03/29/2024
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FAIRMONT – Sophomore Malachi Allen and junior Gary Parker keyed a 7-0 spurt that carried West Bladen to a 53-50 victory over Fairmont Monday night in the opening round of the Southeastern Athletic Conference Basketball Tournament.

Coach Travis Pait’s Knights evened their record at 12-12 with their 4th straight win and will play top-seeded St. Pauls (17-5) in Thursday’s 6 p.m. semi-final game at Red Springs.

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Photos by Kenneth Armstrong

Driving lay-ups by Ty’rus Morris and Tyrek Thompson off of Knight turnovers had pulled the Tornadoes even at 43-43, before Parker soared high to flip in a follow for a 45-43 West lead. However Morris turned another turnover into a lay-up and a 45-45 tie.

Allen sank 2 free throws with 3:11 remaining to put West back on top, and Parker ripped a rebound away from a crowd and muscled in a high-arching follow while being fouled. Parker then swished the free throw for a 50-45 lead. Allen stole the ball and pitched ahead to senior Josiah Brown for a lay-up and a 52-45 Knight lead with 45 seconds left.

A 3-point play by Fairmont’s Gabriel Washington and a follow shot by Issac McKellar sandwiched around a pair of missed Knight foul shots sliced the margin to 52-50. However Parker hit a free throw with 6 seconds left, and Fairmont’s desperation three missed at the buzzer.

“First win here in a long time,” said Knight Coach Travis Pait. “We weren’t perfect tonight, but it was a good team effort. Last week (2 wins on the road) was huge for us. We had lost so many big leads in the last 3 minutes earlier in the season. We were more confident tonight and we expected good things to happen.”

Parker led the Knights with 12 points and 7 rebounds. Senior Javonta Matthews racked up 11 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals. Freshman Hezekiah Adams contributed 8 points and 4 rebounds.

Freshman Chase Williams finished with 6 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Allen added 5 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. Brown netted 5 points and 3 rebounds. Senior Keshawn Ballard snared 5 rebounds.

Adams made a free throw to start the game, Williams hooked in a basket and Matthews beat the Tornado press for a lay-in then stole the ball and dashed for another lay-up. Brown canned a free throw for an 8-2 lead.

Adams pushed the lead to 10-4 with a lay-in, and Ballard nailed a 3-point shot from the corner to boost the Knight lead to 13-5 at the quarter break.

Sophomore Landon Stanley fired in a 3-ball to stretch the West lead to 16-5, and Parker stole the ball and sprinted for a lay-up. Adams darted to the rim for a transition lay-up as the lead grew to 20-9. Adams and Brown tacked on transition lay-ups to pad the lead to 24-11 3:08 before halftime.

Back came the Tornadoes who turned 5 Knight turnovers into a 13-2 spurt. Matthews end-to-end dash after a defensive rebound for a lay-up accounted for the only Knight basket. McKellar banked in a 3-ball that barely beat the buzzer to whittle the West lead to 26-24 at halftime.

Williams converted an assist from Stanley into a lay-up and a 28-24 lead to begin the 2nd half. Washington answered with back-to-back 3-balls to vault the Tornadoes on top. Cameron Sweat’s lay-up made it 32-28 Fairmont.

Allen banked in a runner, and Williams flipped in a jump-hook to knot the score 32-32. Matthews stole the ball and darted to the rim for a dunk and a 34-34 tie. Allen converted a free throw, an Adams feed to Matthews produced a lay-up and Parker leaped high for a jump-hook and a 39-34 Knight lead.

Parker beat the Fairmont press for a lay-up and a 41-37 West lead at the quarter break. Adams and Matthews tacked on a free throw each to keep the margin at 43-39 with 5:58 on the clock.

Washington with 14 points and Morris with 13 points led the Tornado scoring. McKellar followed with 9 points as Fairmont dropped to 8-13.

“We are going to enjoy this one tonight and then work the next 2 days at practice to get ready for a very good St. Pauls team,” said Pait.

West Bladen    13    13    15    12 -53
Fairmont           5     19    13    13–50

West Bladen (53) – Hezekiah Adams 8, Josiah Brown 5, Landon Stanley 3, Malachi Allen 5, Keshawn Ballard 3, Gary Parker 12, Walter Bealon, Javonta Matthews 11, Chase Williams 6, Travail Baldwin.

Fairmont (50) – Cameron Sweat 6, Elijah Richardson, Gabriel Washington 14, Savonte McKeithan, Tyrek Thompson 2, Ty’rus Morris 13, Issac McKellar 9, Walker Chavis 4, Derrick Baker 2.

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