Knights get the best of Patrick Henry in Wednesday night matchup

By Andrew Hunter

Knightly News Sports Reporter

andrew.hunter@mymail.centralpenn.edu

The Central Penn College Knights defeated Patrick Henry College by a score of 102-75 on Wednesday night in a United States Collegiate Athletic Association contest at East Pennsboro Area Middle School.

The Knights, coming off an important victory last week versus Cheyney, came into this game with momentum.

Knights coach Gary Martin said before the game that his plan going in was “Going to be a pressure up and confrontational defense, and on offense, we are going to rebound and run the floor.” His team executed this game plan very well.

The Knight came out in a 2-2-1 press defense and forced many turnovers in the first few minutes. The duo of Knights guards Anthony McClinton and Darius Wallace came out strong with easy layups in transition.

The Sentinels held their ground in the frontcourt and stayed with the Knights, trading baskets until the 10-minute mark when Central Penn’s defense started to pick up. In the first half, the Knights forced 14 turnovers. 

Not only was the half-court defense flipping a switch, but offensive rebounding by the Knights helped them extend their lead in the first half. 

Forward Jordan Strickland, who came off the bench, threw down a thunderous dunk while cutting in the lane to give the Knights even more energy than they already had. To conclude the half, the Knights’ defense continued to force turnovers and even had an impressive block by freshman center Donnell Loud, who stretched out to deny a jump shot. The Knights went into the intermission leading 52-36.

Coach Martin said in an interview at the beginning of the second half, “I felt very good about the very end of that first half. We want to continue to play hard D (defense) and limit their shots.”

The Knights came out of the locker room with very high intensity on both ends of the floor. They continued to force turnovers in their press and convert those opportunities into easy buckets.

Wallace and McClinton continued to impress with their shot-making ability around the basket, making contested layups over the defense. Guard Rodney Ross continued to do what he is best at, scoring and facilitating. He was opening up gaps and finding teammates for easy-shot opportunities while also contributing with clutch baskets for Central Penn.

The Knights continued to stretch their lead to as many as 30 with their stellar defense. This allowed Martin to use more of his bench, making the ultimate win much more of a team effort than usual.

The players who came in played well, including Loud, forward Ayden Conti, guard Zaheim Lewis and guard Isaac Calalang. Calalang, a crowd favorite on the night, had a pair of free throws and an electrifying layup, which got the crowd cheering. Loud had another pair of impressive blocks on back-to-back possessions for Patrick Henry. With the total team effort in the second half, the Knights were easily able to close out the game and win 102-75.

The Knightly News Player of the game was Wallace, who had 17 points, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Ross had 16 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, while Strickland pulled down 10 rebounds.

The Sentinels were led by Rob Canfield, who had 21 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds. Andrew Penrod also held his own against a taller team, with 19 points and seven rebounds.

This win cemented the first back-to-back victory for the Knights on the season, improving their record to 4-15. Still, the Knights have won two of their last three at home, and go into a stretch on the schedule over the next week that is crucial for the team. In the next week, the Knights will have two Eastern States Athletic Conference games and another tilt with Patrick Henry, all on the road. They return home on Feb. 10 for a highly anticipated matchup against Bucks County Community College.

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The photography for this game was done by Dylan Bowman of Fellowship Studios. For more information about Fellowship Studios, check out https://www.fellowship-studios.com/.