By Dwight Davis

The Dispatch

TYRO – Celebrating senior night, West Davidson tried to have some fun and then tried to win a game.

In the end, however, Salisbury put a damper on the evening with a 66-55 Central Carolina Conference win.

The Hornets (18-4, 7-2) managed to turn the tide in the final six minutes when they went on an 11-0 run and surged to 62-48 advantage before West’s Scott Hughes knocked in a 3-pointer to stop the flow.

West coach Derrick Stokes started his seniors – Carson Beane, Carter Beck, Holden Lanier, Zach Michael and Jake Simmons – and put the 5-foot-7 Beane in the jump circle against Salisbury’s 6-6 center Trey Oats.

“We thought we would have some fun and get back in our defense,” Stokes said.

The Green Dragons (8-14, 2-7) held their own against the visitors before getting behind by eight in the first half. With an advantage on the boards, Salisbury went up by as many as 11 in the third quarter before West closed the gap to 46-44 in the fourth period.

“It was a game of runs, kind of like the last time we played them (a 67-59 loss),” Stokes said. “I felt like they did a good job making that last run there at the end to win the game.”

Down the stretch, the Hornets helped themselves at the free throw line, hitting 10 of 15 foul shots. During their final run, Salisbury connected on four of seven free tosses.

Salisbury was coming off a 71-70 setback at the hands of Thomasville, a team that the Green Dragons defeated, 60-52, on Jan. 9.

“They’ve got a lot of size and some shooters,” described Stokes.

“I’m just proud of my seniors, how they’ve played and how they’ve acted all year. It was about them tonight. Even with the loss, it’s a celebration of them.”

Lanier hit four 3s and had 15 points on the night. Hughes led the Dragons with 21 points. Beane added 10.

Salisbury’s bruising post player, Donnell Alexander, led all scorers with 23 points. Isaac Baker had 13 points and Oats added 10.

West plays at East Davidson on Friday.

Dwight Davis can be reached at (336) 249-3981, ext. 226 or dwight.davis@the-dispatch.com. Follow Dwight on Twitter@LexDispatch_dd