By Mike London, Salisbury Post

The North Rowan men’s basketball team outscored South Stanly 25-7 down the stretch for a 79-56 Yadkin Valley Conference victory on Tuesday.

“We got more aggressive on defense, got turnovers and pushed the ball in the fourth quarter,” North Rowan point guard Derrick Page said.

North Rowan (14-2, 9-0) got 28 points from Brevin Goodlett and 21 from Dayjuwon Cooke opening up a two-game lead in the league over the Bulls and Albemarle.

Jaquez Cooke led South Stanly (9-8, 7-2) with 19 points.

“It was an important win,” North Rowan coach Jason Causby said. “Goodlett and Cooke were really active. They were getting to the rim offensively and they were hitting the boards.”

The Cavs have won seven games in a row since the calendar flipped to 2019.

North Rowan got off to a solid start, but even with Goodlett scoring 13 points in the second quarter, the Cavs could not shake South Stanly which made six 3-pointers in the first half. At the break, North Rowan led 37-33.

“(South) was making a lot of corner threes against our 1-3-1, but we adjusted in the second half,” Causby said. “We played more 2-3 zone and we paid more attention to the wings instead of challenging the ball at the top.”

Jadius Jones made four 3-pointers in the first half for the visiting Bulls, but North shut him out after halftime.

Page scored seven of his 10 points in the third quarter, but heading to the final eight minutes it was still a tight game. North, which had escaped 61-57 at South Stanly early in the season, was clinging to a 54-49 lead.

“That’s when our defense stepped up a lot,” Goodlett said. “We got it going with our press in the fourth quarter. We did the things we’re supposed to do.”

North Rowan blew the game open with a flurry. Defense generated offense and the Cavs were able to spread things out and pull away.

“Page played a great floor game, especially in the second half,” Causby said. “He got the ball to the spots where it needed to go, and I really liked the way all our guys responded in the fourth quarter. We’re playing as well right now as we have all season.”

North Rowan plays at Uwharrie Charter on Friday, then gets a rematch with North Stanly Tuesday in New London.

South Stanly hosts Gray Stone on Friday night.

SS 12 21 16 7 56
NR 20 17 17 25 79

SS – Jaquez Cooke 19, Jadius Jones 12, Legrand 9, Huntley 6, Lowder 6, Tarlton 3, Colson 1.

NR – Devin Goodlett 28, Dayjuwan Cooke 21, Derrick Page 10, Smith 6, Broaddus 4, Goodes 4, Robinson 4, Stoner 2.