Southwest Guilford Cowboys maintain perfect record as they move to (14-0) with a 94-63 victory over Page Pirates

Southwest Guilford 94, Page 63
(Courtesy of SWG Cowboys assistant coach Greg Vlazny)

The Cowboys of Southwest open up 2016 at home against the Pirates of Page High School.

In their match-up earlier in the season the Cowboys used decisive runs in the first and second half to pull away for an 80-56 road victory over at Page High School.

The Pirates came into tonight looking for some revenge and also to be the first ones to knock off the Cowboys on the season. The game opened up quickly as a back and forth contest. Southwest got on the board initially at 2-0, but the teams traded baskets from there. The Cowboys played very sloppy from there, committing a freak 5 turnovers in the opening 4 minutes of the quarter, and added 2 more the rest of the frame. Despite the uncharacteristically sloppy play, a 3 pointer with under 30 seconds to play put a close on the scoring of the first with the Cowboys on top 16-13.

The second quarter opened up with a Southwest bucket, but the momentum shifted from there to the visitors as the Pirates began to assert themselves and take advantage of even more Cowboys lackadaisical play. By the 5:15 mark the Pirates tied the game at 20 apiece. Somehow, that spurt by the Pirates manages to shake the cobwebs out for Southwest as a possession later had the Cowboys up 22-20, which was the start to their 20-9 run that ended the fist half, which included a 9-0 blitz in the final 90 seconds. The run was due in large part to 3 third quarter 3 pointers by senior Orlando Smith, which brought the halftime score to 40-29.

Coming out of the break the Pirates showed toughness as they battled back by once again starting to slow down the Cowboys. Fouls started pilling up for Southwest as they seemed to be running in quicksand. Taking advantage of the double bonus in the third quarter, the Pirates slowly chipped away at the margin getting it as close as 55-46 at the 2:19 mark. Once again, despite themselves, Southwest managed small bursts of good basketball to close the third quarter at 64-51.

Following the brief huddle between quarters the light bulb finally fully lit up as everything started clicking for the Cowboys. In a blink the lead doubled thanks to Southwest getting back to tough nosed, high throttle defense which led to easy looks and open shots. As the buckets began to come, the margin ballooned back up until the Cowboy bench closed it out again for the unbeaten Cowboys at 94-63.

Page was led by Brandon Talton with 20 point. Southwest had 4 players in double figures: Kobe Langley (scored 22 of his game high 26 points in the second half to go along with his 4 Asts and 2 Stls), Kameron Langley (17, 8 Asts, 4 Rebs, 3 Stls), Orlando Smith (16, 4 Rebs), and Kaymon Mitchell (11, 7 Rebs, 3 Asts).

Southwest moves to 14-0 as they start conference play on the road against the Bobcats of Glenn High School on Friday night.

                  1st  2nd  3rd  4th  Final
Page              13   16    22   12   63
Southwest         16   24    24   30   94

Page (4-5)
Elijah Short 8
Brandon Talton 20
Jordan Smith
Jahlen King 3
Tylan Tatum 13
Diondre Overton 15
Matthew Audilet 4

Southwest (14-0)
Paul Bullock Ast, Reb, Stl, Blk
Keyshaun Langley 9, 3 Asts, 3 Stls
Orlando Smith 16
Kobe Langley 26
Christian Martin 6, 5 Rebs
Ty Radford 3, 2 Rebs, Blk
Jalen Snipes 1, 2 Rebs
Kameron Langley 17
Cooper Cunningham 5, Reb, Stl
Mantriel Reaves Reb, Ast
Andre Jones Reb, Stl
Kaymon Mitchell 11