CCC boys basketball: Hornets, Cavaliers crush opponents

Published 1:34 am Monday, February 3, 2025

From staff reports

Friday games …

SALISBURY — Bryce Dalton shed his warmups late in the first quarter and checked into a basketball game for the first time in his senior season.

The crowd roared. Dalton scored a few moments later. The crowd erupted again.

Salisbury’s boys destroyed South Davidson 97-36 for another Central Carolina Conference win, but the most important development was Dalton’s highly anticipated return from a football injury.

“He had five physical therapy sessions and three practices leading up to the game,” Salisbury head coach Albert Perkins said. “We have been competing and doing well in his absence, but it’s great to have him back. It’s nice that he’s going to get a few regular-season games and conference tournament games under his belt before the playoffs.”

The last piece of the puzzle is in place now for another serious playoff run by the Hornets, who have won 16 games in a row.

Dalton, the starting point guard last season has scored more than 400 points in his career for the Hornets. He played varsity football as a senior for the first time and is a special enough athlete that he was a difference-maker on the gridiron. He was an all-conference and all-county defensive back, but he was injured in the playoff game with Walkertown, suffering a broken leg, just above the ankle. Friday night marked his comeback, and a really good team got better.

The game was no contest. Myles Smith had four dunks in the first quarter, and the rout was on.

Salisbury (17-3, 9-0) had crunched the overmatched Wildcats 100-30 earlier in the season, and the Hornets could have reached the century mark again and broken school and county records had they been inclined to do so. Salisbury had a 38-point second quarter and had 66 points in the scorebook at halftime.

Salisbury put five in double figures to blow out the Wildcats (1-17, 1-8.). Smith had 23. Dre Cherry scored a career-high 14. Braylon Taylor, who started the game with a finger roll, had 13. Hank Webb got 12, and Dalton scored 10.

South Davidson    9     15    8    4   — 36

Salisbury              28     38  22    9   — 97

SALISBURY scoring — M. Smith 23, Cherry 14, Taylor 13, Webb 12, Dalton 10, House 8, Davis 7, B. Smith 6, Matthews 3, Brown 1.

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THOMASVILLE — North Rowan has beaten East Davidson 16 straight times and wasted no time in letting the Golden Eagles know that trend wasn’t going to change.

The Cavaliers settled an 88-62 Central Carolina Conference victory in the first quarter, rolling to a 30-5 lead while fans were still finding their seats.

Dyzarious Carpenter scored 11 in the opening quarter, while Tristen Brown came off the bench to make two 3-pointers. JP Polk scored eight of his 10 in the second quarter.

It was 51-25 at the half.

Emari Russell paced the Cavaliers (11-7, 7-1) with 20 points. Carpenter had 19. Carter Williams got nine of his 11 in the fourth quarter.

Tegin Hedrick had a 13-point third quarter and scored 27 to lead the Golden Eagles (4-15, 2-6), who haven’t beaten the Cavaliers since they swept North in the 2008-09 season. Dayln Grady scored 15.

North finished a 3-0 week, with a good non-conference win against Mount Pleasant between CCC romps against Thomasville and East Davidson.

North is 22nd in the 1A West RPI rankings. East Davidson is 45th out of 51 teams in the 2A West RPI rankings.

North Rowan   30   21   16   21   — 88

East Davidson    5   20   23  14   — 62

NORTH scoring — Russell 20, D. Carpenter 19, Williams 11, Polk 10, Brown 8, Mosley 6, K. Carpenter 5, Sullivan 4, J. Alford 3, M. Alford 2.

 

 

 

 

 

 

88-62

4-15, 2-6

 

11-7, 7-1