Salisbury boys improve to 9-1
Published 12:00 am Saturday, December 19, 2015
By David Shaw
sports@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — Salisbury’s boys will enter the Dale’s Sporting Goods/Sam Moir Christmas Classic later this month with a county-best 9-1 record, but getting there wasn’t easy.
The Hornets suffered their first loss earlier in the week, then had to obliterate a 17-point, third-quarter deficit and survive a breathless race to the finish to beat visiting Southeast Guilford, 62-59, on Friday.
“We were 17 down and hadn’t played at all,” coach Bryan Withers said. “I don’t think we had even showed up at that point. But where you win the game is on the defensive end.”
Salisbury prevailed largely because it limited Southeast Guilford (2-7) to six field goals in the last 13 minutes — and none after Nate Flock’s runaway layup gave the guests a 56-43 lead with 4:13 remaining. But don’t discount the offensive/defensive display of senior guard Deshawn Troutman who caught fire down the stretch and netted 13 of his team-high 17 points in the final 5:15.
“I was just being aggressive, making plays, trying to do my part,” he said after being benched for part of the third quarter. “My mindset was to do whatever was necessary. I refused to go 8-2.”
Salisbury trailed 41-24 three minutes into the second half when it launched its comeback. Sophomore Isaac Baker’s 3-pointer from the top of the key and Wes Fazia’s three-point play kick-started an 11-0 run that turned the crowd into a human trampoline. Later teammate Will Leckonby — who scored eight fourth-quarter points — drained the first of his two 3-balls.
“The first one came off my hand a little funny,” Leckonby said. “It had a weird spin on it. I was surprised it went in. The second one I knew was good as soon as I let it go.”
That second one came with 2:37 to play and drew the Hornets within 58-53. Troutman narrowed the gap to 59-57 with a full-court, driving layup and a pair of free throws. Then with 1:05 on the clock he stole the ball near midcourt, penetrated through the lane, hit a layup and got hacked by Southeast Guilford’s Judah Watkins. His ensuing free throw gave Salisbury its first lead since the opening two minutes.
“I remember just getting the ball and going one-on-one with (Watkins),” Troutman said. “I had the angle I wanted on him. I just had to concentrate on using the glass and finishing.”
Southeast Guilford finished itself off with just 2.6 seconds to go when Glenn Evans was called for a foul while battling Leckonby for an offensive rebound, giving Salisbury an unlikely victory.
“There’s no such thing as luck when you just play hard,” Withers said. “The ball bounces to the person that plays harder. And we started playing harder in the second half.”
SOUTHEAST GUILFORD (59) — Tate 17, Watkins 14, Flock 13, Wright 9, Evans 4, Morgan 2.
SALISBURY (62) — Troutman 17, Leckonby 8, Baker 7, Fazia 7, Oates 6, A.Yang 5, Alexander 5, Harris 3, Rivens 2, Moss 2, J.Yang.
SE Guilford 14 13 19 13 — 59
Salisbury 11 7 17 27 — 62