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SALISBURY QUALIFIES FOR THIRD STRAIGHT CHAMPIONSHIPS
Salisbury girls 49, Newton-Conover 35: Salisbury’s girls will go for a third straight state championship next Saturday after winning the regionals with another dominant performance. Salisbury (26-1) led 10-3 after the first quarter and didn’t allow Newton-Conover (25-4) to score in double figures in a quarter until the fourth.
Salisbury limited Newton-Conover to 21.2 percent shooting and got 12 points and 9 rebounds from Jessica Helig plus 22 combined points Brielle Blaire and Ashia Holmes. Newton-Conover 11 points and 7 rebounds from Shynese Whitener.
Newton-Conover 3 9 9 14 – 35
Salisbury 10 15 13 11 – 49
NEWTON-CONOVER 35 – Littlejohn 9, Shynese Whitener 11, Tipps 9, Gibbs 6
SALISBURY 49 – Ashia Holmes 11, Ayanna Holmes 5, Brielle Blaire 11, Rankin 4, Jessica Helig 12, Richardson 2, Miller 2, Allison 2
East Rutherford advances to state final, easily beats Mountain Heritage
GREENSBORO – East Rutherford’s boys basketball team advanced to its first state championship game with an easy 70-49 win over Mountain Heritage in the N.C. 2A boys western regional championship game.
Championship MVP Devince Boykins had 17 points and 7 rebounds for East (26-1), which shot nearly 50 percent and held Mountain Heritage to just 27.5 percent shooting Zack Price had 23 points and Raheem Hampton 14 for East Rutherford.
John Cannon a 7-foot center, had 11 points and 11 rebounds, and teammate Alex Biggerstaff had 11 for Mountain Heritage (23-8).
East Rutherford 24 12 16 18 – 70
Mountain Heritage 13 13 12 11 – 49
EAST RUTHERFORD 70 – Raheem Hampton 14, Devonte Boykins 8, Devince Boykins 17, Watkins 5, Zack Price 23, Flack 3
MOUNTAIN HERITAGE 49 – Tomberlin 7, John Cannon 11, Alex Biggerstaff 11, Letterman 5, Burleston 8, Krause 2, Bishop 2, Kardulis 1, Buckner 2
All-Tournament Team: Darien Rankin, Salisbury; Alex Biggerstaff, Mountain Heritage; John Cannon, Mountain Heritage; Raheem Hampton, East Rutherford; Zack Price, East Rutherford; Devince Boykins, East Rutherford (MVP)
North Rowan rallies to upset Winston-Salem Prep in regional championship
The North Rowan boys’ basketball team refused to lose.
After trailing for most of the game, the Cavaliers overcame a nine-point fourth quarter deficit and outlasted Winston-Salem Prep Academy 92-85 in double overtime to advance to their first state championship game since 1986.
North Rowan (26-5) will play the winner of Red Springs and Pinder High School Saturday at N.C. State.
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“Perseverance is what we are all about,” North Rowan sophomore guard Timothy Bates, II said, who was the MVP of the 1A Regional. “We didn’t want to lose, we didn’t want to go home. We were going to do whatever it took to get the win.”
The Cavaliers got another great team effort as Bates, II led the way with 22 points, but five other North Rowan players were in double figures.
Senior Javon Hargrave (all-tournament) added 19 points, Malik Ford had 12, Jordan Kimber had 11 while both Pierre Givens (all-tournament) and Sam Starks had 10 points, apiece.
“Our guys come to work every day whether it is in practice or in games,” North Rowan basketball coach Andrew Mitchell said, first year coach, who will be in his third straight state final after coming over from Salisbury High School. “We expect a lot out of our team.”
Trailing 57-48 going into the final quarter the Cavaliers needed a big effort in the final eight minutes. North Rowan got it, but didn’t take a lead until Sam Starks, who was celebrating his birthday, hit a three-pointer with 1:37 left in regulation to give the Cavaliers a 69-68 lead.
But the teams remained deadlocked after 32 minutes of play with score tied at 71, then again after another four minutes of overtime at 80.
North Rowan finally separated themselves from the Phoenix in the second overtime as they scored six of the first seven points, and then closed on a 6-0 run to clinch the game.
Winston-Salem Prep (24-10) got big efforts from sophomore forward, Greg McClinton, who had 25 points and 10 rebounds, junior Jerran Foster, who had 22 points, and senior D.J. Bishop, who had 17 points, as all three were selected to the all-tournament team.
“This was two great teams battling each other to the finish,” Winston-Salem Prep basketball coach Andre Gould said. “It was a game of runs, and they made the right plays down the stretch and we didn’t.”
N. Rowan 14 19 15 23 12 -- 92
W-S Prep 19 15 23 14 9 5 -- 85
NORTH ROWAN (92)
Timothy Bates II 22, Javon Hargraves 19, Malik Ford 12, Jordan Kimber 11, Pierre Givens 10, Sam Starks 10, M. Connor 4, M. Bowman 4.
WINSTON-SALEM PREP (85)
Greg McClinton 25, Jerran Foster 22, D.J. Bishop 17, J. Valentine 8, M. Hughes 6, O. Fenton 4, C. Simmons 2, T. Trent 1.
Records: North Rowan (26-5); Winston-Salem Prep (24-10).
Mallard Creek's poor shooting costs the Mavericks in regional championship
Mallard Creek shot just 25 percent in a 42-40 loss to Southwest Guilford in Saturday's N.C. 4A regional championship. Southwest Guilford will face Raleigh Millbrook, a 57-39 winner over previously unbeaten Hope Mills South View, in next Saturday's state championship game in Chapel Hill.
SW Guilford 8 9 10 15 – 42
Mallard Creek 3 13 10 14 – 40
SW GUILFORD 42 – Connor 1, Buchanan 3, Zena Lovette 10, Jessica Pone 14, Shanel Lawrence 14
MALLARD CREEK 40 – Neely 8, Phillips 2, Graham 8, Somalia McKinney 11, Crawford 4, Tarver 4, Tillard 3
All-Tournament Team: Shannon Buchanan, SW Guilford; Shanel Lawrence, SW Guilford; Cierra Burdick, Butler; Najmah Tillard, Mallard Creek; Amber Neely, Mallard Creek; Zena Lovette, SW Guilford (MVP)
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