By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

LEXINGTON — First-year Salisbury head coach Albert Perkins was impressed by Lexington’s fan base, but Lexington fans probably were even more impressed by the Hornets.

Lexington stayed in Wednesday’s Central Carolina Conference game for a half, but the Yellow Jackets were eventually blown out 91-52 by a Salisbury team that is gathering momentum for a serious playoff run.

It was the first CCC defeat for Lexington.

Salisbury shared CCC titles with Thomasville the last two seasons, but looks like a great bet to win its first outright conference title since 2018.

“We had kind of a sluggish start — not surprising after two days away from school and from practice,” Perkins said. “And Lexington got great support from their families and their fans. It was very loud in that gym. That fan support energized them.”

Fan energy wasn’t going to be enough to stop Salisbury’s McDonald’s All-America nominee and Wake Forest recruit Juke Harris. He scored 37 points.

Harris surpassed 500 points for the season. He’s averaging 31.2 points per game and boosted his career points total to 2,150. He is second all-time for Rowan County males. Scooter Sherrill’s 2,469 points for West Rowan is the all-time county record and is a mark that has stood since 2000.

Harris scored 13 in the first quarter to push Salisbury to an 18-13 lead against the fired-up Yellow Jackets.

Harris only got four points in the second quarter, but Braylon Taylor stepped forward. The sophomore made five field goals in the quarter, and the Hornets needed them to take a 36-25 halftime lead.

It was still a decent game after three quarters — 57-39 — but the Hornets torched Lexington for 34 fourth-quarter points to make it a romp.

A familiar scenario that has come to be known as “Bo Time” — the appearance at the scorer’s table of reserve Bo Brincefield, a fine golfer and offensive lineman, for mop-up duties — occurred with two minutes left.

Harris got a dozen in the fourth quarter, while Tre Davis came off the bench to make two 3-pointers.

Taylor finished with 16. Bryce Dalton had 11, and Mike Geter, who made two 3-pointers, contributed 10.

Jaylen Henderson scored 15 for the Yellow Jackets (7-8, 3-1), while Rahzel Ewart had 13.

Salisbury   18  18   21   34    — 91

Lexington  13   12   14   13    — 52

SALISBURY — J. Harris 37, Taylor 16, Dalton 11, Geter 10, Davis 6, Webb 5, Walker 4, D. Brown 2.

LEXINGTON — Henderson 15, Ewart 13, Holmes 5, Gyabaah 5, Luketa 5, McDonald 3, Blyden 2, K. Harris 2, Wood 2.