It wasn’t just unexpected, it was downright unbelievable. Salisbury — that’s right, 7-18 Salisbury — pushed defending state 2A champion High Point Central (23-2) to the edge on Thursday night before losing 64-59 in the semifinals of the Central Carolina Conference Tournament.

Five minutes into the second half, the fourth-seeded Hornets still had the lead.

Five seconds after the game, the Hornets had the privilege of listening to an ovation from their handful of hardy fans.

This was man bites dog. This was Lois Lane saves Superman. This was Duke’s football team getting after Florida State.

Salisbury coach Jennifer Shoaf had faced High Point Central legend Kenny Carter’s teams seven times prior to last night. The Bison had not only won all seven, they had won them by an average margin of 32 points. They had trashed the Hornets by 46, stomped them by 41 and humbled them by 38. A good game for the Hornets against the Bison had gotten to be any contest in which no one got embarrassed and no one got hurt.

But that was the old Salisbury. The new Salisbury — the one we’ve seen the past few weeks — not only isn’t bad, it’s actually pretty good.

OK, so High Point Central wasn’t on top of its game. The Bison shot “only” 49 percent and they’re usually even better than that. The Bison were bombed by the Hornets on the backboards and they turned it over 19 times, a lot for them. They hit only five 3-pointers, about half their normal output.

“We didn’t play well,” admitted Carter. “We didn’t defend the paint and we didn’t shoot it. Most of all, we didn’t attack.”

But then, Salisbury is no longer a sitting duck, waiting to be attacked.

The Hornets’ guards, Keke Chunn and Ternisha Charleston, are getting better by the hour. They’re no longer just speedy athletes. Now, they’re honest-to-goodness basketball players.

“It took those two awhile,” warned Shoaf. “But now they’re here.”

Charleston was often the attacker, seldom the attackee. She scored just six points, but stole the ball from Central’s excellent guards five times.

Chunn had a super game with 14 points and nine assists. She’s the one who kept getting the ball to Hornet horse Sherree Gillespie, who poured in 24 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and gave the Bison fits down low. Jenny Reilly added 13 points by pounding the boards.

“Salisbury scored 59 points without making a single jump shot,” said an amazed Carter. “It was all free throws and points in the paint. They were prepared for our press and they executed. They handled everything we threw at them.”

“We’re getting there,” agreed Shoaf. “We played our hearts out.”

Shoaf was important, too. She never let her team get satisfied with respectability once it was clear it wasn’t going to be blown out. She never stopped demanding that her girls win this game. And by the fourth quarter, her team believed it was going to do exactly that.

The Hornets fell just short. Down eight at the half, they came back to lead 40-39 on a Gillespie drive with 2:58 left in the third quarter. But Central scored the game’s next six points to re-establish control.

Then the Bison converted 12 of 15 fourth-quarter free throws. They needed them all, because Salisbury just kept right on scoring in a 19-point fourth quarter that may have been its best eight minutes of the season.

“A lot of people doubted us,” said Shoaf. “And to be honest, there have been times when we doubted ourselves. But we’ve grown up. We held our composure and never got rattled against a great team.”

The Hornets played without defensive ace Tiffany Robinson, usually a starter, because she just had her wisdom teeth removed. When the procedure was originally scheduled, Shoaf thought the extraction wouldn’t affect the season.

“Who thought we’d still be playing at this time of year?” she said with a grin.

Carter, who buried the Hornets 67-38 and 77-36 earlier this season, certainly had no reason to believe Shoaf’s troops would still be alive and kicking and playoff-bound. But he was quick to give credit where it’s due.

“Jennifer has maximized her talent,” he said. “She’s done a wonderful job and her kids have a legitimate shot to win playoff games. She can be very proud of them.”

NOTES: Crystal Taylor filled in for Robinson and had nine rebounds. ... Robinson will be back for Salisbury’s first state playoff game in four years on Tuesday at Black Mountain C.D.Owen. ... Guard Elizabeth Redpath led the Bison with 18 points. She hit all six of her free throws and made two 3s. ... The Bison will face North Rowan or Ledford for the tournament crown on Saturday.

SALISBURY (59) — Edwards, Atkinson, Chunn 14, Taylor 2, Charleston 6, Bauk, Seay, Gillespie 24, Wingerson, Reilly 13.

HPCENTRAL (64) —Ward 4, Vuncannon 15, Hendley 3, Redpath 18, Cook 12, Green 2, Warren 10, Kirby, Copeland.

Salisbury 12 14 14 19 — 59