By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

GREENSBORO —  Juke Harris scored 31 points as Salisbury beat Grimsley — a solid 4A with a gifted 6-foot-9 post man — on Saturday night in a game played at Ben L. Smith High.

Harris, a 6-foot-6 Wake Forest recruit, had some powerful moments, and during his dry spells, his teammates delivered in a 65-51 victory over the Whirlies (3-2).

Maybe the most significant thing for the Hornets (5-2) was that their first 12 points of the second half, a stretch where they maintained control of a tough game, came from Hornets other Harris.

Bryce Dalton made two of his four 3-pointers early as the Hornets tried to build a lead.

Salisbury’s 3-2 zone, with Harris covering a lot of the floor at the top, made Grimsley work extra hard for every shot, but Harris also started slowly. He didn’t score during the game’s first six minutes.

An offensive rebound by reserve Hank Webb resulted in an important second-chance bucket — a three-point play by Harris that gave the Hornets an 11-6 lead and got Harris going. Then Harris scored on his own offensive rebound for a 13-6 Salisbury lead at the end of the quarter.

Harris made his only 3-pointer of the night in the second quarter, a straight-on bomb that put the Hornets ahead 18-9. He produced an 11-point quarter as the Hornets took a 28-19 halftime lead.

It might have been a much different story at the break had Grimsley’s big man Richard Goods been able to make anything  at all. He was mobile and active, but he missed from point-blank range a startling amount of times. In-and-out records may have been set.

Goods must have gotten an inspirational speech at halftime because he was a force in the second half and caused problems for the Hornets. He scored 17 of his 19 points after halftime, with several high-rising blocks — possibly goal-tends — and explosive slams.

Dalton and Mike Geter made 3-pointers in the third quarter — Geter’s was a hard banker, but he’ll take it— while Deuce Walker contributed two key buckets.

A steal by Harris and his stellar bounce pass led to a spectacular solo by Walker, who soared to the rim and powered through multiple defenders for an and-one and a 44-28 lead. The Hornets survived a 1-for-5 quarter by Harris and took a 44-32 to the fourth.

The Whirlies came at the Hornets hard in the fourth quarter. They got back as close as a six-point margin at 48-42 with a little over five minutes left.

That’s when Harris drove and made two free throws. Then he blocked a shot that led to a three-point play by Braylon Taylor.

Taylor, the Hornets’ No. 2 scorer most nights, had been very quiet, but that was a huge play.

When Dalton knocked down another 3-pointer, the Hornets led 56-42 and were headed to victory.

Harris scored 13 in the fourth quarter, including seven free throws and a sensational reverse layup.

Harris shot 11-for-24 from the field. The misses included a couple of no-calls on drives where it appeared that he had drawn more than enough contact to shoot free throws.

Dashawn Brown didn’t score but was important defensively for the Hornets, as they battled to contain Goods.

Salisbury will host Thomasville for what is almost always an exciting Central Carolina Conference game on Dec. 15.

Salisbury     13   15    16    21    — 65

Grimsley     6     13    13     19  — 51

SALISBURY — Harris 31, Dalton 14, Geter 9, Walker 6, Taylor 5.