By David Shaw

sports@salisburypost.com

MOUNT ULLA — West Rowan’s thank-you note to Hickory Ridge is probably already in the mail.

The Falcons owe a debt of gratitude to their SPC rival, one that paid off in Friday’s 67-55 conference victory against visiting Concord.

“We take nothing away from Hickory Ridge,” said West coach Mike Gurley. “They won (Wednesday’s) game fair and square, but we felt like we should have won it. That game contributed to this one in a lot of ways. There were two things I wanted done tonight. One, I didn’t want us to forget the Hickory Ridge game. And two, I wanted them to forget the Hickory Ridge game. I told them, ‘Let’s not forget what happened, but let’s let it go.'”

Against that backdrop, the Falcons (15-6, 11-4) used an all-hands-on-deck effort to win a game they couldn’t afford to lose. Four scorers reached double figures to offset a game-high 26 points by Concord’s Hamsah Nasirildeen — the 6-foot-5 senior forward who has signed to play free safety for Florida State.

“There ain’t no secret when you play against a player like that,” West’s Tyrese Lawrence said. “You can’t always stop him, but you want to make a statement. We knew right away that defense was going to win this game.”

Nasirildeen seemingly imposed his will on the Falcons — until the fourth quarter. He muscled and maneuvered his way for 12 third-quarter points to help Concord (10-12, 7-9) erase a five-point halftime deficit and take a 49-48 lead with 6:49 to play.

“He carried us in the third quarter,” said Concord coach Jason Stowe, a former player and 1991 CHS graduate. “In the fourth, (West) packed everyone inside and cut the lanes off. You can tell they’re well-coached.”

Under Gurley’s tutelage, the Falcons allowed only three baskets in the final period and went back in front, 50-49, when Kortez Weeks hit a long jumper from the left side. Then they presented a convincing closing argument, outscoring the Spiders 17-6 in the last five minutes.

“It was an intense game,” said Darius Kure, West’s top scorer with 17 points. “We have a knack of coming out flat in the third quarter, but in the fourth we got our mojo back.”

Kure triggered West’s decisive finishing kick when he faked a defender and drove the right baseline for a layup that made it 52-49. “Up north in New Jersey, I was more of a slasher,” he said. “I saw an opening, made a move and the old Darius came through.”

He was clearly born to run on the game’s final bucket — a fast-break layup down the left side after taking a stretch pass from teammate Martavio Rankin.

But perhaps more important was the defense West played when it mattered most. Gurley was quick to credit the yeoman’s work of Lawrence, Armoni Hogue and Austin Love.

“Lawrence is a great energy guy, but sometimes his energy gets him in trouble,” Gurley said. “The other night against Ridge, he had four plays that resulted in and-ones. He’s just so jumpy. Tonight he kept that in focus and played a good game.”

Love was the starter assigned to defend Nasirildeen, who was money with the ball. “Austin just said to me, ‘Coach, that guy was big. And fast. And strong,'” Gurley reported. “He and Tyrese worked their backsides off defending that guy.”

And that’s worth more than a thank-you note.

CONCORD (55) — Nasirildeen 26, Irby 8, Metcalf 6, O’Neal 6, Rotan 4, Threadgill 3, Ealey 2.

WEST ROWAN (67) — Kure 17, Weeks 15, Hillie 13, Mauldin 12, Lawrence 5, Rankin 4, Love 1, Delgado, Hogue.

Concord                   11    12    22    10 — 55

West Rowan           12    16    18    21 — 67