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Late surge carries Hornets past South

BY ED DUPREE
SALISBURY POST

Coach Drew Mathews’ Hornets, who snapped a three-game losing streak, outscored the Raiders 21-11 in the final 5:15 to improve to 2-3 for the season.

South Rowan, coached by John Davis, played well in the second half until building up a six-point lead of 47-41 with 5:31 to play. The Raiders, slipping to 2-4, struggled the rest of the way.

“It was an opportunity for us. We should have taken advantage of it and just didn’t get it done,” said Davis.

“We had to work hard to get that one, and we needed that one,” said Mathews, whose Hornets had lost the previous three contests to strong teams, Davie County, Victory Christian and Charlotte Christian.

“We needed that just for some confidence. We’ve played some good teams the last five games, and we’ve got South at home, which is playing really good. I told the kids earlier that we are going to have to play one of our better games, and we stepped up there at the end, which I was glad to see. Finally, in the last two minutes, we started executing and doing some things right,” said Mathews.

The Hornets, ahead by 30-23 in the second quarter, fell behind late in the third period, when they went 3-for-15 from the floor and 1-for-6 at the foul line.

“That bothered me, because we went cold in shooting. You can’t do that when a team’s going to come out and play a zone. For about four or five minutes, we stayed at 38, and they got back in the game. They did a good job in boxing out and getting rebounds and putbacks,” Mathews continued.

South, led by center Damien Argrett (11 rebounds) and forward Maurice Torrence (nine) had a 41-33 advantage on the boards.

“Those two big guys, they just go get it,” said Mathews of the 6-6 Argrett and 6-2 Torrence, who each scored 13 points.

Salisbury won with great scoring balance. The two double-figure men, point guard Ken Drye (13) and forward Markeice Daugherty (10) came off the bench.

Four other Hornets scored six or more points.

“I think Ken Drye is getting better. Each game he shows some improvement, him and Markeice Daugherty. I’ve been working and changing the lineup, trying to find that right combination. Here lately, Ken and Markeice coming off the bench have been a sparkplug. They’re beginning to understand what I want in their role,” said the Salisbury coach.

Drye, who contributed five assists and four rebounds, made a big 3-pointer with 3:45 to play to give the Hornets the lead for keeps at 52-50. Daugherty also had a 3-pointer to start the Hornets’ comeback.

Forward Thad Pryor, who had a scoreless first half, was also a big factor for Salisbury down the stretch.He scored seven of his nine points in the final four minutes.

“I challenged him. He’s my senior: He’s the one that’s supposed to get it done, and he came through at the end there in the fourth quarter. But I need him for four quarters, not just one, for us to be successful going down the stretch,” said Mathews.

Terry Johnson led the Hornets in rebounding with 10 and contributed five assists.

South, after trailing seven in the second quarter, outscored the Hornets 24-11 to take their six-point lead in the final period. During that stretch, the Raiders scored often inside with great passing.

“We have some guys that enjoy playing the game, and they’re not very selfish. Points don’t mean anything to these guys,” said Davis.

Guards Drew King and Nathan Kennedy had five and four assists, respectively, to lead South in that category.

“We just didn’t get the job done defensively,” lamented Davis. “The bottom line is we just didn’t get it done tonight. ... This will be a learning experience for the kids. Them being young, they’ve just got to mature a little bit, and tonight they got a lesson.”

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NOTES: The Hornets were 22-for-54 (40.7 percent) on field goals and 13-for-28 on free throws. South went 18-for-57 (31.6 percent) from the floor and 21-for-31 at the foul line. ... South had 22 turnovers, one more than did the Hornets. ... Salisbury will be back in action at Concord tonight, then will visit Davie County on Friday. ... South plays host to North Rowan on Friday.

SOUTH ROWAN (58) —King 8, Torrence 13, Argrett 13, Diggs 6, Kennedy 2, Faggart, Daugherty 3, Girty 7, Beck 6, Cook, Childers.

SALISBURY (62) — Pryor 9, T. Johnson 8, Blanton 7, B. Blount 1, J. Johnson 5, Daugherty 10, Speigner 6, Drye 13, Jones 3, M. Blount.

South Rowan 11 17 12 18 — 58

Salisbury 15 17 7 23 — 62