BLADENBORO-The West Bladen Knights defeated the South Columbus Stallions for a 75-28 victory last Thursday night in a non-conference match-up. The Knights entered the new year with some momentum after three straight victories in the Bladen Off-Road Christmas Tournament over the Christmas Break. Senior center Chase Williams led all-scorers with a 28 point performance in the Knights home victory over the Stallions.
Junior guard Jackson Pait had a decent shooting night as well as he dropped 15 points in yet another dominant team win from the Knights. They move to an overall record of 11-1 and they’ll open up SAC 6 Conference action against the St. Pauls’ Bulldogs. The Bulldogs are currently 1-8 and they’ve been on the receiving end of multiple 20-plus defeats this season. Junior guard Yoshua McBryde is the Bulldogs leading scorer this season and he pulls the strings for the offense as the assist leader.
The Knights will have two more games slated for Wednesday and Friday this week after their match-up with the Bulldogs is over. They’ll clash with West Columbus on Wednesday for their third straight home game in a week and they’ll travel to Clinton for a SAC 6 duel. Clinton holds an overall record of 2-7, with their most recent win coming against Union last Friday to start the New Year with a victory. The Darkhorses have a talented freshmen guard leading them in scoring by the name of Anyahs Butler.
Clinton will have to muster the strength of all 13 players on their roster come this Friday if they want a chance against a rolling Knights team. They’ll take on Lakewood in a non-conference matchup this Monday and then they’ll open their SAC 6 campaign with a trip to Midway. The Midway Raiders hold the second-best record in the SAC 6 Conference with an overall record of 8-1. The Raiders have played a light non-conference schedule so far, with their most recent win coming against Lakewood last Friday.
Senior guard Kemari McNeil has been an explosive scorer for the Raiders so far this season and he’ll be an important player in these crucial conference match-ups coming up this month. They’ll travel across county lines to play the Fairmont Golden Tornadoes for a SAC 6 clash this Friday. Fairmont is currently 6-3 this season and they’ve maneuvered through a gauntlet of tough non-conference tests. The Golden Tornadoes have a record of 3-3 against 4A and 3A schools in the first half of the season.
Fairmont hasn’t played a game in a couple weeks and they’ll play their first game of the New Year against Red Springs this Tuesday for their conference opener. The Red Springs Red Devils haven’t won a game this season with an overall record of 0-10. Red Springs will be slated to take on Pender in a non-conference match-up to start the week before their conference opener against Fairmont. The Red Devils will also play St. Pauls on Friday for yet another SAC 6 Conference clash.
WEST BLADEN ROSTER 24/25:
Hezekiah Adams SR.
Ty’Leak Ballard SR.
Demarion Bryant JR.
Hunter Hester SR.
Keonta Hill JR.
Kendall Lesane SO.
Tylik McCall JR.
Conner Monroe SR.
Jackson Pait JR.
Jamari Adams-Peterson JR.
Justin Spaulding JR.
Chase Williams SR.