Hornet boys in third

WALLBURG— Coming off two straight blowouts, the Salisbury boys basketball team proved Tuesday night it wasn’t going to blow up.

Led by its fired-up coach Drew Mathews, the Hornets made all the big plays in the fourth quarter and defeated Ledford 52-44.

There was good news on two fronts. Not only did the Hornets (6-10, 4-3) stop their slide but also found themselves alone in third place in the Central Carolina Conference after Central Davidson’s loss to West Iredell.

“We’re right there,” said Mathews, glancing toward his players. “But they don’t know that.”

It has been his mission over the last week to make them know it. He became a drill sergeant, running the Hornets through its hardest practice of the season on Monday. Forget the losses to Lexington and West Stokes, he told them. Ledford must be beaten.

And after a lackadasical first half that saw Ledford up 25-24, he lit into them again, using the same theme.

“We’re not hungry enough,”said Mathews, who didn’t stay in the locker room very long. “But I’m going to get that fire in them.”

The game with the Panthers (4-11, 2-5) was still a one-point game going into the fourth but seniors Andre Bruce and Chris Geter showed their leadership, finding freshman star Sharmari Spears over and over.

And the Hornets also hit their fourth quarter free throws, 9-of-15 to be exact.

Geter made several important plays. With Salisbury up 44-41 with 2:29 left, Geter made a steal and swished two foul shots. Next time down, he came up with the ball after Spears deflected it away and hit two more.

Brian Roten, Spears and Bruce finished the scoring at the line.

“That’s my role,” said Geter, a point guard. “I’ve got to make plays.”

Spears made just about everything. Most of his 27 points came on spin moves around the smaller, slower Panthers.

“(Spears) is a good post player,” said Ledford coach Rick Larrick. “We stopped everybody else but we didn’t stop him.”

SALISBURY (52) — Spears 27, Geter 8, Roten 6, Bruce 3, Campbell 3, Edward 2, Greene 2, Butler 1, Doleman, Field, Davis.

LEDFORD (44) — Disher 11, Talley 8, Johnson7, Myers 7, Motsinger 5, Reeves 4, Stephens 2.

Salisbury 11 13 12 16 — 52

Ledford 14 11 10 9 — 44