Knights start hot, can’t overcome turnovers in loss to Bucks County Community College
By Paul Miller
Knightly News Co-Adviser
Photos by Abbee Breski
Knightly News Hall of Famer
The Central Penn College Knights men’s basketball team fell to the Bucks County Community College Centurions by a score of 98-82 in an ESAC Conference matchup from East Pennsboro Middle School on Tuesday night.
The Knights came into this contest on a high note, having beaten the Centurions on the road back on Jan. 24, so they entered this contest with a high level of confidence.
During the first half, the game was a see-saw battle, with both Central Penn and Bucks County Community College taking the lead back and forth.
In the early going, Cameron Wilson showed his dominance in the paint, scoring the first bucket for the Knights, grabbing an early defensive rebound, and finding his way to the free-throw line on the opposite end.
For the Centurions, they were firing from the outside early and often. Noah Morris hit a contested 3-pointer at about five minutes into the game, though Keon Blanding-Dockens quickly answered with a 3-pointer of his own, giving the Knights an early 10-8 lead.
Over the next five minutes, both defenses played well, not allowing a basket on either side for nearly three minutes. After Anthony Washington made a layup to make it 14-12, Donnell Loud answered with a thunderous dunk, one that woke the crowd up and gave Central Penn the momentum in the contest.
After an Antonio Morris 3-pointer, Loud took control of the paint and made another bucket, followed by another basket by Blanding-Dockens, giving the Knights a 22-18 lead with about nine minutes left in the first half.
After Bersy Moundzieho hit the second of two free throws, the Knights held a five-point lead with about six minutes to play in the first half. But a foul of Antonio Morris sent him to the line, hitting both. After a missed layup for the Knights, Noah Morris hit an open 3-pointer to tie the game at 25 and take back some of the momentum they had lost.
For the Knights, Wilson re-entered the game and immediately showed his presence again, grabbing an offensive rebound and putting it back for a layup on back-to-back possessions. This gave the Knights a four-point lead with about two minutes to play in the first half.
The momentum continued to favor Central Penn, especially as Loud offered one of the best offensive plays of the year, taking a pass from Nazier Fuller and following up with a highlight-reel jam, giving the Knights a 41-37 halftime lead.
The Knights came into the second half with all of the momentum after the Loud dunk to end the first half. Even though Central Penn had many turnovers in the first half, they played relatively clean basketball, with only a handful of fouls.
Unfortunately, that clean basketball did not translate into the second half, as the Knights fell into the trap of getting themselves into foul trouble and had many turnovers in the second half, quickly allowing Bucks County Community College to get back into this game in the early moments of the second half.
Morris Ivery came to play in the second, hitting a clutch 3-pointer in the first minute of the second, putting the Centurions up by a score of 44-43. At about the five-minute mark, Antonio Morris hit another contested three, giving Bucks County up 57-52.
But the Knights kept pace early in the half, again led by the low-post dominance of Wilson. An offensive rebound and a put-back allowed the Knights to keep within striking distance, 57-55.
That is as close as the Knights would be able to keep the score. Over the next five minutes, the Centurions went on a 13-6 run, widening the gap to 70-61 after a Washington layup.
With about eight minutes left in the game, Wilson made his presence felt again with another layup, allowing the Knights to close the gap to eight, 73-65. But the Centurions were just too much from the outside, with Noah Morris and Ivery hitting two big 3-pointers over the next two minutes, allowing Bucks County to extend their lead to 83-67.
The Knights were not able to get much going offensively for the remainder of the game, ultimately falling in the game by a score of 98-82.
The story of the game for the Knights was turnovers, with Central Penn giving up 27 to Buck County Community College’s 10, leading to 27 points off turnovers for the Centurions. And while the Knights led on the boards 49-37, this rebounding advantage could not overcome the number of turnovers throughout the contest.
The Weis Knightly News Player of the Game was Wilson, pouring in 22 points and adding 14 rebounds. Blanding-Dockens contributed a game-high 29 points in the losing effort, showing some scoring prowess that will serve Central Penn well over the remainder of the season. Loud also added 11 points and eight rebounds.
For Bucks County, Ivery led the way with 24 points, going 4-for-7 from the 3-point line. Noah Morris added 15 points, going 5-for-8 from beyond the arc.
The loss is tough to swallow for the Knights, as they fall to 1-18 on the season. They will return to East Pennsboro Middle School next Tuesday night, Feb. 10, for Senior Night as they take on Christendom. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.
The Knightly News Media Club will be broadcasting all of the Central Penn College men’s and women’s home games during the 2025-26 season. You can tune in at https://www.youtube.com/@KnightlyNewsCPC.
On this broadcast, Paul Miller and Knightly News Hall of Famer Parker Rose were on the call, with Noah Lopez producing the show.
