By David Shaw
dshaw@salisburypost.com
CONCORD ó Jason Causby and the Salisbury boys basketball team knew what they were getting themselves into Friday night.
They just didnít expect this.
ěI knew weíd struggle tonight,î Causby said after the Hornets were leveled 84-47 at Concord. ěI just didnít think it would be this bad. Weíre not ready yet. Weíre not where we need to be.î
Salisbury is 3-1 after suffering its first loss ó this one to a pretty good team. Concord (4-0) played with machine-like efficiency, burrying 12 3-pointers and making Salisburyís inside game non-existent.
ěMy guys are eally showing some toughness this year,î said winning coach Scott Brewer. ěA lot of people donít think of us that way, but we are.î
No one was tougher to defend than sophomore Connor Burchfield, a 6-foot-3 guard who nailed four 3-pointers in the first quarter and finished with a game-high 22 points.
ěLike J.J. Reddick,î said SHS guard Dejoun Jones. ěWe tried to get on him but he was still knocking everything down.î
Burchfield attempted five shots from beyond the arc ó and his hot shooting proved contagious. The Spiders were hitting from all corners and quickly raced to leads of 11-1, 13-3 and 19-5 in the opening period.
ěThey were setting good off-ball screens and we werenít getting out on the shooters,î Salisbury guard Buster Hillie said after scoring a team-best 14 points. ěWe didnít have an answer.î
Causby agreed. ěWe donít defend real well,î he said. ěTonight, obviously, they hit shots early and took us back. And weíre not at the point that we can adjust in-game.î
Concord had already converted six 3-pointers and led 42-18 at halftime ó then opened the third quarter with an 11-0 spurt.
ěIíve got plenty of shooters,î Brewer said. ěConnor is a shooter. Kendall (Knorr) hit four of them tonight. Theyíre not afraid to take long shots.î
The Spiders placed four scorers in double figures. In addition to Burchfield, Darren Black (18 points), Knorr (16) and Reid Aube (15) were difficult to defend.
Salisbury, meanwhile, never got untracked. Causby said the Hornets ěover-dribbledî and spent too much time navigating the backcourt. Their best run of the game came late ó a 5-0 spree in the final minute. Concord played taut defense against SHS big man Tony Nunn, who was routinely double-teamed and held scoreless. Nunn averaged 18 points-per-game in Salisburyís first three outings, but stood out simply because he flubbed three dunk attempts.
ěThey brought their A-plus game,î said Jones. ěWe were in their house and they let us know it. Iíve never said this before but Iíll say it now: they were the better team. All I can saw now is this wonít happen again.î
Causby certainly hopes so. ěWe just werenít very good tonight,î he said. ěThatís all I can say.î
SALISBURY (47) ó B.Hillie 14, Jones 7, Banner 6, T.Petty 5, McCain 4, Duncan 3, Tracey 2, Griffin 2, J.Petty 2, K.Hillie 2, Woods, Adams, Nunn.
CONCORD (84) ó Burchfield 22, Black 18, Knorr 16, Aube 15, Rollins 5, Beecher 4, Pruette 4.
Salisbury 11 7 12 17 ó 47
Concord 27 15 21 21 ó 84