By Mike London
mlondon@salisburypost.com
HIGH POINT ó Senior Myles Moore’s clutch 3-pointer with 3:41 remaining prompted a roar from West Rowan fans, who still believed the Falcons would get it done.
But West wouldn’t score another point in a numbing 48-36 loss at High Point Andrews in a 3A sectional final.
Andrews outscored the Falcons 24-5 in the fourth quarter, as West turned it over eight times, shot 2-for-11 from the floor and missed all four of its free throws.
The Red Raiders (24-4) enjoyed a 13-2 run prior to Moore’s 3 and an 11-0 run after it. West was at its worst at the worst possible time.
“No matter what we attempted, it was tough to score,” West coach Mike Gurley said. “Credit Andrews for being extremely tenacious.”
Senior guard Tony Washington led Andrews with 15 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter.
West’s K.J. Sherrill, playing the last game in a career that produced 1,596 points, had 10 points and 13 rebounds. Gurley took him out with 19 seconds remaining so fans could salute his effort.
“The applause was nice,” the 6-foot-7 Charlotte signee said. “It was just a very tough loss. We played to win, but I guess they played harder.”
The Falcons (25-4) fell in a sectional final for the fourth straight season, including two losses to Andrews.
Andrews may have been the first team in sectional history to score 12 points in the first half (on 3-for-22 shooting) and still win, but it was a strange game. West was held to its lowest offensive production since it beat Northwest Cabarrus 36-28 in a slowdown game in 2003.
“We felt like our experienced guards could take West out of their offense, make it tough for them to run their sets and get the ball to K.J.,” HPA coach James Abell said.
Andrews played Terry Biles in front of Sherrill and had 6-foot-6, 245-pound football beast Goodwin playing way off power forward Chris Smith so he could help double Sherrill if got the ball.
Sherrill still had six points and four boards in the first quarter as West took a 10-6 lead over the cold-shooting home team.
Sherrill picked up his second foul in the second quarter, shortly before Jordan Kimber’s 3-pointer gave the Falcons a 17-8 lead. West didn’t score the last four minutes of the half, however, and settled for a 17-12 lead instead of burying the Red Raiders.
“At halftime, I felt like we’d missed a lot of open shots,” Abell said. “I told our guys if we kept playing with the same defensive intensity we’d win.”
West made only four shots in the third quarter, but three were 3s. Keshun Sherrill’s right-wing 3 beat the horn and gave the Falcons a 31-24 lead.
Andrews turned the tide with two buckets by Washington ó a contested jumper and a layup off a steal ó to open the fourth quarter.
“We made bad choices and had mental breakdowns,” West senior Kaleb Kimber said. “Basketball’s a game of momentum, and they took it.”
Took it and ran with it.
West trailed by four when Moore’s big 3 ended a drought. It cut Andrews’ lead to 37-36.
With 2:15 left, Jordan Kimber drove, drew a huge fifth foul on Goodwin and went to the line with a chance to give West the lead, but the freshman missed both free throws.
“That play was almost a big boost,” Gurley said. “But it turned out to be deflating.”
After an Andrews turnover, West had a second opportunity to take the lead, but Washington made a steal and cashed in a pair of free throws with 1:26 left.
Two West misses led to a breakout by Washington, and he hit two more free throws for a 41-36 lead.
Then came the backbreaker ó a steal and a three-point play by Corban Collins with 59 seconds left.
“When West got down, they panicked a little bit,” Abell said.
West’s collapse was a mix of its very young guards working against Washington, a wily four-time all-league player, fatigue and the emotional drain from Wednesday’s win at Ragsdale.
Give Andrews credit too. It’s physical, rugged style isn’t pretty, but it hasn’t been beaten since December 27 when it lost to Oviedo, Fla.
Gurley said goodbye to seniors Kaleb Kimber, Moore, Jason Grant and Brett Huffman as well as Sherrill, one of West’s all-time greats.
“I’m not saying who’s better or not better, but when I dance down memory lane in years to come, I’ll hold K.J. in the same high regard as Donte Minter,” Gurley said. “Kaleb often played hurt but always played tough. Myles and Jason always hung in there. Brett knows he’s baseball player, but he just wanted to be part of this.
“We had a very good team, a very good team that was almost great. The guys gave it all they had.”
west rowan (36) ó K.J. Sherrill 10, Ke. Sherrill 6, Moore 6, K. Kimber 5, J. Kimber 4, C. Smith 3, Grant 2, Parks, Crucitti, Noble, B.J. Sherrill, Huffman, Phifer, Gore.
high point andrews (48) ó Washington 15, Collins 12, Goodwin 8, Reid 5, Biles 4, Smith 2, Stevenson 2, Rogers, Johnson, Miller.
W. Rowan 10 7 14 5 ó 36
Andrews 6 6 12 24 ó 48