East Burke clips West Caldwell behind Byrd's 33

East Burke High head boys’ basketball coach Jon Hancock knows what he wants out of Clay Byrd.

Hancock has handed the job of point producer to Byrd, a junior guard.

On Tuesday night, Byrd more than earned his keep, pouring in 33 points and seemingly finding every answer to any West Caldwell run to lead East Burke to a stunning 66-55 Catawba Valley Athletic 2A win at West Caldwell.

The victory snapped the Warriors’ eight-game win streak, as well as an eight-game victory string against the Cavs.

More importantly, it handed West Caldwell (12-5, 10-1) only its second conference loss since the league formed in 2009-2010, and it prevented the Warriors from clinching at least a share of the CVAC 2A regular-season title.

East Burke (15-6, 9-2) now sits just a game back of West Caldwell with three conference games remaining.

Trever Hyatt added 17 points to Byrd’s outburst, and an efficient night from the floor, combined with a pesky zone defense, frustrated the Warriors all night.

Buoying Byrd’s performance was a scorching night from long range, as he made 7-of-13 from the 3-point range. The Cavs shot 50 percent (21-of-42) and they made eight of 18 beyond the arc.

 “He’s supposed to do that,” said Hancock of Byrd, who also finished a tidy 6-for-6 on free throws in the fourth quarter to help hold off West Caldwell’s hopes of a comeback. “He just played well. And when he plays like he did tonight, we have a chance to win every time.”

Overshadowed by the offensive heroics was a change in the defensive scheme that took the Warriors out of their rhythm from the opening tip.

Twenty-five days earlier, East Burke mixed defenses to little effect when West Caldwell won 80-60 in Icard. But Tuesday, the Cavs went exclusively with a zone defense that the Warriors had trouble shooting over.

West Caldwell shot 34.5 percent (20-of-58), including 7-for-28 from long distance.

East Burke was also effective in neutralizing forward Mekhi Dula, a 6-foot-5 freshman who was limited to six points.

 “They doubled down on him every time he touched it,” said Warriors head coach Hank Newson. “We kicked it out to our shooters, and we just didn’t make our shots.

“We never got that stop and score we needed to claw back into the game.”

The Cavs took control from the outset, opening the game 6-for-6 from the field and taking a 19-10 lead through the first quarter.

The Warriors failed to whittle into the lead over the next two quarters, with East Burke leading 31-21 at the half and keeping its 10-point lead at 48-38 entering the final quarter.

A 3-pointer from Kalice Steptoe (17 points) and three-point play from Dula inside to open the fourth quarter closed West Caldwell within 48-44 with just under four minutes left.

Back-to-back jumpers from Hyatt and Byrd, though, jump started a 10-0 Cavs run capped by two Hyatt foul shots that gave East Burke a 58-44 lead with 1:26 to play.

But not all the news was good for the Cavs. Hyatt sprained his ankle late in the game, and Hancock said he may be sidelined for Thursday night’s CVAC 2A game at Maiden.

EAST BURKE 51, WEST CALDWELL 39

Bailey Gragg scored 15 points, Sydney Hicks added 11 and East Burke (14-7, 7-4) ran its victory streak over the Warriors (7-10, 5-6) to nine, shooting 45.7 percent from the floor.

Ahead 11-7 after the first quarter, the Cavs led 22-12 at the break, and West Caldwell got no closer than eight points (twice) the rest of the way.

Ravin Carter’s 20 points led the Warriors (7-10, 5-6).

East Burke’s win kept it tied with South Iredell for third place.