The way things started out Wednesday night at Greensburg Salem, it looked like visiting Valley was going to win going away.
The Vikings (1-2) made six 3-pointers during the first eight minutes and built a seven-point lead.
But Greensburg Salem woke up in the second quarter, held Valley to two field goals — one each in the middle two quarters — and rolled to a 57-41 victory in its season opener.
The Golden Lions picked up their defensive press and started creating offense from their fast break.
Sophomore Solomon Cain ran the offense. He handed out 12 assists and scored nine points. Sophomore forward Jackson Stevey had 14 points and 11 rebounds, senior Ty Harkcom added 13 points, senior Brody Burkholder had 11 points and seven steals and Noah Dudek scored eight.
“We did not play near hard enough in the first quarter, and we were sloppy,” Greensburg Salem coach Paul Sapotichne said. “After that we played really well in the second and third quarters.
“I felt our running hurt them and really helped us. Solomon is very good in the open floor. We were not playing like we practiced. Once Jackson had a tough rebound in traffic and scored his first hoop, things settled down.”
Maybe it was first-game jitters for the Golden Lions, but Valley came out smoking from long range, including four treys by sophomore Dawson Wall. He scored a game-high 18 points, 12 in the first quarter when Valley took a 20-13 lead.
“We could not make a shot after the first quarter,” Valley coach Eric Kostick said. “They did a very good job seeing what we had coming at them with our circle motion, and unfortunately we did not adjust.
“They were hitting back doors on us, and the third quarter, when we scored three points, was rough. I was really disappointed with our defensive effort, which is when they pulled away. Our defense showed up for a quarter, and then the effort, the physicality and the execution was not there.”
Greensburg Salem (1-0) pushed the lead to 55-32 early in the fourth quarter but stumbled a little when it slowed things down.
“There were times in the second and third quarter that we looked like we could compete with anyone in Class 4A, if not all teams,” Sapotichne said. “Having the players for more than a year has been a big difference. We just must continue to grow our depth. Right now, we are comfortable using seven players.”
Greensburg Salem returns to action Friday and Saturday at the Hempfield tournament, where it will play Connellsville and Greensburg Central Catholic.