Greetings HS hoops junkies from across the NFL playoff watching Piedmont! The Great One is here to recap his latest GOTW which involved old friends, Lake Norman and Mooresville. The 1st quarter was a wild one as Lake Norman’s Tre McKinnon was all over the place, especially the offensive boards, in leading The Cats to a 25-23 edge going into the 2nd frame. Another player was active in Kupie Wilson for his Mooresville squad grabbing loose balls but was a little over exuberant in picking up 3 fouls. Wilson would get his 4th foul in the 2nd and became an assistant coach for a long stretch that would ultimately have a profound impact on the outcome. The 2nd quarter saw a slightly slower pace but The Sadster’s take was that the Devils were hanging on via an assault on the offensive glass led by Dylan Clark. The Lakers were getting to the paint at will thanks to the Devils turning their heads on defense. McKinnon made a living driving the lane and got to the cup at will. When a miss occurred, the Lakers nabbed offensive boards due to a lack of boxing out by the Blue Devils. Despite some shortcomings, Mooresville only found itself down 43-39 at the half. McKinnon tallied 15 in the 1st half but wasn’t done by any means. The Lake would begin the flood that would drown the Devils in the 3rd quarter as Clemson-bound Trent Steinhour began to assert himself on the glass and defensively. Mooresville went scoreless until the 4:20 mark of the 3rd quarter but the Cats had built a double-digit lead and wouldn’t look back. A barrage of threes from the Lakers pushed the lead to 71-47 late in the 3rd. The Mooresville offense had gone stagnant and the offensive rebounds that kept the Devils in the game earlier had been embargoed by McKinnon and Steinhour. JR Nick Arnold took his share of the paint for the Lakers, scoring on several drives. McKinnon put an exclamation point on his night with a monster dunk from a step inside the free throw line making the score 88-57. The Lakers would win this statement game 99-71 in the first time they had scored over 90 against their rivals since 2011. These two will tee it up again later this season at Mooresville. McKinnon led the Lake Norman charge with 31. Steinhour added 26, Arnold 15 and backcourt mate Josh Yates also had 15. For Mooresville, Wilson’s foul trouble held him to 9, Nolan Ericson and Bryson Demby had 12 each and Dylan Clark had 10 points and 13 rebounds.
There you have it folks! The Great One will pay a GOTW visit back that he missed a couple weeks ago at Country Day as the Buccaneers host Charlotte Christian on Senior Night this Friday 1/31. Stay tuned!!!!