Staff report

HIGH POINT — Salisbury’s boys basketball team opened the season with a 72-61 loss to Wesleyan Christian Academy on Friday.

Wesleyan Christian Academy was the host team for the Headliner Challenge, which showcased a lot of strong teams. Wesleyan Christian Academy (7-2) has a strong team and already has played nine games. The WCA Trojans annihilated Goldsboro on Saturday.

A short-handed Salisbury team struggled to stop Wesleyan Christian Academy, and the Hornets had the  shooting struggles and turnover issues that can be expected from a first game.

Myles Smith, a 6-foot-4 transfer from Victory Christian, was impressive, showed a wide range of skills and scored 25 points in his Salisbury debut. Braylon Taylor added 12, while Tre Davis had 10.

SALISBURY scoring — M. Smith 25, Taylor 12, Davis 10, Hairston 8, Cherry 4, B. Smith 2.

•••

HIGH POINT — Salisbury (1-1) bounced back on Saturday to beat Rabun Gap-Nacoochee 66-61.

The Georgia school, which usually features international players, has played a lot of games early and is 3-5.

Taylor scored a career-best 25, while Myles Smith scored 22 to lead the Hornets. Davis added 12.

A junior, Taylor, averaged 10.3 points last season. Davis was a reserve.

The Hornets will get a lot deeper once they add their football players. They played with seven varsity players, plus three jayvees, in those first two games.

“Braylon and Myles had very strong games on Saturday,” Salisbury head coach Albert Perkins said. “It’s going to be a fun season.”

SALISBURY scoring — Taylor 25, M. Smith 22, Davis 12, Hairston 4, Greene 3.