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Photos by Kenneth Armstrong
DUBLIN – West Bladen opened the second half with an 11-2 spurt that sparked the Knights to a 50-40 Four County Conference boys basketball victory over Wallace-Rose Hill Wednesday night.
“Wallace is big, strong and well-coached by Steve Robinson who does a great job,” said West Bladen Coach Travis Pait. “They had us on the run in the first half. We challenged our kids at halftime, and they really responded.”
The Knights trailed 20-16 at intermission, but senior Kalvin Page stole the ball and raced for a lay-up to start the second half. Page was fouled on the play but missed the free throw. Senior John Bowen snatched the rebound and put it back in to tie the game 20-20.
Senior Sayaun Dent sank 2 free throws then nailed a corner jump shot. Page made a free throw, and John Bowen tossed in a short baseline jumper that pushed the Knight lead to 27-22.
Wallace rallied to within 27-26 on Aliza Carter’s lay-up, but Dent drove for a lay-up, and Page hit 4 of 6 free throws to pad the lead to 33-28 at the quarter break.
Dent and John Bowen beat their defenders for lay-ups to begin the final quarter. Dent sank 2 free throws and pumped in a 16-footer that grew the Knight lead to 41-31 with 5:18 remaining.
The Bulldogs trimmed the lead to 41-35, but Page scored on a follow shot then assisted on a Dent lay-up for a 45-35 lead with 1:56 on the clock.
Desmond Newkirk drove for a lay-up, and Carter drilled a 3-pointer to slice the Knight lead to 45-40 with 1:16 left.
Page connected on 3 of 4 free throws, and junior Jimmy Williams knocked down 2 free throws with six seconds left to account for the final margin.
Dent led the Knights with 16 points – 14 in the second half, and Page threw in 13 points, pulled down 9 rebounds and came up with 5 steals.
“Kalvin had a really good game,” noted Coach Pait.
Junior Jonathan Robinson just missed a double-double with 10 points and 9 rebounds. “Jonathan has been playing really good lately,” said Coach Pait. “I keep telling people that when he gets in basketball shape that he will be a force for us. He is a load.”
Senior John Bowen finished with 8 points and 5 rebounds. “John made one of the key plays in the game when he saved a pass and then passed it to Sayaun who had a better shot and scored,” said Coach Pait. “When John and Sayaun only score 4 points between them in the first half, and we are only down 4 points that says something about our team.”
Robinson hit 2 free throws to start the game, and Dent dropped in a lay-up off of a Jimmy Williams pass. Williams banked in a driving shot in traffic for a 6-1 lead. A Robinson follow shot kept West up 8-5 at the quarter break.
Carter had 2 baskets as the Bulldogs opened the second period with an 11-0 spurt that vaulted the visitors into a 16-8 lead. A Dent pass resulted in a John Bowen lay-up, and Bowen popped in a 16-footer from the elbow.
Robinson banked in a basket off of an in-bounds pass then closed the half with a lay-up that trimmed the Bulldog lead to 20-16 at halftime.
“The guys stuck to the game plan tonight,” said Coach Pait. “They made good decisions down the stretch.”
Carter led the Bulldog scoring with 14 points, and Newkirk and Quayvion Baysden followed with 8 points each.
The Knights ran their winning streak to 12 games in a row. The Knights are 5-0 in the league and 12-2 overall. West Bladen will travel to Midway Friday night.
WB (50) – Kalvin Page 13, Scott Bowen, Jimmy Williams 3, Keshawn Lewis, Drew Harris, Sayaun Dent 16, Gerardo Reyes, Jonathan Robinson 10, John Bowen 8.
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