WAXHAW — The Cuthbertson High boys basketball team led early, but fell to Rocky River 1A/2A conference rival West Stanly (4-3) 67-55 on Friday evening.

The Cavaliers (2-6) led 11-9 after the first quarter, but the Colts opened with an 11-0 run to start the second quarter with the Cavs using four freshmen on the court.

CHS freshman guard Jorden Hardrick-Givens helped narrow the deficit to 20-15 after back-to-back field goals. Junior forward Mike Cuthbertson shortly followed with a field goal after grabbing his own rebound to tie the game at 20-all just before halftime.

But the Colts came out of halftime making shots off ball rotation, adding to what would be 13 assists by the end of the night.

West Stanly led 36-23 with 3:07 remaining in the third quarter.

“We didn’t have enough energy to start the third quarter – I thought the game changed in the first four minutes of the third quarter,” CHS coach Mike Helms. “And really I thought we got some pretty good shots, we didn’t score. We got the ball inside a couple of times and didn’t score.

“I really thought that little three or four minute stretch right there was the difference in the game.”

Cuthbertson fought back though, starting with a Cornelius Stradford 3-pointer and followed by back-to-back Mike Cuthbertson steals that turned into field goals. The 7-0 run had CHS trailing 36-30.

Mike Cuthbertson added another steal shortly after, leading to a Cody Esser field goal, and Esser hit a 3-pointer on the following possession to bring the Cavs within one point – but it was the closest Cuthbertson would come.

Both teams made seven 3-pointers on the evening, but the Colts used their size advantage to out-rebound the Cavs 27-19, leading to second-chance points. West Stanly also got to the free-throw line 13 times, making nine attempts, compared to Cuthbertson’s making four of six attempts from the stripe.

Coach Helms is hoping that Mike Cuthbertson (6-foot-5, 195 pounds) can take advantage of his size and become more patient in the post through the season, leading to easier baskets and taking heat off shooters.

“[Mike Cuthbertson] gets impatient and when he’s not getting the ball he wants to start floating,” Helms said. “He’s our guy down there and we don’t have anybody else, so he has got to be the man down there.

“We have got to have him down and around the post and around the paint all the time.”

Colts drop CHS girls

West Stanly’s girls ran away with a 56-23 win over Cuthbertson on Friday.

The Cavaliers (0-8) got seven points from Sydney Sebastian and seven rebounds from Emily Barfield.

West Stanly was paced offensively by Jenna Strickland, who scored a game-high 14 points.

Cuthbertson will host Forest Hills next Tuesday.

West Stanly boys 67, Cuthbertson 55

West Stanly

Elliot Drake 6 5-6 20, Taylor Fraley 3 5-5 14, Andrew Wilson 5 3-5 13, Jace Whitley 4 1-3 10, Zack Caldwell 4 0-0 8, Tad Morton 1 0-0 2, Totals: 24 9-13 67.

Cuthbertson

Emmitt Afam 4 3-4 11, Cody Esser 4 0-0 11, Mike Cuthbertson 5 1-2 11, Chris Bristow 3 0-0 8, Jorden Hardrick-Givens 3 0-0 6, Cornelius Stradford 2 0-0 5, David Schaaf 1 0-0 3, Totals: 22 4-6 55.

West Stanly 9 13 19 26 67

Cuthbertson 11 9 17 18 55

3-pointers: WS 7 (Drake 3, Fraley 3, Whitley 1); CHS 7 (Esser 3, Bristow 2, Schaaf 1, Stradford 1); Rebounds: 27 (Drake 7, Whitley 6, Wilson 6); CHS 19 (Cuthbertson 9); Assists: 13 (Whitley 6); CHS 11 (Afam 4, Bristow 3).

West Stanly girls 56, Cuthbertson 23

West Stanly

Jenna Strickland 5 4-4 14, Savanah Miller 5 0-0 11, Randi Love 4 1-2 9, Brooke Benton 2 2-2 7, Aubri Shell 3 0-0 6, Kasey Fowler 2 1-3 5, Madison McIlwaine 1 0-4 2, Katlyn Speights 0 2-2 2, Totals: 22 10-17 56.

Cuthbertson

Sydney Sebastian 3 1-3 7, Brogan O’Brien 2 0-0 4, Alex Duty 1 0-0 3, Jessica Feranda 1 1-2 3, Emily Barfield 1 0-4 2, Kathleen Cashman 1 0-3 2, Rachel Miller 1 0-0 2, Totals: 10 2-12 23.

West Stanly 17 15 13 11 56

Cuthbertson 8 7 4 4 23

3-pointers: WS 2 (Benton 1, Miller 1); CHS 1 (McIlwaine 1); Rebounds: WS 32 (Love 6, Miller 6); CHS 28 (Barfield 7, Cashman 6); Assists: WS 14 (Benton 4); CHS 4.