Staff report

THOMASVILLE — Juke Harris matched his career high with 45 points as Salisbury destroyed East Davidson 99-46 on Friday.

It was 65-16 at halftime.

Harris had 30 points at the half and managed to score 15 of the Hornets’ 19 during a third quarter played with a running clock.

The 6-foot-6 Wake Forest recruit sat down after three quarters with the Hornets leading 84-28. Teammates finished off the Central Carolina Conference romp.

Harris could have scored 50-plus with more favorable whistles.

Twice he was called for offensive fouls while making buckets. Another call went against him when he was sticking back an offensive rebound. Apparently, a push-off was detected by an official before he grabbed the rebound.

Harris actually got off to a quiet start, as crazy as that sounds.

Bryce Dalton made a 3-pointer to open the scoring. Deuce Walker fed Harris for a layup to make it 5-0, and Mike Geter stroked a 3-pointer for an 8-0 lead.

Harris was 1-for-4 for two points after almost five minutes, but then he got rolling. It was mostly easy 2s off steals by the Hornets. Harris is at the point of the press, so he’s the most likely finisher when the Hornets force a turnover. He made his last four shots in the first quarter, including a 3-pointer.

With Dalton getting eight points in that first quarter, the Hornets (13-3, 4-0) already had firm control of the game with a 31-9 edge.

It got worse for East Davidson (10-5, 0-3) in the second quarter. Harris had a 17-point quarter. He made two mid-range jumpers, but mostly it was a parade of point-blank points off Salisbury’s defensive pressure. Harris’ length caused problems for East Davidson ball-handlers, and he was the cause of some of those turnovers.

Braylon Taylor got on a roll in the second quarter, making one 3-pointer, but mostly getting 2-point buckets on shots in the lane. He flipped one in at the buzzer to send the Hornets to halftime with a 49-point lead.

That running-clock third quarter was a field day for Harris. He scored 15 of Salisbury’s 19. He made his second 3-pointer of the night and threw down his fifth dunk.

Harris, who surpassed 2,000 career points in the Christmas tournament, topped 40 points for the sixth time in his career. That’s a county record for males. Harris had been tied with former Salisbury star Shamari Spears with five 40-something games.

The fourth quarter included 3-pointers by Jashawn Epps and Keial Matthews, while crowd favorite Bo Brincefield made two free throws. Jeremiah Davidson was fouled as time expired, and he did shoot the free throws. He made one of two to give the Hornets their 99th point.

Salisbury       31     34     19    15    — 99

E. Davidson  9        7     12    18    — 46

SALISBURY — Harris 45, Taylor 14, Dalton 13, D. Brown 4, House 4, Geter 3, Webb 3, Matthews 3, Epps 3, Walker 2, Brincefield 2, Davidson 2, T. Brown 1.