WALNUT COVE — East Surry upset South Stokes to advance to the boys’ semifinals of the Northwest Conference Tournament.

The Cardinals were the sixth seed, but topped the third-seeded Sauras 72-62 Monday night.

The Cards went up 18-14 after one, then the Sauras narrowed the margin to one at the half, 35-34.

East Surry pulled ahead in the third, outscoring South Stokes 23-14 for a 58-48 lead going into the fourth.

The margin went as high as 13 as the Cards kept a comfortable distance to the finish line.

Coach Jason Anderson said he wanted to do some defensive schemes differently than in their previous two matchups where the teams split 1-1.

The idea was to keep Stokes out of the middle of the floor and make them shoot wing jump shots, he explained.

The plan didn’t work as well as he would have hoped in the first half because the Sauras made some jumpers. Then the Cards pulled ahead in the third.

East Surry lost a tough overtime game with Mount Airy on Friday, but the boys bounced back great in this one, Anderson said. They executed their offense and got some really good looks.

Scott Meredith led the Cards with 24 points, and backcourt mate Drew Alley had 17. Tyler Pardue scored 13, Carson Long nine, Eli Gilbert eight and Jacob Bowman one.

Meredith also had five rebounds and three assists.

Both teams shot the ball very well, so there weren’t a lot of rebounds to be had, said Anderson.

Alley added five steals and four assists.

Brandon Smith led South Stokes with 21 points.

“He’s a battler, tough player,” the coach said of Smith.

Also in double figures for the Sauras were Devin Feimster 13 and Mitchell Edwards 10.

East Surry advances to take on West Stokes tonight at North Surry. The boys will play immediately after the end of the girls’ game, likely around 7:45 p.m. to 8 p.m.