Herald-Sun correspondent
DURHAM -- Southern exacted a measure of revenge at the expense of its most heated rival Wednesday night.
The Spartans, who lost both regular-season contests to Hillside, came out inspired and held off a late Hornets' rally for a 75-69 victory in the first round of the PAC-6 Tournament.
"Just to come out with a win on Hillside's home court is big," Southern coach Art Richmond said. "They got the band here, the cheerleaders going, and the crowd into the game. That's just great North Carolina basketball."
Southern's Julian Saunders was unstoppable early. The junior swingman slashed the lane for three easy baskets, keying a 9-0 run as the Spartans grabbed a 21-13 lead and they extended it to 32-21 at halftime.
The Hornets, however, came out gunning in the second half. Lattrell Royser and Torian Graham both scored six points in a 14-6 run that 40-33 halfway through the third quarter.
Graham had 20 points in the game, while Royster added 18.
But Saunders quickly answered for the Spartans, scoring eight of his game-high 23 points in the third quarter as Southern pushed the lead to 52-42.
"I'm proud of the way he stepped up tonight," Richmond said about Saunders. "He's a great athlete and a very good kid. He did a great job of working the boards and getting those baskets going to the rim."
Hillside had one last run in them. Down 10 with three minutes left, the Hornets rallied to get to within 70-67 with 40 seconds left.
But Southern put the game away at the free throw line, connecting on 5 of 8 down the stretch to seal the game.
"We came out real flat," Hillside coach Darryl Robinson said. "But I'm proud of my guys because we put ourselves in position to win in the second half. But the hole was too deep to dig out of."
David Jordan had 14 points for the Spartans, while Prince Gray chipped in 10.
Up next for Southern is a date with top-seeded Riverside tonight at East Chapel Hill.
"Going into the postseason tournament, everybody's record is 0-0," Richmond said. "We have a win under our belt so we'll see what happens."
Southern 75, Hillside 69
SOUTHERN -- Julian Saunders 23, David Jordan 14, Prince Gray 10, Geoffrey Hunter 9, Evan Collins 9, Zeb Coe 5, Alan Lea 3, Jordan Riley 2
HILLSIDE -- Torian Graham 20, Lattrell Royster 18, Miykael Faulcon 13, Daquan Wilkerson 8, Vad Lee 8, Jordan Jones 2
Southern 21 11 20 23--75
Hillside 13 8 21 25--69
3-Point goals--Hillside 3 (Faulcon, Royster, Graham), Southern 2 (Jordan 2). Rebounds--Hillside 28 (Graham 10), Southern 38 (Riley 9). Assists--Hillside 8 (Royster 4), Southern 9 (Collins 3). Fouls--Hillside 21, Southern 25. Free Throws--Hillside 18-30, Southern 19-28.
