With the way the North Rowan boys’ basketball team came out against North Moore in Spencer Friday, the Cavs may be on their way to their second state 1-A championship in three years.

The host Cavaliers, in their final year at the 1-A level, raced to a 12-0 lead in the first three minutes of the contest and coasted to a 69-26 victory over the Mustangs.

The Mustang loss drops them to 1-1 in Yadkin Valley Conference action and 2-4 overall, while North Rowan is 2-0 in the league and 3-2 overall.

The taller and faster Cavaliers used their up-tempo style and defense to race to a 25-5 lead at the end of the first period. The Cavaliers continued to pressure the Mustangs in the second quarter as North Moore managed only basket and one free throw, leaving them trailing 50-8 at the break.

North Rowan coach Andrew Mitchell rested his starters in the second half since the Cavaliers were playing cross-county rival Salisbury the following day. It didn’t matter as the Cavaliers’ bench is almost as talented as its starters. Once again the Mustangs were held to only three points the third period that ended with North Rowan up 63-11.

The Cavaliers reached their largest lead early in the fourth period after scoring the first two buckets of the frame for a 67-11 advantage. The Mustangs were able to find the basket in the fourth period, scoring 15 points while North Rowan managed only six points during the final frame.

Sophomore Matthew Spivey led the Mustangs with six points, followed by senior Landon Auman with five points, freshman Aaron Robinson five, Danzel Herron three, Daniel Purvis three, Tristin Britt two and Malik Chisholm two.

Sophomore Shareef Walker paced the Cavaliers with 13 points followed by Oshon West with nine points, Michael Conner eight, Michael Bowman eight, Jared Ellis eight, Josh Hardy six, Brandon Nelson five, Dalton Nelson four and Jalen Sanders two.

The Mustangs travel to South Davidson Tuesday for conference showdown. The girls’ game is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. followed by the boys’ matchup.