Knights drop heartbreaker to Penn State Schuylkill
By Paul Miller
Knightly News Co-Adviser
Photos by Dylan Bowman
Knightly News Sports Photographer
The Central Penn College Knights men’s basketball team fell in a back-and-forth contest against Penn State Schuylkill on Thursday night at East Pennsboro Middle School, dropping the contest by a score of 89-82.
The game, which featured multiple lead changes throughout, was the Knights’ most complete effort of the young season, with stars emerging on the team during the contest.
As they would for much of the game, Dahsan King and Connor Jenkins led the way offensively, scoring all but two of the team’s first 13 points. Jenkins hit two big 3-pointers early on for the Knights, leading to an early 15-11 score about halfway through the first quarter.
During the run, King was masterful on the glass, pulling down an incredible eight rebounds during the first half of play, also adding four assists and two steals. Donnell Loud was also impressive in the early going, constantly stuffing attempts in the paint, with six blocks in the half.
The Knights extended their lead by as many as five in the first half, capped off by two Riley Young free throws to make the score 29-24.
The two teams continued to trade blows throughout the first, though a King 3-pointer capped off a brief run for the Knights, allowing them to extend the lead to 35-33 with about two minutes to go in the half.
Going into the break, Penn State Schuylkill held a one-point lead on the Knights, 42-41.
In the second half, Penn State Schuylkill got going early behind back-to-back 3-pointers from Amir Gray. But a thunderous dunk from Loud got the crowd back into the contest, keeping the Knights within striking distance.
Later in the half, Jenkins buried one of his five 3-pointers in the game, bringing the Knights to within two, 52-50.
But Penn State Schuylkill’s offense didn’t let up, with 3-pointers from Lee Newton and Devin Adams Jr. to extend their lead to seven, 59-52.
Around the nine-minute mark, Jenkins answered with another 3-pointer to get the Knights back to within six, 66-60, keeping Central Penn in the ballgame.
Gray made it tough for Central Penn to keep pace, scoring 18 points in the second half alone. But Khalil Dukes made his presence felt in the second half, with seven points and three assists, logging some crucial minutes for the Knights in the back half of the game.
Penn State Schuylkill made a move over the next five minutes, going on a 15-9 run to give themselves some breathing room. A Jeremiah Miller bucket allowed them to go ahead by a score of 81-68 with about five minutes left, making it look like they were pulling away for good.
But the Knights didn’t give up. With about three minutes left, Jenkins hit another 3-pointer, bringing the Knights back to within six. With about a minute and a half left, Dukes buried another 3-pointer, which made it a one-possession game, 83-80.
The Knights hung close over the game’s final minutes, capped off with a Riley Young layup, making the score 85-82. But after a turnover, Gray hit two free throws to seal the game for Penn State Schuylkill. They won the contest by a score of 89-82.
The Weis Knightly News Player of the Game was King, tallying 21 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Jenkins had 20 points and a game-high five 3-pointers. Loud added 10 points and eight blocks, while Young added 10 points.
For Penn State Schuylkill, who improved to 2-0 on the season, Gray led the way with 20 points and five rebounds. Dekari Harrell had 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while Bryce Hensley had 12 points and eight rebounds.
For the Knights, it has been a brutal schedule early on, taking on two NCAA teams over their first four contests. Falling to 0-4 after this showing, they will see two back-to-back NCAA Division I teams and four consecutive NCAA teams over the next nine days. They will return home on Dec. 5 for a contest against SUNY ESF.