Staff report
CONCORD — It was a familiar story for East Rowan’s boys basketball team on Friday, fighting the good fight for a long time, but eventually falling to a bigger, quicker opponent.
East lost 71-46 at Concord, but that doesn’t tell the full story. The Mustangs trailed a talented bunch of Spiders by a single point at halftime. The Mustangs were making a lot of shots, especially in the second quarter when Brayden Mulkey and Mason McKenzie made two 3-pointers apiece. Even with leading scorer Brady Ailshie sidelined, East looked to be in good shape.
But the third quarter was a disaster for East. Concord overwhelmed East 26-7 in the third.
“Their depth made the difference,” East head coach Trey Ledbetter said. “We had great looks, but no legs to make the shots.”
Jayden Beyan (13-10, 8-6) scored 18 for the Spiders, the fourth-place team in the South Piedmont Conference. Kyzen Coleman had 17. Jabari Byrd made four buckets during that third-quarter spree.
Zayden Turner scored nine for seventh-place East (6-16, 2-11). Logan Bradley, Jaden Eudy and McKenzie scored eight apiece.
“It was a tough week,” Ledbetter said. “We played the top four teams in our league. That’s a tall task for anyone.”
East Rowan 11 18 7 10 — 46
Concord 14 16 26 15 — 71
EAST — Turner 9, Eudy 8, Bradley 8, McKenzie 8, Mulkey 7, Lino 4, Paffrath 2.
CONCORD — Beyan 18, Coleman 17, Sandford 11, Byrd 10, Weatherspoon 6, Jackson 4, Childress 3, Farias 2.
•••
East Rowan’s girls lost 41-31 to the Spiders on Friday.
That was a surprise, as Concord hadn’t won a game all season. The victory enabled the Spiders to tie East for seventh place.
East (5-18, 1-12) had won the first meeting of the teams, 64-45, but Bristol Smith scored 21 in that game, and the Mustangs didn’t have her for the rematch in Rimer Gym.
Emory Stewart led the Mustangs with eight points.
EAST scoring — Stewart 8, Miller 5, Pfister 5, Kluttz 4, Lawing 4, Oglesby 3, Alderman 2.
