West Bladen’s Chase Williams slams in the field goal attempt.
BLADENBORO — The West Bladen Knights open their season with a 65-28 victory over the South Brunswick Cougars in non-conference match-up on Friday night.
West Bladen’s junior center Chase Williams played a dominant game down low as he finished just shy of a double-double after dropping 25 points and snagging nine rebounds. The Knights started the night at a blistering fast pace by draining shot after shot to take an early lead of 22-12 in the first quarter.
South Brunswick struggled to find a breakthrough on the offensive end with their opponents locking down the painted area. Williams made his presence felt in the second quarter after putting on an array of post-moves for some finishes inside to help extend the host lead 27-14.
The Knights were also quick to turn defense into offense with some fastbreak points as the visitors struggled to find their answer. Williams concluded the first half with 16 points and sophomore guard Jackson Pait went into the locker room at the break with 11 points after drawing three three-point attempts in the half.
Williams continued playing well through the third quarter by snagging rebounds on both ends of the floor and scoring down low. Hezikiah Adams dropped a quiet 13 points but his tenacity on the defensive end awarded him with easy buckets on the break. The third quarter would end at 61-18 and West Bladen was able to rest their key players in the fourth quarter as the game was comfortably in their hands.
South Brunswick senior guard Jaelon Johnson led his team with seven points despite the loss away from home on opening night. Pait concluded the game with 12 points and freshmen Kenall Lessane showed what he can do off the bench with a seven point performance.
The Knights next game was slated to be a non-conference match-up with East Bladen but the game will be moved to another date due to the Eagles playoff run on the gridiron still ongoing. The team will travel away to Willmington-Hoggard on December 1st for their next game of the new season.