The Cowboys of Southwest Guilford played hosts to the Bucks of Hoke County tonight in the Regional Semi-finals of the NCHSAA State Playoffs. The #6 seed Bucks knocked up the #26 seed West Charlotte, followed by the 21 seed High Point Central and then the 14th seed Mount Tabor to reach this Elite Eight game. The #3 Seed Cowboys beat Mooresville, followed by Independence, and then Page to host tonight’s contest.
Playing in this 4th round game for the second consecutive year for the first time in school history, the Cowboys wanted to take another step past last season.
The Cowboys came out red hot and determined for a different outcome. Following the Bucks opening basket which gave them the early 2-0 lead, Southwest proceeded to blitz the Bucks on a 22-4 run to take a strong 22-6 lead at the 1:00 mark. Hoke County responded with some free-throws and a basket to close out the frame at 22-10.
The second quarter was a much slower and physical war. The Bucks started to assert their physicality on the Cowboys and grind the pace to a halt. The Bucks managed to out-rebound and muscle their way back into the game as they slowly chipped away with more free-throws and baskets. The halftime tally was Southwest up 30-23.
The third quarter was just like the second, and the Bucks managed to control the tempo. Utilizing several empty trips by the Cowboys, the Bucks slowly chipped away. it was 33-31 at the 4:23 mark. Southwest manged to score to get the lead back to 35-31 by the 3:45 mark, but the Bucks quickly responded with a 4-0 spurt as Senior Kam Langley rolled his ankle going to the basket on the other end and the Bucks converted in transition to tie the game at 35 apiece with 2:15 to go. Following the injury timeout, the Cowboys came down and Keyshaun Langley confidently knocked down a deep three ball to regain the lead at 38-35 with 2:09 to play. Another big defensive stop and a couple of made free throws gave the Cowboys a 40-35 lead at the 1:42 mark. The Bucks once again used their physicality for a 4-2 battle and the third frame closed at 42-39.
The final frame was an intense battle and the Bucks score quickly to make it a 42-41 ball game. Southwest managed only a free-throw to make it 43-41 at the 7:38 mark. Another big defensive stop by the Cowboys lead to a made basket giving the Cowboys a 45-41 lead at the 6:12 point. The Bucks responded strongly with a 5-0 spurt capped by a three-pointer to give Hoke County the 46-45 lead at the 4:51 mark. Southwest advanced the ball and called a timeout. Out of the timeout and well executed play gave and open look for the Cowboys but the ball rimmed out, and once again the pressure defense of the Cowboys started to reek havoc on the Bucks as it lead to a breakaway layup to reclaim the lead at 47-46 with 3:56 to go in the game. After both teams came up empty, the Cowboys stole the inbounds and scored to give them a 49-46 advantage with just 2:55 on the clock. Another forced turnover lead to another breakaway for an old fashion three-point play that pushed the margin to 52-46 at the 2:44 mark. Southwest turned up the defensive pressure and tempo which forced another sloppy Bucks possession which led to 2 made free-throws to make it 54-46. The Cowboys continued to grit it out on the defensive end and made 11 of 12 free throws which pushed the lead out to double digits. The Southwest Guilford Cowboys managed to hold off and pull away for a 63-51 victory to advance to the Final Four and the Regional Finals on Saturday Night.
The Bucks fall to 23-7 and were led by Silas Love with 20 points. The Cowboys improve to 26-3 and advance to the Final Four for the first time since the State Championship team of 1996.
The Cowboys played a tremendous defensive game. The Cowboys were led by: Brandon Lamberth with (20, 4 Rebs, 2 Stls, Ast), and Keyshaun Langley with (17, 5 Asts, 3 Rebs, 3 Stls, Blk). Southwest truly got a total team effort on both sides of the ball.
Thank you to all the fans who came out to support these fine young men, especially the Senior Class of Kameron Langley, Paul Bullock, Brandon Lamberth who emerge victorious in their last game here at the Ranch!
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
Hoke County 10 13 16 12 51
Southwest 22 08 12 21 63
Hoke County (23-7)
Jaleel Ray 8
D’coda Cummings 13
Andre Pegues 4
Kevin Thorpe 4
Silas Love 20
Jalen Love 2
Southwest (26-3)
Keyshaun Langley 17
Dezmond Woods 3, 2 Stls, Ast, Reb
Kobe Langley 6, 4 Rebs, 3 Asts, Stl, Blk
Christian Martin 7, 5 Rebs, 2 Stls
Kameron Langley 7, 5 Stls, 5 Asts, 2 Rebs
Cooper Cunningham 3, Reb, Stl
Brandon Lamberth 20
Courtesy of SWG assistant coach Greg Vlazny
Great game, but my boys were a little sloppy tonight. We are going to need a TEAM effort to knock off Butler Saturday!!