Friday night the Knights completed their regular season at Little Miami.  It was Senior Night for the Panthers, and their strong senior class was determined to make the most of their last shot at their front door friends and rivals.   But the Knights were ready, and came away with a 65 to 50 victory behind Aaron Gayhart’s 27 points.

GAME STATS | STANDINGS | SLIDE SHOW (Courtesy of the Pulse Journal)

The Panthers came out firing, opening up a 6-0 lead on two 3’s before Matt Stevens got untracked with two 3’s of his own… the second a rainbow that nearly escaped the earth’s atmosphere before sliding through the net.  After that the game settled into a typical Knights-Panthers fight, the Knights clearly the better team but unable to open a sizable lead. 

The referees kept their whistles busy and the Panthers were in foul trouble throughout the game.  Early in the second quarter Calvin Scruby, spotting the Panthers’ Matt Beerse coming up the court with his head turned, stepped in and took the charge - sending Beerse to the bench with his third foul.  With the Panthers’ leading scorer on the bench, the Knights looked to finally create some separation, but the Panthers kept fighting and managed to keep it close - 32 to 25 at the half.

Then in the third quarter Gayhart just took over.  The 6-5 Senior scored 13 of his game-high 27 in the quarter on 6 of 8 shooting.  And after trading buckets early in the period, the Knights finally began to assert themselves, finishing the quarter with a 52-41 lead.

In the 4th quarter the Knights were able to celebrate in a way that had eluded them at their own Senior Night the week before.  Coach Mike Stevens was able to substitute freely, inserting seniors for final curtain calls, and the Knights closed out with a strong 65 to 50 victory.

Gayhart finished with a somehow quiet 27 points on 11 of 16 shooting.  Danny Hagee contributed 14 points, Matt Stevens 11, and Calvin Scruby 7.  Derrick Harris (3), Alex Grant (2) and Chris Burton (1) rounded out the scoring.

Key Stat:  The Panthers’ Matt Beerse (15 ppg) was held to 4 points on 2-8 from the floor.

Now the Knights (13-7) will play their first tournament game against the Anderson Redskins at Lakota West next Friday.  The game time has been changed to 6:00.  Stay tuned for directions and pre-game details.

GO KNIGHTS!!