BLADENBORO — The West Bladen Knights defeat the Clinton Darkhorses’ for a 69-42 victory on Tuesday. The Knights started off hot from range in the first quarter and freshmen guard Jackson Pait sank four of his team’s six three-pointers during the first quarter. Unfortunately for Clinton, mental errors and inconsistent shooting caused them to fall behind early.
Sophomore center Chase Williams was having a dominant night on the boards for the Knights and he made his presence felt in the second quarter with some put-back 2’s. The Darkhorses’ junior guard TK Raynor made a nice move to the baseline to get his team going on offense with under 6 minutes to play. The Knights’ progress was hampered by turnovers but Jackson Pait drained his fifth 3-pointer of the game to take back the momentum. Sophomore Hezekiah Adams scored four points in two straight possessions to help the Knights close out the first half with the hot hand. The Darakhorses’ closed the gap at 20 with a lay-in from their junior forward Josiah McLaurin just seconds before the halftime buzzer.
Williams got back to working where he left off at the beginning of the third quarter and earned trips to the free-throw line after grabbing offensive boards. Clinton’s Tarik Dyches finally got his team on the board after a series of cold shooting and turnovers. The Darkhorses’ went cold once more after a Ny’Darion Blackwell lay-in but the hosts were having a tough time getting a shot to fall as well. The Knights Andre Moore finally nailed a 3-point shot to extend the Knights’ lead to 24 points.
The Knights’ veteran guard Anthony Mitchell dropped in a field goal with seconds left in the third quarter but the Darkhorses’ Walker Spell responded with a 3-pointer from half-court at the buzzer. Spell entered the final quarter by draining another 3-pointer but the Darkhorses’ had plenty to do in order to close the gap. Williams continued to punish his opponents in the post with back-to-back scoring drives and ushered the path for a Knights victory. Clinton attempted to plug away at the lead but failed to make up the deficit and finished the game on a cold streak.
Pait led the game with 21 points and Williams finished behind his teammate with 19 points on the night. The Knights stay in fourth place of the SAC 7 and will look for a result against their county rivals East Bladen on Monday.
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