Gilmore drops 24 as Stallions down Bruins

By Karl Lyles - Karl Lyles

The South Pointe Stallions scored 53 second-half points and broke open a close game in the fourth quarter to win a physical game over Lancaster, 75-56.

Stephon Gilmore scored a game-high 24 points and Tre Erby tallied all 12 of his points in the second half to lead South Pointe. The Stallions, 11-6 overall and 5-2 in Region 3-AAAA action, will host Nation Ford on Friday night.

The game was important for South Pointe, which was coming off a tough loss at top-ranked Fort Mill on Friday.

"Coach (Dwayne Hartsoe) told us to keep our intensity up," Erby said after the last night's game. "We thought we played good at Fort Mill. Coach just told us to keep playing hard."

Erby, a sophomore, was a rebound shy of recording a double-double.

Lancaster (7-6, 2-5) held a 13-11 edge after the first quarter. South Pointe used solid defense and a huge rebounding advantage to take a 22-19 lead into halftime.

Lancaster took a 28-26 lead in the third quarter on a drive to the basket by Michael Catoe. Catoe finished with 15 points and six rebounds.

Erby drove the lane and scored to tie the game for South Pointe. Then Gilmore scored in the paint and nailed a 15-foot jumper. The pair ignited a 13-2 run that gave South Pointe a 39-30 lead.

Erby was held scoreless in the first half but got it going in the third quarter.

"I had to get the ball to the rack more," Erby said.

Shurdell Wright made sure the Stallions knew Lancaster wasn't about to lay down in the fourth quarter. Lancaster's junior guard scored seven straight points to start the final period. His efforts made it a 44-41 game with seven minutes left.

Wright scored 15 of his 21 points in the final frame.

South Pointe quickly pushed the lead back to 10 with a bucket by Charles Holmes, a 3-pointer from Gilmore and a basket by Breon Jaggers.

Gilmore's trey was decisive. South Pointe in-bounded the ball from under its own basket. The pass came out to Gilmore in the corner. He looked at the shot, faked a drive to create some distance between from Bruins defender Michael Catoe, then swished the longball.

"They (Lancaster) were backing off of me, so I couldn't drive," Gilmore explained. "I got my shots tonight and started making them."

South Pointe scored 31 points over the final seven minutes. The Stallions made 15-of-22 shots from the free throw line.

The Stallions did a remarkable job keeping their composure after two hard fouls by Lancaster knocked players to the floor in the closing minutes.

Lancaster 13 6 15 22 -- 56

South Pointe 11 11 22 31 -- 75