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Photos by Kenneth Armstrong
DUBLIN – Senior Kalvin Page sank 16 of 22 free throws and scored a career-high 26 points to lead West Bladen to a 65-52 victory over First Flight in the opening round of the NCHSAA Class 2A Boys Basketball Play-offs Tuesday night.
“Kalvin was unbelievable tonight,” said West Bladen Coach Travis Pait. “When we are good, it’s usually because Kalvin played well.”
It was a game full of strategy as First Flight tried to speed the game up, and West Bladen tried to keep the high-scoring Nighthawk offense under control.
“We told them we wanted ten passes before each shot,” said Coach Pait. “But then we just told them to shoot only lay-ups.”
Page drove for a lay-up that resulted in a 3-point play, and senior John Bowen turned a feed from senior Sayaun Dent into a lay-up and a 5-0 Knight lead at the 3:55 mark.
Freshman Tyler Witt drained a pair of 3-point shots to give the Nighthawks their only lead of the game at 6-5, but Dent drove the baseline for a lay-up, John Bowen hit a free throw and Page drove for a lay-up and a 10-6 lead at the quarter break.
Senior Blaiz Rodman pulled First Flight to within 10-9 with a corner 3-ball, but Dent drove for a lay-in and John Bowen nailed a 12-foot turn-around. Freshman Dylan Blake’s 3-ball kept the Nighthawks within 14-12, but Page drove for a pair of lay-ups and an 18-12 lead.
Senior Tyler High connected on First Flight’s fifth 3-ball of the half, but Dent turned a John Bowen assist into a lay-up, and Page stole the ball and raced for a lay-up and a 22-15 halftime lead.
Junior Jimmy Williams turned a pass from junior Jonathan Robinson into a lay-up and a 24-15 lead to start the second half.
A strange thing happened next. With 6:37 left in the third quarter, Nighthawk Coach Chad Williams ordered his club to start fouling – the strategy being to speed up the game and hopefully trade 3-point baskets for 2 points or less if West Bladen missed the free throws
After 4 Nighthawk fouls, Dent lobbed an in-bounds pass to John Bowen for a lay-up. Dent hit 2 free throws then flipped in a 4-footer from the lane for a 30-15 Knight lead.
Sophmore Reese Jones knocked down a 3-pointer, but John Bowen and Page made 2 free throws each, and junior Gerardo Reyes hit one for a 35-18 West Bladen lead. Devyn Dodson drove for a First Flight lay-up, but Page sank 4 of 6 free throws to keep the lead at 39-22.
The Nighthawks connected on two more 3-pointers, but free throws by Reyes and Page kept West Bladen ahead 41-28 at the quarter break.
Junior Scott Bowen connected on 4 of 6 free throws to start the final quarter, but sophmore Grayson Bell delivered a 3-pointer, and Dodson drove for a lay-up and a 3-point play to pull the visitors within 45-34.
Reyes cashed in 2 free throws, but Blake drove for a lay-up. Page hit a free throw, but Bell answered with a lay-up. John Bowen dropped in a lay-up and Dent converted 2 free throws to push the Knight lead back to 52-38 with 5:06 left.
High’s bank shot and a pair of put-backs by senior Cole Basnight kept First Flight close, but Robinson made 2 free throws, and Reyes and Page hit one each to keep the lead at 56-44.
Blake threw in a turn-around 3-pointer, and Dodson’s lay-up capped an offensive board flurry and pulled First Flight to within 56-49 with 3:09 on the clock.
Page sank 4 straight free throws to pad the lead to 60-49 with 1:56 left. A Blake 3-ball brought First Flight to within 60-52 at the 1:52 mark. Page made 3 of 4 free throws, and Robinson and Scott Bowen added one free throw each to seal the verdict.
West Bladen capitalized on the First Flight fouling strategy to make 35 of 50 free throws in the second half and 37 of 55 in the game.
Dent finished with 12 points and 4 rebounds. John Bowen posted a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Scott Bowen totaled 6 points, and Reyes added 5.
“John Bowen played every minute and was our second point guard out there behind Kalvin,” said Coach Pait. “Jonathan Robinson was great about his situation of only being on the floor when their big guy was, and Scott, Jimmy and those guys did a great job defensively.”
Blake topped the First Flight scoring with 11 points. The Nighthawks made eleven 3-point shots in the game.
“Defensively we just played playground defense,” continued Coach Pait. “Everybody get a man, but we told them not to help out and leave their man if a teammate got beat. We wanted to make sure #10 (Blake) and #20 (High) didn’t beat us.”
“I take my hat off to our guys – two of them were really sick this week,” added Coach Pait. “That’s a really good team that we played. Coach Williams does a great job with them. “
The Knights improved to 18-9 on the season and will travel to play Four County Conference foe Clinton Thursday night.
West Bladen (65) – Kalvin Page 26, Scott Bowen 6, Jimmy Williams 2, Keshawn Lewis, Drew Harris, Sayaun Dent 12, Masai Carroway, Fred Walters, Geraldo Reyes 5, Jonathan Robinson 3, John Bowen 11.
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