HOWARD — It was a nail-biter, but the East Knox High School boys basketball team came away with a win in its season opener on Friday night. The Bulldogs (1-0) defeated visiting Mansfield Temple Christian, 42-41, in a dogfight that lasted to the final seconds.
“This win was really good for this team,” said East Knox Don McDaniel. “They haven’t had a whole lot of success in the last few years. It’s huge to get a win on their first game out for the season.”
The game was a tight match-up throughout the contest. Both teams came out firing and neither squad could ever get a clear-cut advantage. After a close first quarter, the Bulldogs managed a slim 11-9 lead.
“Our guys were very nervous tonight,” said McDaniel. “I don’t know why they were so nervous coming out, but they didn’t shoot the ball very well.”
The second quarter saw the Crusaders gain their largest advantage over the Bulldogs as they built a five-point lead to take into halftime. The Bulldogs had by far their weakest quarter in the second, scoring only four points in eight minutes of play.
The second half saw an energized East Knox team take to the floor. It began the third quarter with a 6-0 run that put it on top, and the two times exchanged baskets for the rest of the game.
“It was a gamble coming out in the second half,” McDaniel said. “We went to a zone and you really shouldn’t be able to play a zone against a shooting team like they have. But we tried it and they missed some shots, and we controlled the boards. We got some confidence that we could do it and it came around for us.”
The two teams exchanged a flurry of baskets in the final two minutes of play and a strong final effort by junior post player Luke Branstool sealed the victory. Branstool scored five points in the final 1:19 and led the team with 21 points. He added 10 rebounds for the double-double.
“I was glad to come out and get a win to start the season,” Branstool said. “I knew we needed some points and I wanted to come out and give us a boost.”
“Luke always is going to have a big game for us,” said McDaniel. “Offensively, he does a lot of good things. He has been out with an ankle injury and two days ago we didn’t even think he was going to play.
“They player I really want to talk about is Steven Lilley,” continued McDaniel. “He gives us everything all the time. Tonight, he was all over the floor defensively, rebounding and playing every spot we asked him to play. You just can’t say enough about him and the game he had tonight.”
East Knox was helped by a solid performance from the entire team, vital to their success this season. Junior post Devin Wears led the Bulldogs with 11 rebounds and senior Nick Kidd had three assists.
“This feels great for the kids,” McDaniel said. “That is the biggest thing I worry about is how the kids feel about it. We talked about having fun and sending the seniors out the right way. It’s really good to get the first win of the season early. I am really happy for the kids.”
East Knox’s junior varsity squad handled Mansfield Temple Christian on Friday night, 59-25. Cody Totten had 16 points, while Michael Moreland added 11 points.
Next up for the Bulldogs is the first Mid-Buckeye Conference matchup, a home contest versus Loudonville on Tuesday night. Tip-off for the junior varsity game begins at 6 p.m.
