Gantz comes up big to help the Knights prevail against Wolves

By Andrew Hunter

Knightly News Reporter

andrew.hunter@mymail.centralpenn.edu

The Central Penn College men’s basketball team defeated the Cheyney Wolves on Thursday night at East Pennsboro Middle School by a score of 64-52.

This was a rematch of a contest earlier in the season in which Cheyney was victorious by a considerable margin. When senior guard Nate Jean-Philippe was asked about how he approached this game, he said, “I come with the same approach every game. I am confident and having fun. I don’t care how small I am. I don’t care how much they beat us by (earlier this year). I’m going to play the same way.”

The Knights started off with great defense in the first half. They were taking charges, getting deflections and forcing the Wolves to take undesired shots late in the shot clock, holding Cheyney to a mere 13 points in the first.

Early on, both teams could not put the ball in the bucket, as the score was 9-7 halfway through the first half. At the six-minute mark, Khalil Dukes had an energizing 3-point play that lit a fire for the Knights, starting a 9-0 run and helping the team take a comfortable lead into the half, 29-13.

To start the second half, the Knights started right where they left off, getting a quick steal on the defensive side and then converting on the offensive side with a big 3-pointer by Jean-Philippe.

The Knights took off, scoring with big contributions from Kobe Gantz and Jean-Philippe leading the Knights to a lead as large as 23. But then the Wolves started to chip away at the Knights’ lead, going on an 8-0 run at one point, cutting the margin to as small as two.

This run was fueled by Cheyney guard Nathan Rosario, who scored 20 points and shot 4-8 from three, and Kian Nixon, who scored 14 points and had eight rebounds.

Once their lead was only two, Knights Coach Gary Martin called a timeout that turned into a huge 3-point play by Gantz, which started his dominance in the second half. He continued to score the ball effectively, with threes and acrobatic shots around the rim, scoring 16 of his 21 points in the second half. With his clutch scoring and team leadership, Gantz helped the Knights stay alive and win the game, 64-52.

Gantz was named Knightly News Player of the Game, giving the Knights 21 points and 11 rebounds to go along with 7 steals.

The Knights improved their record to 5-12 on the season, though they are getting ready for a rough stretch of six of their last seven games being on the road. They will return home on Feb. 11 for Senior Day. Cheyney fell to 5-14.

The Knightly News broadcast this game, with Paul Miller and Tyler Coleman on the call and Kevon Davis on production. The link is below. Our next broadcast will be Feb. 11 for the men’s Senior Day.

---

Comments or story idea? Contact KnightlyEditors@CentralPenn.Edu. Edited by media-club co-advisers Professor Paul Miller and Professor Michael Lear-Olimpi.