King shines as Knights win convincingly against Five Towns

By Bret Saveleski

Knightly News Co-President

bret.saveleski@mymail.centralpenn.edu

The Central Penn College Knights men’s basketball team was victorious against the Five Towns College Sound by a score of 97-85 in a USCAA matchup at East Pennsboro High School on Saturday.

Due to the holiday break, the Knights had only played one game since Dec. 17, so rust potentially could have been a factor. Central Penn showed no effects of that, though, outscoring their opponent in both halves.

The game also served as a “White Out” game as well as a recruit day, so it was imperative for the Knights to get off to an early lead in front of the home crowd.

Five Towns College started the game with the advantage, jumping out to an early 8-3 thanks to a Jon Espinal 3-point basket and several trips to the foul line. Shortly thereafter, Dahsan King hit a running lay-up, giving the Knights their first lead 11-10. King quickly followed this lay-up with a 3-point basket later in the quarter, giving the Knights a 17-13 lead about six minutes into the game.

The Knights continued to put on the pressure against the Sound, causing turnovers and continuing to shoot well. Darius Wallace hit a key shot with just under 10 minutes remaining in the first half, putting the Knights up 34-20, extending their lead.

The Knights led by as many 15 points in the first half, thanks in large part to Khalil Dukes, scoring eight points and grabbing seven rebounds while playing solid defense. At the break, Central Penn held an 11-point lead, 49-38.

Central Penn continued their efficient play in the second half, though Five Towns was ready to match them to keep the game close. For the Sound, Eian Williams scored 20 points in the second half and was one of the bright spots for Five Towns, hitting several key baskets.

But the Knights proved to be too much in the end. Back-to-back 3-point baskets from King and Wallace allowed the Knights to take a 21-point lead with about 12 minutes left in the second half. The Knights were not done there, as King came back for another 3-pointer a minute later, extending their lead to 26 with about 10 minutes left.

Five Towns did make a run in the second half, as Ahmad McKnight added 10 points down the stretch. The Knights kept their composure, as the Central Penn bench also contributed heavily to the win. They outscored the visitors’ reserves by a score of 22-4, with Anthony McClinton leading the way with 10 points.

In the end, the Knights pulled away after a lay-up by Dukes extending their lead to 15 with just about two minutes left. They cruised to the finish, winning by a score of 97-85.

The Weis Knightly News Player of the Game was King, tallying 36 points, three assists, two steals and seven 3-pointers. Dukes added 12 points and 13 rebounds in one of his best games of the season.

Riley Young patrolled the offensive glass and gave his team several extra chances with his four offensive rebounds in only 16 minutes played. He scored 10 points on extremely efficient shooting, going 5-7 from the floor. Jahiere Walker did a bit of everything, finishing with eight points, a team-high eight assists and five rebounds.

For the Sound, Williams scored 31 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Espinal added 18 points and seven rebounds, while McKnight contributed 15 points and nine rebounds.

With the win, the Knights have won two of their past three games as they look forward to a Saturday contest against Camp Community College. They will return home to face rival Bucks County Community College on Jan. 26 at 2 p.m. at East Pennsboro Middle School.