Knights battle, but Bucks County too much in the second half

By Paul Miller
Knightly News Co-Adviser
The Central Penn College Knights men’s basketball team fell to Bucks County Community College Sunday by a score of 96-79 in an ESAC Conference matchup from East Pennsboro Middle School.
The Knights were certainly able to take some positives away from this game, though losing to a conference rival always leaves a sour taste in the mouths of Coach Gary Martin’s squad.
Central Penn got off to a slow start in the first half, as Bucks County center Jaquis Heath made his presence felt in the paint. The Knights trailed 12-6 just five minutes into the contest. Later in the first half, Heath made a contested 3-pointer to put the Centurions up by nine, 20-11.
Then, the Knights made a quality turnaround, going on a 16-9 run over the next eight minutes, capped off by a Dahsan King basket with about six minutes to play in the first half, bringing Central Penn back to within two points. King had a team-high 12 points in the first half.
For Bucks County, Heath continued to be a thorn in the Knights’ side, making a contested layup with about a minute left in the first half, allowing Bucks County to take a five-point lead. At the half, the Knights trailed by six, 44-38.





Photo by Abbee Breski

Photo by Abbee Breski
After halftime, the Knights came out with one of their best second-half starts off the season. Riley Young grabbed a key offensive rebound and put back a layup to bring the Knights within four in the first minute. Then, back-to-back baskets from Anthony McClinton and King tied the game at 46 about three minutes into the second half.
Later in the quarter, after an Octavio Alexander bucket for the Centurions, Young scored on consecutive trips down the floor to keep the game knotted at 50. McClinton then hit a clutch 3-pointer, which allowed the Knights to take a seven-point lead at about seven minutes into the second half.
But that would be the largest lead of the game for the Knights, as the Centurions would close out the game on a 46-29 run over the final 11:30 of the contest. Heath continued his stellar play with 11 points and nine rebounds in the second half. Tyshaun Dukes had 15 points and 10 rebounds during this dramatic run for Bucks County.
A momentum-shifting moment came with about six minutes left in the contest, when Alexander came up with a steal and took the ball for a layup, extending the Centurions lead to seven and causing the Knights to call timeout. Central Penn was never able to get anything else going down the stretch, and Bucks County won comfortably in the end, 96-79.
Ultimately, there were a variety of reasons for the Centurions’ victory, including winning the rebounding totals (53-42) and the fact that the Knights only shot 3-27 from 3-point range.
The Weis Knightly News Player of the Game was McClinton, scoring 19 points, grabbing nine rebounds and adding four assists. King added 17 points and six rebounds, while Young contributed 14 points and six rebounds in 22 minutes.
For Bucks County, Heath was the story with 26 points and 17 boards, while Dukes chipped in 20 points and 19 rebounds.
With the loss, Central Penn fell to 4-13 on the season, with Bucks County improving to 12-8. The Knights return home on Tuesday evening with an 8 p.m. contest against Williamson Trade.