Staff report

SALISBURY – The 23rd-seeded Bandys Trojans have upset North Stanly and North Surry and will play a third-round game at second-seeded Salisbury tonight at 7 p.m.

The Massey Ratings love Salisbury’s chances of advancing. The Hornets are given a 95 percent win probability with a score projection of 80-54.

The Hornets (25-3) are coming off their first close game since Christmas. Lincoln Charter pushed the Hornets hard before losing 74-66 in the second round.

Bandys (17-10) lost five games in a row in February, including a 25-point conference tournament loss to Maiden, before getting things turned around with two playoff road wins. Not many fifth-place teams make the third round, but Bandys plays in a strong conference with teams such as West Caldwell, Newton-Conover and Maiden.

The key guy for Bandys is 6-foot-9 junior Landon Vaughan. Vaughan is thin, but he has shooting range and is a shot-blocker. He averages 13.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.4 blocks.

Senior guard Micah Slaughter scored 14 points in the win against North Surry, while 6-foot-4 forward Easton Ledford added 10.

Salisbury is led by Wake Forest recruit Juke Harris, a 6-foot-7 guard. Harris is the all-time leading scorer in Rowan County and averages a whopping 32.5 points per game. He scored 29 against Lincoln Charter and his average dropped a bit.

Salisbury’s No. 2 scorer Braylon Taylor, who gets a little over 10 points per game, comes off the bench when everyone is healthy.

Dashawn Brown, who provides Salisbury’s inside muscle, left the second-round game with an injury, but hopefully will return tonight.

Mike Geter provides almost 10 points per game and a lot of defense and leadership. Bryce Dalton is a ball-handler and 3-point threat, who averages almost 9 points per game. The other two key Hornets are Deuce Walker, a very determined offensive rebounder, and Hank Webb, who helps in a number of ways.

The winner gets the winner of  third-seeded Newton Conover’s game with sixth-seeded Randleman.