Staff report

NORWOOD — It’s late January, and North Rowan’s boys basketball team is still looking for answers.

The talent level is exciting, but the record is 8-7. North is 33rd in the 1A West RPI rankings, which is almost unthinkable.

The Cavaliers let another one get away on Saturday, leading by seven points late in the third quarter, but losing 76-65 at South Stanly. The Bulls (11-6) outscored North 24-11 in the fourth quarter.

There were debatable calls, but the bottom line was most of North’s wounds were self-inflicted. The Cavaliers gave away four points by missing breakaway dunks, shot 4-for-11 on free throws in the fourth quarter and got torched by South Stanly’s two scorers. Cohen Whitley scored 28, including a 3-pointer he tossed in with less than one second left. Gavyn Miller had 26.

“We aren’t defending worth a flip right now,” North head coach Jason Causby said. “We’ve tried everything, but defensive effort comes and goes. There are too many missed assignments, too many lapses in the rotation. The opportunity to win was there, but we needed stops. We didn’t get them.”

North came out with serious energy, appeared to be longer and quicker and better and seized the lead. Near the end of the first quarter, North had five reserves on the floor and they were more than holding their own against an ice-cold bunch of Bulls. Jah Sullivan Euro-stepped for a three-point play and Greg Jefferies got a bucket as North took a 19-12 lead.

Causby stuck with the reserve group to open the second quarter, but the game turned when the Bulls began making shots. At 19-all, North’s starters returned to the floor, but it was a dogfight for the rest of the half. Dzyarious Carpenter had 11 of his 21 high-flying points in the first half, and North needed all of them for a 34-33 halftime lead.

North appeared to be taking charge late in the third quarter and grabbed some seven-point leads. A three-point play by Carter Williams gave North a 52-45 edge. It was 54-47 when Carpenter soared for two off an offensive rebound with 1:07 left in the quarter. But South Stanly scored the last five of the quarter to make it 54-52 in favor of North heading to the final eight minutes.

With North leading by two, the Cavs forced a turnover but missed one of those  breakaway dunks, and Whitley made a deep 3 to give the Bulls a 57-56 lead with 6:09 left. That was a big swing.

After North had several empty possessions, Whitley took over. He made three buckets in 40 seconds, and the Bulls led by eight at 64-56 with 3:39 left.

Williams, who got 14 of his 16 in the second half, hit a 3-pointer and drove for a three-point play to keep North’s hopes alive. The Cavaliers were down 66-63 with 1:32 left, and then they got possession back with defensive pressure when South Stanly could not inbound the ball in five seconds.

The toughest whistle of the game for the Cavaliers came next, an offensive foul call on Jo Jo Tarver after a series of bumps with a defender. Tarver and Causby were in a state of disbelief.

“That was in a critical situation, but we should never have found ourselves in a ball game that late,” Causby said.

With South Stanly leading 67-63, Miller basically sealed the victory for the Bulls with a terrific athletic effort. North’s Emari Russell missed in the lane, the ball rolled all over the rim, and Miller snatched the rebound and headed coast-to-coast for a rugged three-point play with 1:05 left to play.

“We just haven’t been able to get any momentum going,” Causby said. “We’re still trying to figure it all out.”

North Rowan 19   15    20   11   — 65

South Stanly   12   21   19    24    — 76

North Rowan — Carpenter 21, Williams 16, Polk 10, Russell 9, Tarver 3,  Sullivan 3, Jefferies 2, Mosley 1.

South Stanly — Whitley 28, Miller 26, Callicutt 8, Valler 5, Hinson 5, Woods 4.