By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — Thirty-two Salisbury turnovers didn’t dampen the spirits of coach Bryan Withers because the Hornets had some spurts of stellar basketball in Thursday’s 76-59 win against 4A Lake Norman.
“Yes, way too many unforced turnovers,” Withers said. “But we were able to speed Lake Norman up by playing at a very fast pace.”
The 2A Hornets definitely took Lake Norman out of its comfort zone.
Lake Norman (2-2) shot — and missed — a lot of 3-pointers, and the quicker Hornets (3-0) turned defensive boards into transition points. There were a pair of flurries in which Salisbury got three buckets in a 30-second span, and those sudden bursts allowed them to blow out the Wildcats.
“I was pleased because Lake Norman is a scary team,” Withers said.
Salisbury led by 25 when Withers cleared the bench with 4:18 remaining. Two minutes later, with the Hornets’ lead reduced to 13 points by the hustling Wildcats, he had to send his starters back in to finish things off.
Tre Oats, a four-year varsity player, appears ready to dominate as a senior. Oats is 6-foot-6 or so, and he produced 19 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks. The smaller Wildcats had no answer for him in the paint.
Will Leckonby, taller, stronger and more confident as a senior, was automatic on open shots. He buried 18 very efficient points.
The third standout for the Hornets was guard Shaleek Williams, who scored 14 points and created a lot of problems for Lake Norman with quick-handed and quick-footed defense. Trell Baker, a returning standout at guard, added 10 points.
“I like this team a lot,” Withers said. “They’ve bought in and worked really hard and they didn’t complain even when I ran them to death. Now they’re reaping some of the rewards.”
The Hornets led only 13-12 late in the first quarter, but reserves Bill Fisher and Cameron Gill got buckets at the end of the period to put Salisbury ahead by five.
The Hornets led 30-25 midway through the second quarter when Leckonby hit a mid-range jumper to fuel a Salisbury spree. By halftime, Salisbury was in command, 42-29.
Then a defensive lockdown late in the end of the third quarter pushed the Hornets’ lead into the 20s.
Demarcus Johnson and Dayne Hughes had dunks for Lake Norman. Ryan Spence, a 6-3 senior, got off to a good start and kept the Wildcats in the game for a while.

LAKE NORMAN (59)
Spence 12, Dow 10, Thorpe 10, Hughes 9, Johnson 7, L. Robinson 4, Mohtady 3, Schutlz 2, Smith 2.
SALISBURY (76)
Oats 19, Leckonby 18, Williams 14, Baker 10, Gill 6, Fisher 4, T. Mashore 3, McClendon 2, O. Robinson, Goodlett, Horne, Harris.

Lake Norman 12 17 8 22 — 59
Salisbury 17 25 18 16 — 76