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With a shortened season down to a maximum of 14 games, high school basketball teams in North Carolina do not have as much of a chance to develop rotations in non-conference play.

One Stanly squad hit the ground running literally in terms of winning as the West Stanly Colts moved to 5-0 on the season with a 76-47 home win Tuesday over Montgomery Central.

The 3-pointer was the shot of choice in the game for the Colts (5-0, 3-0 RRC) as West was 18-of-42 (42.9 percent) from the arc, setting a school mark for most 3-pointers made in a game. West Stanly was 7-of-25 on two-point shots (29.2 percent).

“We got hot early and their zone gave us some good (three-point) looks so we kept taking it,” West head coach John Thompson said.

Trevor Kelly had a huge night for the Colts with 27 points on 8-of-17 shots from the arc. Austin Medlin added 16 points while Jake Bartell reached double figures in rebounds for West with 12.

With three conference wins under the team’s belt, West looks to make it four in a row in conference play Friday at home with undefeated Anson County.

This season, the playoffs are down to 32 teams with only the regular-season champion from the Rocky River Conference earning an automatic bid, making conference play more important this season, Thompson said. Wild card entrants into the state playoffs will be based on conference records.