretty so far. No one is averaging double figures, so the Falcons have been struggling to score 50. They’ve lost four in a row coming into the tournament. Their only win was against South Rowan.

Seventh-seeded East Rowan (0-8) is playing young with an eye on 2025-26. Brody Thomas (10.1), Logan Bradley (10.0) and Brady Ailshie (7.6) are good players with bright futures, but there are going to be growing pains all season. The Mustangs have played a few strong games — they could’ve won at South Iredell on Friday — but they have been overmatched against tall, athletic teams. The Mustangs drew Salisbury in the first round. That’s not who East wanted to see. Salisbury beat East 80-38 recently.

Eighth-seeded South Rowan (0-9) is just trying to keep moving forward. The Raiders have lost 54 in a row entering the tournament. They lost by 15 to West Rowan and by 20 to Northwest Cabarrus, but mostly it’s been one-sided blowouts. Athletic Jadon Moore, who has scored 18 twice and 16 twice, is the best player. Carter Rohletter and Corbin Goodman are streaky bombers who have their moments, and Brooks Overcash always battles like a cornered lion in the paint. Tristian Littlejohn’s return from a concussion will help some, but the Raiders won’t have a chance very often this season.

Carson has only one won one Christmas tournament. That was in 2017.

Tickets can be purchased online through each school’s TicketSpicket site or at the gate.

$10/day, $25/tournament pass

Passes accepted: NCHSAA, NCCA Coaches Cards, Rowan County Gold Card, NC Officials

Thursday, Dec. 26 — Boys first round

• Game 2 — 10:30 a.m. (3) North Rowan (3-2) vs. (6) West Rowan (1-6)

• Game 4 — 1:30 p.m. (2) Salisbury (6-3) vs. (7) East Rowan (0-8)

• Game 6 — 4:30 p.m. (1) Carson (6-3) vs. (8) South Rowan (0-9)

• Game 8 —  7:30 p.m. (4) Central Davidson (5-4) vs. (5) Mount Pleasant (4-4)