SALISBURY POST
WEST BOYS FROM 1B in the final quarter, beginning with a jailbreak layup that tied the score 44-44 with 7:08 remaining. He finished off a frantic ping-pong sesssion under the basket when he hit a putback that gave WR a 52-50 lead with 1:06 to go. His last two points came after Gibbs was called for careless hand play in the closing seconds. “I just kept my head and concentrated on those free throws,” he said. “That’s the beauty of it — the game is 32 minutes.” And not 12. Credit Gurley for stopping the bleeding and lifting the Falcons. And give an assist to WR senior B.J. Sherrill, who offered Gurley a key suggestion as the Falcons emerged for the second half. “He stopped me and made the best coaching move of the night,” Gurley said. “He had a feeling. He said, ‘Coach, start Maurice (Warren) this quarter.’ Maurice is part of that whole family of post men that
SPORTS
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2011 • 3B
I have., but he’s kind of gotten shuffled back here a little bit. So I started him and Maurice brought some great post defense.” The outcome wasn’t completely sealed until Follrod missed a 40-foot Hail Mary that circled the rim and spun out as time expired. “That would have been an argument because the buzzer may have sounded,” said Johnson. “I don’t know if it would have counted.” Next up on the Falcons’ dance card is regular-season champ Statesville (18-4), which beat the Falcons twice en route to a perfect league season. “It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there,” said Morgan. “It’ll be the same as tonight — whoever wants it more with get it.” WEST IREDELL (52) — Follrod 18, Harris 8, Gray 7, Stevenson 7, Blohm 6, Daniels 4, Phifer 2. WEST ROWAN (54) — K.Sherrill 16, Morgan 12, Noble 7, B.Sherrill 5, Edwards 5, Warren 4, Martin 3, Kraft 2, Parks, Avery, Turner, Cuthbertson. W. Iredell 14 15 W. Rowan 10 20
15 10
8 — 52 14 — 54
Tyler Buckwell/SALISBURY POST
Tyler Buckwell/SALISBURY POST
West Rowan’s B.J. Shherill lays one up while West Iredell’s From left, West Rowan’s Keshun Sherill, West Iredell’s Zach Fullrod and West Rowan’s Maurice Warren fight for possession of a rebound during Thursday’s NPC semifinal. Hunter Blohm, center, and Justin Daniels defend.
WEST GIRLS FROM 1B half, Steele took over. Using the penetrate-and-dish approach, Steele hit consecutive layups to give the Falcons a 36-20 lead early in the third quarter. Her fourth-period putback gave West its widest margin, 56-35, with 3:44 to play. “Ayanna looked like her old self today,” Epps said. “And Shay broke their defense down and got some nice buckets. We really put it all together this game.” Carson was paced by Tyesha Phillips (15 points), Kelly Dulkoski (15) and Allison
NORTH BOYS
Blackwell (13). Still, they left wishing for more. “We weren’t hitting shots we usually do,” Phillips said. “Some of the defense that’s usually there wasn’t. And we made critical turnovers, turnovers that gave them an edge. Winning this game and getting to the finals, this would have been a big step. But we got down and couldn’t pull it back.” WEST ROWAN (63) — Avery 24, Steele 17, Barber 12, Dixon 5, Ball 5, Sobataka, Parker. CARSON (52) — Phillips 15, Dulkoski 15, Blackwell 13, Monroe 9, Clark, Holman, Barringer. W. Rowan Carson
11 7
19 11
15 14
18 — 63 20 — 52
FROM 1B
Tyler Buckwell/SALISBURY POST
West Rowan’s Ayana Avery celebrates the win.
Tyler Buckwell/SALISBURY POST
West Rowan’s Nycieko Dixon, right, plays defense while Carson’s Kelly Dulkoski eyes a lane during Thursday’s NPC semifinal.
13th 20-win season in school history the hard way. On a scale of athleticism from 1 to 10, North’s about a 9, but West Montgomery is a 10. It wasn’t hard to see how West Montgomery (148) beat both North (by 20) and Albemarle on its home floor. Coach Kevin King’s team is extra-quick, and the Warriors’ 3-2 matchup zone gave the HARGRAVE Cavaliers fits. “Their defense was just very hard to penetrate against,” North’s T.J. Bates said. “We tried to get it to our big men, but they were doubling down when we did.” North was just fortunate WM didn’t have anyone as thick as Hargrave, as aggressive as Bates, as tall as Ford or quite as springy as Starks. Hargave started out like he might score 90. He got the first seven of the game, and West Montgomery couldn’t buy one on the other end. Terry Pegues finally put the Warriors on the board with a 3-pointer nearly five minutes into the game. That shot ended WM’s jitters, and its defense dominated the rest of the half. In a sixminute stretch, the Warriors pounded North 20-4. The Cavs were lucky to limp to halftime down 20-16. Mitchell adjusted North’s
offense during the break, and he fired up Ford. “I told Malik the paint was his and he had to treat it like it was his home — he had to stop people from coming in there,” Mitchell said. North still trailed 29-22 midway through the third quarter, but the Cavaliers made a run when Ford dunked and Pierre Givens hit a 3-pointer. When Hargrave bulled for a three-point play it was tied at 33, and Bates drained a 3 at the end of the quarter for a 36-35 NR lead. “My assistants (Bill Kesler and Kenny Bates) always do a super job, but especially so tonight,” Mitchell said. “They pointed out gaps in their defense and we used their aggressiveness against them with good ball fakes.” Robinson sparked WM back to a six-point lead in the fourth quarter by blocking a Starks jumper and drilling a 3-pointer in transition. North fought back with ferocious man-to-man defense — freshmen Michael Bowman and Michael Connor were a huge part of it — and luck also played a role. Givens banked in a 3-pointer that put a look of absolute disbelief on King’s face. North trailed 47-43 with 2:30 to go, but Connor got a stickback, and Bates came up with a loose ball and fed Starks for a tying layup. North had the last possession of regulation, but didn’t get a good look. Givens had to force a contested 28-footer. North got two big stops in the overtime with the score tied at 49, and penetration by Bates led to a layup by Hargrave and a stickback by Ford — he followed his own
miss — for a four-point lead. North had chances to ice it, but free throws didn’t fall. Givens got banged up. Bates fouled out. Already playing without Jordan Kimber and Amani Bates, North grimly hung on. With 41 seconds left, Hargave made a free throw for a 56-52 lead. Trailing 56-53, West Montgomery missed a 3 to tie with 16 seconds left, and Starks literally flew into the picture for his unbelievable rebound. Starks was fouled with 14 ticks to go. He missed his first free throw but made the second for a four-point lead. Robinson’s 3-pointer with five seconds left made it 5756 and kept WM alive. Givens got the ball inbounds to Bowman, and the freshmen made his second free throw with three seconds left for a 58-56 lead. Travante Moore’s hurried halfcourt heave at the horn had no chance, and the Cavaliers breathed a sigh of relief. “Really tough game,” Bates said. “Now we have to bounce back for another one against Albemarle.” North beat the Bulldogs by six in Spencer. Albemarle won the rematch by three. “Physically, I think we’ll be fine, and we hope to have Kimber,” Mitchell said. “In one stretch, we played four straight nights this season. That should prepare us to be strong again mentally.” WEST MONTGOMERY (56) — Robinson 17, Moore 12, Bowden 10, Pegues 10, Atkins 4, Capel 3, Britt. NORTH ROWAN (58) — Hargrave 18, Ford 9, Starks 8, Givens 8, Bates 8, Connor 4, Bowman 3, Chambers. W. Mont. 13 N. Rowan 10
7 6
15 12 9 — 56 20 11 11 — 58