By David Shaw
dshaw@salisburypost.com
LEXINGTON ó Mmm-mmm good.
If Friday’s Salisbury at Lexington midseason showdown had been edible, close to a thousand people would need to shed a few pounds.
On a night when senior Brandon Abel reached 1,000 career points, the Hornets hung on for a molar-grinding 81-76 CCC win.
“That was an awesome basketball game,” coach Jason Causby exclaimed after conference-leading SHS (14-1, 5-0) extended its victory binge to 14 games. “I got caught up in the moment a couple times, just watching two very talented teams go up and down and up and down.”
Salisbury and Lexington (6-7, 1-3) went at it like two dogs fighting in the street. There were 3-pointers galore and clutch shots from the wings that kept the overflow crowd in a raucous mood. There were costly turnovers and close calls, along with smart and not-so-smart decisions. There were 11 field goals for the Hornets in a momentum-turning second quarter and 15 straight points by Lexington junior Warren Holmes in the third.
“If I had to play this game all over, I would do everything the same,” said Salisbury’s Dominique Phillips. “All the mistakes, all the fouls. They all led to great plays.”
And of course there was Abel. The 6-foot-5 forward was pure Freddie Mercury ó dynamite with a laser beam. He poured in 19 points, snagged seven rebounds and became the eighth Salisbury player to score 1,000 points ó and the first since Shamari Spears did it in 2003.
“It’s a great accomplishment,” the modest-to-a-fault Abel said. “As a senior, all I did tonight was stand up to the challenge and hit some big shots.”
The one that put him in the record book came with 2:28 remaining, when he penetrated the lane for a layup and a 76-71 SHS lead. But the pair he made some two minutes earlier gave the Hornets the lead for good and were equally, if not more important.
“Brandon’s a four-year starter and he’s hit lots of big shots for us,” said Causby. “That was just a senior taking over, doing what he’s supposed to do.”
The score was tied 65-65 with 4:47 to play when Abel soared in from the right side for a line-drive, one-handed jam. Then as Lexington tried to inbound the ball, Salisbury’s whirlwind defense refused to yield and a five-second violation was called. The Hornets regained possession, got the ball in Abel’s hands and he delivered another layup for a 69-65 edge.
“Abel makes plays like that all the time,” said Phillips, who contributed a season-best 12 points. “He makes his post moves look so easy. He probably thinks it was just another play.”
Half-a-minute after Lexington’s Sidney Challenger swished a 3-ball from the left side to trim Salisbury’s lead to 71-70, Phillips made a key three-point play. Teammate Darien Rankin (17 points, 6 rebounds) made the Hornets’ final basket with 58 seconds to go and John Knox clinched the win with a pair of late free throws.
“I was trying to get everybody to go hard so we could get the win,” said Rankin. “A game like this shows that we can be disciplined and play our game.”
Holmes paced all scorers with 22 points and was glow-in-the-dark hot in the third period, when Lexington cut a 12-point deficit to 59-57.
“Warren’s starting to show what kind of player he can be,” said LHS coach Robert Hairston. “He made some tough shots, but so did Salisbury. You know, I hate to lose any game, but that one was a lot of fun to be part of.”
Especially for Abel and the Hornets. “This is the game we were talking about over the summer,” he said. “The game we had to have.”
Salisbury (81) ó Abel 19, Rankin 17, Phillips 12, Hailey 10, Knox 10, Morris 7, Williams 6, Weant.lexington (76) ó Holmes 22, Curry 15, Parsons 11, Boger 9, Challenger 7, Crump 4, McCown 3, Todd 3, Pompey 2.
Salisbury 16 30 16 19 ó 81
Lexington 26 12 19 19 ó 76