Knights fall in nail-biter to Christendom on Senior Night
By Paul Miller
Knightly News Co-Adviser
Photos by Abbee Breski
Knightly News Photographer
The Central Penn College Knights fell to the Christendom Crusaders by a score of 77-72 in an ESAC Conference matchup at East Pennsboro Middle School on Tuesday night.
The contest was a special one for three Knights, as Isaac Calalang, Khalil Dukes and Donnell Loud all celebrated their Senior Night, their final home game for Central Penn. The three men were honored in a pre-game ceremony that featured family, teammates and coaches as they were presented with framed jerseys to commemorate their accomplishments.
As the game tipped off, Christendom started hot, especially from beyond the 3-point line. After a Daniel Schultz layup to start the game, the 3-pointers started raining down from the Crusaders. In the first minute, Bobby Vander Woude hit his first 3-pointer and gave the Crusaders an early 5-0 lead.
The Knights were able to keep pace in the early going, highlighted by a 3-pointer from Dukes, bringing the score to 8-6 about three minutes into the contest. But Christendom answered quickly, as Michael Vander Woude drilled a 3-pointer and Luke Vander Woude added a contested layup, giving the Crusaders a 13-8 lead.
Just over five minutes in, Aaron Harrison, Jr. answered with a 3-pointer of his own, giving the Knights some momentum, bringing the score to 16-13. But again, Bobby Vander Woude immediately answered with a wide-open 3-pointer of his own, giving the Crusaders the 19-13 lead.
While the Knights were generally able to keep pace in the first half, they struggled covering open shooters from beyond the arc. In the half, Bobby and Luke Vander Woude went a combined 9-for-13 from beyond the arc, hitting shots from all corners of the gym.
At about the 10-minute mark, the game seemed to be slipping away from the Knights, as Bobby Vander Woude sank another 3-pointer, extending the Christendom lead to 28-15. But the Knights called a timeout and drew up a play for Keon Blanding-Dockens, answering with a 3-pointer of his own and keeping the lead to 10, 28-18.
The Knights continued to stay within striking distance in the first half. Even down by as many as 14 points with about eight minutes left in the first, the Knights remained composed. Blanding-Dockens took over offensively for the Knights, hitting key baskets at two different points over the next two minutes, pulling the Knights to within seven with just under five minutes to go.
After trading buckets over the last few minutes of the first half, the Knights were able to secure some serious momentum at the end of the first half. As Central Penn held for the last shot, Bersy Moundzieho hit an acrobatic layup as time expired, also drawing a foul. After converting the free throw for the 3-point play, the Knights went into the half only down five, 44-39.
Typically, the Knights have fallen into a trap of being a first-half team, often playing a close first half while fading in the second. That couldn’t have been further from the truth against Christendom.
While the Knights started slowly in the second half, not hitting their first bucket until nearly five minutes had expired, they showed something that had been lacking in the first half: perimeter defense.
After taking a 48-39 lead, the Knights held the Crusaders without a basket for 10 consecutive possessions, correcting their biggest issue of the first half, defending the 3-pointer from Christendom. This defense led to a solid transition offense for the Knights.
At just over five minutes into the second half, Moundzieho hit a clutch layup, bringing the Knights all the way back to within two, 48-46. Just two possessions later, Harrison, Jr. hit a massive 3-pointer, giving the Knights their first lead of the game, 50-49.
But something was brewing in the background, foul trouble. Dukes and Blanding-Dockens both played significant minutes in the first half with three fouls. And while they managed to escape the first half without picking up a fourth, that did not last in the second half.
With about 13 minutes left in the second half, Dukes picked up his fifth foul, leading him to foul out in his final home game as a Knight. With just under 10 minutes to go, the Knights were able to grab two offensive rebounds to maintain a key possession. But with a questionable call from the officials, Blanding-Dockens picked up his fourth foul.
The two teams continued to trade baskets, knotting the score at 57, 59, 61, 63 and 65. With just under five minutes left, Cameron Wilson hit a huge layup to give the Knights a 67-65 lead. Unfortunately, this would be the Knights’ final lead of the contest.
As hot as the Crusaders were from beyond the arc in the first half, they were that cold in the second half, going only 2-for-14 from 3-point land in the final frame. But trailing 67-65, Bobby Vander Woude hit a 3-pointer that ultimately sealed the victory for the Crusaders.
By the final minutes of the game, Dukes, Blanding-Dockens and Moundzieho all fouled out of the contest. With the number of fouls on both teams, the final few minutes of the game came down to free throws, with the Crusaders making good on their attempts. In the end, the Knights, even with as valiant an effort in front of the home crowd that we have seen all season, came up short, falling to Christendom by a score of 77-72.
The Weis Knightly News Player of the Game was Blanding-Dockens, with 25 points, eight rebounds and four steals. Wilson added 12 points and eight rebounds, while Moundzieho contributed 10 points.
For Christendom, Bobby Vander Woude led the way with 33 points and nine rebounds, going 6-for-11 from beyond the arc. Luke Vander Woude added 17 points and seven rebounds, while Luke Ross poured in 13.
For the Knights, it had to be a demoralizing defeat, falling to 1-20 on the season and failing to win a contest in front of their home crowd in the 2025-26 season. Central Penn has one more opportunity to get back into the win column, as they travel to Manor College this Saturday for their season finale.
And while the outcome was not what the Knights envisioned, it was clear that they played as a team, staying in the contest all the way until the end. That is what Knights do.
The Knightly News would like to thank the following contributors to our broadcasts this season:
Commentary: Dr. Paul Miller, Parker Rose, Dalton Koller, Brian Christiana
Production: Noah Lopez and Alex Foley
Photography: Abbee Breski, Dylan Bowman, Hannah Pasquarella
We look forward to joining you again for Knights basketball next November!
