If Duane Lewis was at all worried about any effects from a close loss to West Charlotte lingering into the next game or even the holiday break, his North Meck High boys' basketball team eased his mind last Friday night with a dominant display.
Lewis' Vikings, now 8-1 overall and on their way to the Maryland National Hoops Classic next week, completed a three-game stretch of pre-break I-Meck Conference games with a 91-46 win at Hough, scoring enough points (48) in the first half to win.
It was just the kind of collective effort Lewis wanted to see from his team that has lost only to defending 4A state champion West Charlotte (53-50 on Dec. 13) so far.
"You gotta feel pretty good," said Lewis, whose team is 3-0 against Hough. "We're definitely pleased. There are areas where we can get better and keep improving. We're happy with where we're at, but not satisfied."
North point guard Shivaughn Wiggins continued his strong play with a 32-point effort, two games after scoring a career-high 33 at Lake Norman. A senior, Wiggins is scoring 24 points per game while running the offense from the point guard position, and Lewis commended him for the balance he has maintained as both a scorer and distributor.
"The kid's good," said Lewis. "He's good. He's done everything that we've expected and more. We want him to keep improving on it. He's done an excellent job for us."
Josh Stepoli (14), Kyle Burton (12) and Rashaan Brown (10) also scored in double figures for the Vikings, and Lewis was pleased with the play of North's reserves, something he said is key to North taking the next step as a team.
"We want to develop our bench where it's consistent every night," he said. "We want to develop, develop, develop so we know what we're getting out of those bench players every night."
North will open the Maryland National Hoops Classic Wednesday against Riverdale Baptist of Upper Marlboro, Md.
Hough (3-7) is staying closer to home during the break and will play in Cox Mill High School's tournament beginning Wednesday with a 4 p.m. game against A.L. Brown.
The loss to North was Hough's worst of the season and its fifth straight.
Hough coach Justin Batts was disappointed his team tried to beat North at the Vikings' up-tempo pace.
"That was not the game plan," he said.
Jacqueaz Jackson was the lone Husky to score in double figures. He finished with 11 points.
Hough is tied with Lake Norman at the bottom of the I-Meck with 0-3 league records.
