GREENSBORO — Defense was part of it. Low shooting percentages also were part of it.
Salisbury’s boys basketball team squeezed out a 44-41 win against Asheboro on Monday afternoon in a game played at Southeast Guilford as part of a Martin Luther King Jr. Day tournament.
To win when scoring 44 points is no easy feat. The Hornets had not won a game while scoring so few points since they beat North Rowan 40-34 in the 1995-96 season.
It was the fewest points allowed by the Hornets (9-7) since they beat East Rowan 59-36 on opening night last season.
“There were a lot of contributing factors to the low score,” Salisbury coach Jason Causby said. “Neither team shot well. It was a brand new gym with white walls and no banners on the walls. The gym was just cavernous, and the team’s unfamiliarity with that big gym contributed to nobody shooting well. We also were playing at an odd time, and for a lot of the game, it just didn’t have the feel of a normal high school game.”
Salisbury got 10 points each from Corban Usry and DeShawn Troutman. D.J. Alexander scored eight. Jon Mark Petty and Nick Brown scored six each.
Salisbury fell behind by as many as nine points in the first half and trailed 22-16 at the break.
The Hornets stayed in the game with defense and made a push in the fourth quarter.
“Defensively, we did most of things we hoped to do,” Causby said. “We packed it in and limited their touches inside and they only made one 3-pointer.”
Tazmine Dunn led Asheboro with 13 points.
Clinging to a one-point lead in the final seconds, the Hornets got a crucial stop, came up with a loose ball after a deflection and got a timeout. They were able to inbound the ball to Petty, and after he was fouled, he made two clutch free throws.
“The big positive was that we played a pretty solid fourth quarter,” Causby said. “We managed the game well and made the plays down the stretch.”
Troutman scored in double-figures for the 11th time this season, while Usry enjoyed his 10th double-figure outing this year.
Salisbury will take a two-game winning streak into Friday’s CCC home game with West Davidson.
The Hornets are 2-1 in the CCC and tied for second place.

SALISBURY (44) — Usry 10, Troutman 10, Alexander 8, Brown 6, Petty 6, Fazia 4, Wilson, Canipe, Rayner, Davis.
ASHEBORO (41) — Dunn 13, Hall 11, Bittle 9, McGuinn 5, Ettson 2, Small 1, Coble, Ellison, Jones, Wilson.

Salisbury 7 9 13 15 — 44
Asheboro 5 17 11 8 — 41