Prep Basketball: Hornets rally past A.L. Brown

Published 12:12 am Tuesday, December 1, 2015

KANNAPOLIS — A.L. Brown’s boys led Salisbury 10-2 early, and it appeared the Hornets might be chased right out of Bullock Gym.
But the Hornets eventually found traction in a track meet and they rode powerful senior D.J. Alexander in the fourth quarter to a 62-59 win.
Salisbury is 3-0 for the first time since the 2011-12 season. The Hornets trailed by as many as 13 and were down eight going to the fourth quarter.
“When you win here, it’s a good win,” first-year Salisbury coach Bryan Withers said. “Those A.L. Brown guys fight hard, and they made the floor seem like it was way too long. Nothing came easy for us.”
Guard Isaac Baker scored 15 for the Hornets, while Alexander had all 14 of his points in the second half, including 10 in a physical fourth quarter.
“Salisbury is good,” A.L. Brown coach Shelwyn Klutz said. “They’ve got two really quick guards (Baker and DeShawn Troutman), and they’re very big upfront.”
Withers said the theme for the Hornets this season is “to earn it,” and they’ve earned their 3-0 start.
“People are coming up to my guys patting them on the back and telling them how good they are,” Withers said. “But we’ve got to earn it every day. We haven’t done anything yet.”
The Wonders looked rocket-fueled at the start. It was their first game, and they came out hard, just as Withers warned his team they would do.
“They weren’t big but they were fast and athletic,” Baker said. “The coaches just kept telling us to settle down, settle down. We finally did.”
The Wonders still have veterans Jaylon Neal (17 points), Damon Johnson (14) and Sherrod Sutton (11), and that trio was a handful. Salisbury did settle down some after the Wonders threw the first punch, but A.L. Brown still led 12-6 after a quarter.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Lane Argabright pushed the Wonders to a 28-21 halftime advantage. It was a tough half for the Hornets, as Alexander picked up three personals and Troutman watched a half-dozen of his shots in the lane slide off the rim.
When Johnson passed to Neal for another bucket late in the third quarter, Baker picked up his fourth foul. The Hornets trailed 42-34 and appeared to be in serious trouble.
But then Salisbury took charge in the fourth quarter.
“We got impatient and we really didn’t do a very good job of running our offense after the first quarter,” Klutz said. “We turned it over too much and we fouled too much. We put them on the foul line a lot and they did a good job of knocking down free throws.”
With six minutes left in the game, Sutton scored inside, and the Hornets trailed 47-39.
The decisive rally began with two free throws by hard-working Tre Oats. Then Wes Fazia blocked a shot on one end, and then produced a three-point play to get the Hornets within 47-44.
With four minutes to go, Alex Yang drilled a confident 3-pointer, and the Hornets were finally back even at 47-all.
With 3:02 remaining, Baker dished to Alexander, who exploded for a three-point play and a 52-50 lead.
“When we were behind and I had three fouls, I admit I was a little bit worried,” Alexander said. “But the coaches told me to just chill and to play my game. They’re really athletic, and we realized they were jumping and trying to block everything. I just had to stay patient, and then go up strong.”
When Fazia hit a 12-foot jumper and Baker scored off a turnover, Salisbury’s lead was 56-52 with 1:47 left.
After that it was a matter of taking care of the ball and making free throws, and with Baker and Troutman, the Hornets are hard to take the ball away from. With 53 seconds left, Troutman darted to his left, drove and found Alexander, and Alexander rammed in two more.
Yang made a free throw to give the Hornets a 62-59 lead. That forced the Wonders to hoist a 3-pointer on their final, desperate possession. Johnson wound up with a difficult, hanging shot from straightaway. When it bounded off the iron, the Hornets celebrated a hard-earned victory.
“We never dropped our heads, and that was the important thing,” Withers said. “I got on some guys hard tonight, but it’s like (former Salisbury football coach) Joe Pinyan told me. If you don’t demand it of your kids, you’ll never get it.”
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NOTES: Baker scored 30 in Saturday’s 83-74 overtime win against Trinity. Oats had 17, Fazia scored 11, and Troutman had 10.

Salisbury 62, A.L. Brown 59
SALISBURY (62) — Baker 15, Alexander 14, Fazia 8, Oats 8, Troutman 6, Leckonby 5, A. Yang 4, Harris 2, J. Yang, Rivens.
A.L. BROWN (59) — J. Neal 17, Johnson 14, Sutton 11, Argabright 10, Butler 4, Williamson 2, T. Neal 1, Medley.
Salisbury 6 15 13 28 — 62
A.L. Brown 12 16 14 17 — 59