Raiders pick up second Big South win

GASTONIA — South Point fans briefly considered storming the floor after Tuesday’s 52-45 win at Forestview. They thought better of it, but the idea itself showed how much this rare victory meant to the school.

James Justice and Dan Alliss scored 10 points apiece and the Red Raiders’ 1-3-1 zone defense confused Forestview as South Point snapped a four-game losing streak and picked up its second league win.

“Everything worked tonight is all I can say,” South Point coach Steve Barkley said.

The Red Raiders (4-16, 2-8 Big South 3A/4A Conference) avenged an earlier 62-58 loss to the Jaguars in Belmont. They’ll have a week to savor the win, but guess who’s next on the schedule? South Point plays host to North Gaston next Tuesday, the only other Big South team the Red Raiders have defeated.

There wasn’t much offense in this matchup, but South Point cut down on its turnovers from recent games. The Red Raiders tallied 13 turnovers Tuesday, down from 22 against Ashbrook and 34 against Hunter Huss in a pair of losses last week.

More importantly, Barkley was pleased with his team’s effort for four quarters.

“We didn’t have a lapse where we just went crazy,” Barkley said. “This was a complete game tonight and we came out on top.”

Forestview’s leading scorer, Trey Whitworth, suffered from poor shooting and finished with seven points — eight below his average. Jack Sumner scored 14 points but also struggled to find his shot as Forestview (9-12, 4-5 Big South) failed to carry momentum from Friday’s 17-point win at North Gaston.

“We didn’t shoot the ball real well as a team and their zone was able to cause us some problems,” Forestview coach Dan Ghent said.

Forestview will stay at home Friday to face city rival Ashbrook.

SP 13 13 10 16 — 52

For 8 15 8 14 — 45

SP — Spencer 9, Ja. Justice 10, Alliss 10, Lawrence 9, Maness 6, Henderson 5, Lowery 3. For — Whitsorth 7, Sumner 14, Davis 9, Curry 6, Alexander 7, Dellinger 2.