DUBLIN — West Bladen put 10 players in the scoring ledger, including four in double figures, as the Knights snapped a four-game skid on Thursday with a 72-54 Four County Conference win over visiting East Bladen.

West Bladen improved to 16-8 overall and 9-5 in the conference. The loss drops the Eagles to 2-22, 1-13.

The Knights opened the game with a 12-3 run, getting six points from Jonathan Robinson in the paint and a pair of baskets from Sayaun Dent. The two teams traded points the rest of the quarter, with Eian Hines getting all of East Bladen’s seven points and West Bladen getting two buckets from Dent and one from Kalvin Page to give the Knights a 19-11 lead going into the second stanza.

West Bladen extended its lead to 23-11 on baskets by Jimmy Williams and Page to open the quarter, but the Eagles went on a 5-1 spurt behind a three-pointer and basket from Demetrius Wooten. The Knights answered with a 7-0 burst an baskets by Keshawn Lewis, Page and Dent along with a free throw by Robinson. The run was stopped by a three-pointer from East’s Denzel Johnson that pulled the Eagles to within 31-19 midway through the period.

West Bladen got a bucket from Robinson and John Bowen, who had been held scoreless thus far, buried a shot to give the Knights a 35-19 edge. After a free throw from Adonis Avery for East Bladen, Bowen sank two free throws and Page added one to keep the Knights’ lead at 38-20. East Bladen ended the first half with a 7-2 run behind a three-pointer from Johnson and two baskets from Hines. Dent canned the final bucket fro West in the half to keep the Knights up, 40-27.

The Knights opened the second half with baskets from Bowen and Robinson to expand the lead to 44-27 before the two teams traded points. East Bladen had a 7-6 edge over the next couple of minutes behind four points from Hines and three points from Wooten. West Bladen got two baskets from Dent and one from Scott Bowen to hold a 50-34 lead halfway through the third quarter.

The Knights then finished the third quarter with an 8-3 spurt behind a pair of baskets from Dent, one from Drew Harris and two free throws from Bowen. Avery hit a free throw and Hines beat the buzzer with a layup for East Bladen, but trailed 58-37 going into the fourth frame.

Page dropped in a basket for West Bladen to open the quarter and a basket by Bowen was sandwiched around two three-pointers by Johnson that pulled the Eagles to within 62-43. Page and Avery traded free throws before the Knights went on a 6-3 spurt behind a pair of buckets from Gerardo Reyes and one from Williams to push the advantage to 69-47. East Bladen responded with a 7-0 run on a basket from Robbie Cooley and Sadique Ingram buried a basket and three-pointer, but the Knights’ Fred Walters finished the scoring with a three-pointer to seal the win for West Bladen.

“Jonathan was big for us tonight — something we’ve expected this season,” said Knights coach Travis Pait. “It’s a good win for us. This is a team of streaks, so I hope it’s the start of a good one.”

West Bladen was led by Dent with 21 points and added seven rebounds. Robinson contributed 12 points along with six rebounds, while Bowen and Page each scored 10 points. Page also added eight rebounds and six steals, while Bowen had seven boards.

East Bladen got 19 points, seven rebounds and four steals from Hines, while Johnson added 12 points with four three-pointers. Demetrius Wooten scored 10 points and Xavier Wooten pulled down eight rebounds.

W. Curt Vincent can be reached by calling 910-862-4163.

W. Curt Vincent

cvincent@civitasmedia.com