Staff report

WINSTON-SALEM — Salisbury’s boys basketball run ended late Wednesday night with a 76-72 loss to Reidsville in the 2A West Regional final.

It was a thriller with 12 lead changes and six ties. Reidsville’s largest lead was eight. Salisbury led by as many as four.

Reidsville’s 6-foot-8 sophomore Kendre Harrison was a handful, piling up 19 efficient points and 19 rebounds. His 11 offensive rebounds provided quite a few second-chance points for the Rams. Johnniyus Sharpe had a low-percentage shooting night, but scored 21, including a four-point play late in the first half. He scored 15 in the first half.

Dionte Neal shook off foul trouble to score 16. Al Lee, the Barton-bound quarterback who directed Reidsville’s football state championship, added 11 on a perfect shooting night for the top-seeded and unbeaten Rams (28-0).

Coached by Albert Perkins, Salisbury (27-4) did enough things well that it could have won with a 40-percent shooting night, but the Hornets shot 36.2 percent from the field and a so-so 8-for-26 on 3-pointers.

“We were on the wrong side of a very good basketball game,” Perkins said. “Our guys can’t hang our heads. We’ve got to let the burn continue to drive us to do great things.”

Juke Harris, a Wake Forest recruit playing in his future home arena, scored 30 for the Hornets, almost his average, but Reidsville defenders made him work. Harris shot 9-for-27 from the field and 1-for-8 on 3-pointers. He got to the foul line often and was deadly there. He got 11 points on free throws. He had eight rebounds, three blocks and a team-high three assists.

Bryce Dalton had a terrific game for the Hornets on the big stage, scoring 17, twice his average. He shot 6-for-13, made four 3-pointers, grabbed seven rebounds and made only one turnover.

Mike Geter scored nine before fouling out. Deuce Walker had eight points and a team-high nine rebounds. Salisbury was only out-rebounded 36-33 by a much taller squad.

Hank Webb came off the bench to make two 3-pointers.

Salisbury starters Geter and Dashawn Brown were assessed two early fouls each, which hurt, but Harris produced a 10-point first quarter as the Hornets stayed level with the Rams. Dalton’s first 3-pointer provided a 16-14 lead late in the quarter. Harris made two free throws to give the Hornets an 18-16 edge heading to the second quarter.

Reidsville owned the second quarter, outscoring the Hornets 22-13 to move ahead 38-31 at the break. Lee made two 3-pointers, and the four-point play by Sharpe was big.

Neal, Reidsville’s quick point, guard picked up his fourth foul early in the third quarter, and when he had to sit, Salisbury made a run that was fueled by three 3-pointers by Dalton and two by Webb. Reidsville got the last points of the third quarter for a 52-all tie.

Salisbury led 60-57 when Reidsville made a 9-0 run for a 66-60 lead. Neal returned to the floor to make the 3-pointer that triggered that decisive run.

Salisbury kept coming right down to the end and got as close as 73-70 in the final minute, but Reidsville got critical rebounds and answered each threat.

Reidsville made only eight turnovers, while Salisbury had 12. Almost all of those Salisbury turnovers were converted into points by the Rams, who had a 22-4 advantage in points off turnovers.

Reidsville moves on to face defending champ Farmville Central in a rematch of last year’s 2A title game. Farmville Central romped against Goldsboro in the East final.

Salisbury     18    13   21   20    — 72

Reidsville    16    22    14   24   — 76

SALISBURY — Harris 30, Dalton 17, Geter 9, Walker 8, Webb 6, D. Brown 2, Taylor.

REIDSVILLE — Sharpe 21, Harrison 19, Neal 16, Lee 11, Jones 7, Abdeldayem 2.