RALEIGH, N.C. – In the long run, dropping Thursday night’s opening-round games at the John Wall Holiday Invitational may pay dividends for Terry Sanford and South Central.

The Wonderland Bracket’s consolation semi-final set the stage for a rematch of last year’s 3A eastern regional final, and what could very well be a preview for round five in Winston-Salem this March.

The Bulldogs dug out of an early 10-0 hole with a 25-4 second quarter which ended up being the offense they needed to hold on for a 58-44 victory.

Kaelyn McCarter and Brook Evans fueled the opening South Central run. After eight minutes, the Falcons led 16-10.

Terry Sanford’s star point guard Breonna Roaf checked in to start the second, and instantly flipped the game on its head. The Bulldogs had runs of 8-0 and 13-0 in the frame to lead 35-20 at the half.

South Central outscored Terry Sanford 24-23 in a closely-contested second half.

The Falcons were led by Evans’ 18 points and 10 rebounds. Roaf tallied 19 points and 6 assists to lead the way for Terry Sanford.

BOX SCORE

TSAN 10-25-13-10 58

SCEN 16-4–16-8  44

SCORING

TSAN: Roaf 19, Brown 10, Reddick 9, Harrington 9, Marcelin 4, Carswell 3, Blake 2, Spraggins 2

SCEN: Evans 18, Freeman 6, Boswell 6, Farrington 5, McCarter 4, Dixon 3, Jacobs 2