By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — North Rowan’s boys basketball team turned a tight game into a dunk contest in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s first round game in the Dale’s Sporting Goods Sam Moir Christmas Classic.

Sixth-seeded West Rowan (1-7) made it a dogfight with the third-seeded Cavaliers until early in the fourth quarter, but the Cavaliers finished with a flurry of flying slams, scored 29 points in the fourth quarter and beat the Falcons 74-55.

North (4-2) led 37-27 at the half, but the Falcons outplayed North in the third quarter to get back into it.

North was clinging to a 47-46 lead early in the fourth quarter when the Cavaliers suddenly exploded. JP Polk had a key three-point play, and Dyzarious Carpenter, who had 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, turned the gym floor at Catawba College into his personal trampoline. He dunked from all angles. Emari Russell had seven of his 22 points in the final quarter, as the Falcons, who had tenaciously hung in there a long time, melted away.

“The third quarter we were completely out of character, walking the ball up the court,” North coach Jason Causby said. “But then we were good when we really needed to be good.”

Russell had six assists. Carpenter and Polk had eight rebounds each.

Carter Williams scored 10, and Dillon Mosley had eight. Both of them hit key outside shots.

Jo Jo Tarver didn’t dent the scorebook, but he was a pest on defense and had seven steals.

Evan Kennedy always seems to play well in the Christmas tournament and led the Falcons with 16 points. Ja’mih Tucker slashed to the hoop for 14 points, and Brant Graham and Israel Ford helped out with eight points each.

West    15   12    16    12    — 55

North  18    19     8   29    — 74

WEST —  Kennedy 16, Tucker 14, Graham 8, Ford 8, Young 6, Moten 3.

NORTH — Russell 22, Carpenter 20, Polk 14, Williams 10, Mosley 8.

•••

SALISBURY — Carson’s boys basketball team made 13 3-pointers and crushed outmanned South Rowan 80-34 in a first-round game on Thursday.

The top-seeded Cougars (7-3) led 51-23 at halftime at Goodman Gym, achieved the running-clock separation (40 points) in the third quarter and cruised into the semifinals.

Carson beat South for the 24th straight time, a streak that dates back to a 62-50 South victory in 2012.

Jacob Mills scored 17 of his 25 points in the first half for the Cougars. He made five 3-pointers.

Counting his games as a varsity eighth-grader at Rockwell Christian, Mills, a sophomore at Carson, has scored more than 1,000 points.

Jonah Dye made six 3-pointers, getting all of his 18 points from the bonus line.

CP Perry also scored 18, mostly on 2s.

Maverick Walters made his season debut and made two 3-pointers. Walters, a left-handed pitching prospect, apparently has changed his mind about not playing basketball this season and boosts Carson’s depth quite a bit.

Jadon Moore led eighth-seeded South (0-10) with 13 points. Carter Rohletter made two 3s and scored eight.

The Raiders lost their 55th straight game.

South Rowan    11   12    6    5    — 34

Carson               29   22   22   7    — 80

SOUTH — Moore 13, Rohletter 8, Overcash 6, Littlejohn 4, Burris 3.

CARSON – Mills 25, Perry 18, Drye 18, Neve 9, Walters 6, Martin 4.

•••

SALISBURY — Salisbury’s boys basketball team devoured East Rowan 84-29 in a first-round game on Thursday.

Taller, faster, older and deeper, the second-seeded Hornets did whatever they wanted and led by outlandish scores such as 25-2, 39-4 and 51-15. The latter was the halftime score. Salisbury had a running-clock lead early in the third quarter.

“We’ve been building depth,” Salisbury coach Albert Perkins said. “Guys have been playing well when their number is called.”

Myles Smith’s 16-point effort was modest by his standards, but it included several impressive dunks. Hank Webb was everywhere, rebounding, assisting and scoring 13 in one of the best games of his career. Braylon Taylor (12) and Tre Davis (11) contributed double-digit points, and the Hornets got eight each from Macari House, Blake Smith and Romir Hairston.

Brody Thomas scored 10 to lead seventh-seeded East (0-9). Aiden Lino scored seven.

The Hornets have won six in a row, including two romps over the Mustangs.

While East has run into the Hornets twice recently, the programs haven’t played much over the last decade. Salisbury has won seven in a row since the Mustangs beat the Hornets 46-42 in the 2012-13 season.

East Rowan     4     11    6    8    — 29

Salisbury         28   23   17  16   — 84

EAST — Thomas 10, Lino 7, Bradley 6, Shive 4, Ailshie 2

SALISBURY — M. Smith 16, Webb 13, Taylor 12, Davis 11, House 8, B. Smith 8, Hairston 8, Brown 4, Epps 2, Cherry 2.

•••

SALISBURY — Fourth-seeded Central Davidson (6-4) won 64-56 against fifth-seeded Mount Pleasant (4-5) in the late Moir game on Thursday night.

That puts Central Davidson in a semifinal against Carson on Friday, while Mount Pleasant plays South Rowan in the consolation bracket.

 

Boys games at Catawba on Friday

10:30 — (6) West Rowan (1-7) vs. (7) East Rowan (0-9)

1:30 — (5) Mount Pleasant (4-5) vs. (8) South Rowan (0-10)

4:30 — (3) North Rowan (4-2) vs. (2) Salisbury (7-3), semifinal

7:30 — (1) Carson (7-3) vs. (4) Central Davidson (6-4), semifinal