Staff report

SALISBURY — Salisbury’s boys basketball team won every Central Carolina Conference game by at least 28 points and really hadn’t encountered serious adversity since December.

Adversity arrived on Friday as Lincoln Charter visited “The Hive” for the second round of the 2A playoffs. It was the 2 seed in the 2A West bracket against the No. 15 seed, so fans came prepared to yawn.

Instead, they watched the Hornets fight for their lives to claim a 74-66 victory over the Eagles.

SHS coach Albert Perkins knew a serious challenge was coming sooner or later, so he wasn’t upset with the close call. Actually, he sounded pleased.

“That was much needed,” Perkins said. “We needed to know we could close out a tight game.”

Now the Hornets (26-3) know.

Juke Harris scored 29 points for the Hornets, who won their 19th in a row. It wasn’t a breezy 29, it was a hotly contested 29. Harris made zero 3-pointers, but he got to the foul line frequently and cashed in 13 free throws. He had several dunks and blocked at least four shots.

Mike Geter (13 points), Bryce Dalton (12) and Deuce Walker (11) all had their moments and made key plays.

Throughout January and February, Harris’ relentless scoring — he has scored more than 900 points this season — was enough to blow overwhelmed opponents out, but this one took everybody.

The teams traded buckets in the first quarter. Harris was held to three free throws, as Lincoln Charter took a 17-15 lead.

Harris and Geter combined for 13 in the second quarter. Dalton made a 3-pointer for a 36-26 lead, and the Hornets seemed on the verge of pulling away, but Lincoln Charter got critical points at the end of the half and trailed 36-30 at the break.

Lincoln Charter came out energized in the third quarter and scored seven straight to take the lead.

The rest of the quarter was a series of ties and lead changes. Dashawn Brown was hurt and Mike Geter had four fouls, and the Hornets appeared to be in trouble when the quarter ended with the home team clinging to a 47-46 lead.

Early in the fourth quarter, with the game tied at 48-all, the Hornets finally got some separation on three-point plays by Harris and Dalton.

Salisbury surged ahead 60-50, but it still wasn’t over. Lincoln Charter got back to 60-56 before Braylon Taylor made a critical bucket. Walker and Harris tacked on free throws to push the lead to 64-56, and the Hornets survived.

Salisbury made 19 free throws.

On Tuesday, the Hornets will host 23rd-seeded Bandys (17-10), which has upset North Stanly and North Surry.

Also advancing in Salisbury’s section of the 2A West bracket were sixth-seeded Randleman and third-seeded Newton-Conover.

No. 1 seed Reidsville advanced with an 89-55 rout of Lincolnton. Other 2A West winners were Shelby, West Stokes and fourth-seeded Pine Lake Prep.

Lincoln Charter  17    13    16    20   — 66

Salisbury             15     21    11      27   — 74

SALISBURY — Harris 29, Geter 13, Dalton 12, Walker 11, Taylor 5, D. Brown 4.