By Patrick Love

Sports Editor

North Moore boys' basketball coach Grant Smith knows the book on his team.

"Our tendency is to slack off in the second half," he said.

Not Tuesday night. After taking a 34-18 lead into halftime, the Mustangs kept the pedal to the floor, outscoring homestanding Gray Stone 23-3 in the third quarter on their way to a 73-42 runaway win.

It was the nightcap of a varsity basketball sweep for North Moore. Earlier in the night, the Lady Mustangs grinded out a 53-42 win.

For a North Moore boys' team that has given up second-half leads on more than one occasion this season, the result was encouraging.

"It was a tremendous win for us in terms of finally playing a full 32 minutes," said North Moore boys' coach Grant Smith. "We are still trying to find ourselves in terms of the team we want to be, but we are still working hard."

Senior point guard John Spivey turned in a tremendous effort with a game-high 27 points. Xavier Scotton chipped in 10 points and nine rebounds, and Tyler Wallace added six points and eight boards as the Mustangs improved to 2-3 in Yadkin Valley 1A Conference play and 3-8 overall.

Spivey was not the only 27-point scorer on the night. Lady Mustangs sophomore Shakorya Brower posted the same total as the North Moore girls' team improved to 7-4 overall and 3-2 in Yadkin Valley Conference play, while Gray Stone fell to 3-2 in conference play.

Katelyn Sheffield and Jalisa Davis both complemented Brower's big night with seven points apiece for the Lady Mustangs.

North Moore is scheduled to host South Stanly tonight in a varsity doubleheader that tips off at 6 p.m.