High school basketball: Givens scores 29 in West victory
Published 5:50 am Monday, January 29, 2024
Staff report
GRANITE QUARRY — Will Givens Jr. scored a season-high 29 points as West Rowan beat East Rowan 79-58 on Friday.
West (10-7, 6-4) won its fourth straight game and its third straight in the South Piedmont Conference.
Givens scored 11 in the first quarter to get the Falcons started, but Givens didn’t score in the second quarter, and East trailed only 25-23 at halftime.
Elijah Holmes and Givens made two 3-pointers apiece in the third quarter and Kayvone Norman had three buckets as West expanded the lead and gradually took control.
East (2-16, 1-10) has played short-handed just about all season and was missing post presence Jonathan Wembolua for this one.
East does have PJ Butler back now.
“Without Jonathan it took a team effort from all the guys for us to stay in it with West,” East coach Andrew Porter said. “We were right there until the middle of the fourth quarter. West was able to get some turnovers with a zone press, but we played extremely hard the whole game.”
Drake Jones made four 3-pointers and scored 16 to lead the Mustangs. Mason McKenzie made two of East’s eight 3-pointer and had a career game with 14 points. Will Klingler had seven rebounds for East.
Evan Kennedy scored 16 for West, one of his bigger games of the season, while Holmes scored 12.
WEST — Givens 29, Kennedy 16, Holmes 12, Norman 8, Young 8, Martin 4, Hairston 2.
EAST — Jones 16, McKenzie 14, Krider 8, Lino 6, Gibson 4, Butler 3, Bradley 3, Chesney 2, Thomas 1.
2-16, 1-10
10-7, 6-4