High school boys basketball: Hornets pound PLP

Published 10:27 pm Friday, February 28, 2025

By Post Sports

Staff report

SALISBURY — Senior Myles Smith scored a career-high 31 points and his taller, younger brother, Blake Smith, tied his PR with 16.

That’s 47 points from one household.

The Smiths did most of the heavy lifting as Salisbury’s boys basketball team torched Pine Lake Prep 81-46 in Friday’s second round of the 2A state playoffs.

Isn’t it supposed to get serious in the second round?

“We played a serious team,” Salisbury head coach Albert Perkins said. “Pine Lake is good, but we had very serious focus tonight. We played so much better and shot so much better than we did in the first round. I was confident that we would. We had a great practice on Wednesday and a great practice on Thursday and how you practice usually carries over to the game.”

The 13th-seeded visitors from Mooresville (21-8) started well enough. Salisbury was only up 8-7 when the Smiths led a 12-0 burst to close the first quarter. Blake Smith’s 3-pointer made it 18-3. His sibling got the final two of the period.

Myles Smith was quiet in the second quarter, but Blake Smith got three buckets, Hank Webb made a 3-pointer and Macari House scored twice in transition. The Hornets led comfortably 37-20 at the break.

Myles Smith, a supremely athletic wing player who is still uncommitted, had an explosive, 15-point third quarter, as the Hornets put the game on ice.

“Myles had an excellent game,” Perkins said. “He got his dunks again tonight, but he also shot the ball really well and made several 3s. It’s hard to stay in front of Myles, and when he’s making shots, he’s a difficult matchup, And defensively, he was everywhere.”

Blake Smith also shot the ball with range and made two 3-pointers. Braylon Taylor finished strong and had 11 points.

Fourth-seeded Salisbury is 25-3 and has won 24 in a row.

Next for the Hornets is what should be an epic matchup at home on Tuesday with the Lincolnton Wolves.

Lincolnton beat conference rival Maiden 72-69 on Friday.

Lincolnton was No. 3 in the final 2A West RPI rankings, but Maiden won the top seed from the conference, so Lincolnton couldn’t be seeded ahead of any conference champions. That’s why Lincolnton (24-5) is only seeded 12th in the bracket, but this should be a Final Four level game.

Lincolnton is also led by a Smith. Sophomore LJ Smith, a 6-foot-5 guard, averages 33.4 points per game and has put up several 40s this season.

Pine Lake Prep   7      13    16    10   — 46

Salisbury           20     17     21     23    — 81

Salisbury — M. Smith 31, B. Smith 16, Taylor 11, House 9, Webb 7, Dalton 7.

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