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By Brian Pitts
Enterprise Record

The Ellis boys basketball team isn’t just 5-0; the Jaguars are steamrolling people.
After leading by seven at halftime against visiting North Rowan on Nov. 4, the Jaguars erupted for 22 third-quarter points and cruised to a 60-45 win.
“In the second half, we picked up the defense and started playing like we were supposed to,” coach Roger Blalock said.
Mason Driver (18 points) and Cam James (10) had season highs to lead the Jags, who got six points from Bowman Blakley, Henry Migliarese and Peyton Fishel.
“(Driver) got a bunch of steals,” Blalock said. “They kept trying to press us and Mason pretty much dominated. They could not guard him. He’s a good football player, basketball player and baseball player. He’s an all-around good player and he listens pretty good like his brother (Davie junior Ethan Driver).”
Ellis 49, S. Davie 33
At home against South Davie on Nov. 7, Ellis kept the momentum rolling.
The Jaguars were fantastic in the first half – their halftime lead was 30-9 – as they snapped a four-game losing streak to the Tigers. All five of Ellis’ wins have been by 14-plus points.
“We played a great game,” Blalock said. “We had 22 turnovers, but our defense was great.”
Blakley (14) matched his season high, and James (11) turned in a season high for the second game in a row. Driver was next with eight points.
“Bowman is a really good athlete,” Blalock said. “He had steals, blocks and rebounds. He played a complete game.”
The Tigers, who dropped to 3-3 with their third loss in four games, were paced by Colson Dulin (eight), Jared Vaughters (seven) and Ty Cozart (five).
Ellis flipped the script after losing to South 64-36 and 54-26 in 2023.
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Earlier in the season, South lost at home to North Rowan, won at home over Southeast and lost at Erwin.
In a 51-40 loss to North Rowan, the Tigers trailed by 14 at halftime and by 21 at the end of the third. Vaughters led the way with 13 points. Dreighton Lunnerman was next with eight.
Two days later, South used a strong fourth quarter to knock off Southeast 54-46. Dulin won it almost single-handedly, scoring all 14 of his points during a 23-14 run in the fourth quarter. His heroics erased Southeast’s 32-31 lead at the end of the third.
Dulin (14) and Vaughters (14) both enjoyed season highs. Cozart contributed eight.
“(Dulin) got to the rim and started making it happen,” coach Germain Mayfield said.
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South and Erwin battled on even terms for three quarters, but the Eagles pulled away in the fourth and defeated South 56-43.
After facing a 26-16 halftime deficit, South got a huge boost from Lunnerman, who accounted for nine of South’s 14 points in the third, when South rallied to tie the game at 30.
Lunnerman, who came in averaging 6.6 points, exploded for 22, but it wasn’t enough as Erwin poured in 26 fourth-quarter points.
North 44, CG 34
Nolan Allen displayed do-it-all skills, and North Davie clamped down in the fourth quarter to beat visiting China Grove on Nov. 4.
North held a skinny 31-30 lead going into the fourth. But in the final seven minutes, Allen, Glen Greene, Wade Ridenhour and Levi Morales supplied scoring and North held the Red Devils to four points in the final period.
Allen finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Morales had six points and nine rebounds. Greene had six points and five rebounds. Tannyr Carrier and Ridenhour had five points each, while Jeremiah had four.
“ Nolan filled the stat sheet again, but I can’t say enough about how hard our big men played under the basket,” coach Caleb Davis said. “Glen and Levi battled all night and brought in 14 rebounds as a unit down low. Their contributions don’t always show up in the scorebook, but they are invaluable to the team.”
Moor 55, North 39
Allen put up 11 points in the first quarter as North raced to a 17-5 lead at home on Nov. 7. Mooresville, though, didn’t flinch. It stormed to a 24-22 halftime lead. The Wildcats only trailed by two at the end of the third, but they weren’t able to stay with Mooresville in the fourth.
The Red Imps’ 22-point fourth spoiled Allen’s 28-point performance. He is averaging 23.8 on the year.
“We played some of our best basketball of the season in the first quarter, but Mooresville’s size and athleticism caught up to us when we started to get fatigued,” Davis said.
Ellis 60, N. Rowan 45 – Mason Driver 18, Cam James 10, Bowman Blakley 6, Henry Migliarese 6, Peyton Fishel 6, Jordan Crowley 3, Bentley Carter 3, Joseph Burchette 2, Wade Hefner 2, Graham Weaver 2, Ryan Richardson 2.
N. Davie 44, CG 34 – Nolan Allen 18, Levi Morales 6, Glen Greene 6, Tannyr Carrier 5, Wade Ridenhour 5, Jeremiah Hernandez 4.
Mooresville 55, N. Davie 39 – Allen 28, Hernandez 6, Ridenhour 3, Mason Brookshire 2.
N. Rowan 51, S. Davie 40 – Jared Vaughters 13, Dreighton Lunnerman 8, Colson Dulin 5, Anderson Branham 3, Malachi Miller 3, James Martin 2, Crosby Parker 2, Ty Cozart 2, Wyatt Tucker 1, Bentley Perez 1.
S. Davie 54, Southeast 46 – Vaughters 14, Dulin 14, Cozart 8, Lunnerman 6, Branham 5, Tucker 4, William Sandoval 3.
Erwin 56, S. Davie 43 – Lunnerman 22, Branham 6, Vaughters 5, Miller 4, Martin 3, Parker 2, Dulin 1.

S. Davie 33 – Colson Dulin 8, Jared Vaughters 7, Ty Cozart 5, James Martin 3, Anderson Branham 3, William Sandoval 3, Wyatt Tucker 2, Crosby Parker 2.
Ellis 49 – Bowman Blakley 14, Cam James 11, Mason Driver 8, Henry Migliarese 5, Graham Weaver 5, Peyton Fishel 4, Jordan Crowley 2.