Knoch heats up, rolls past Mt. Pleasant

By: George Guido
Friday, December 20, 2019 | 10:52 PM

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Knoch went scoreless over the first four minutes of Friday’s Section 1-4A opener against Mt. Pleasant.

But when Knoch started hitting, there was no stopping the Knights as they rolled to a 65-35 home victory.

Scott Fraser didn’t hit his first field goal until the third period but finished with 18 points and seven rebounds. Ryan Lang added 14 and Jared Schecengost 12.

“We started slow, but I thought we really competed,” said Knoch coach Ron McNabb. “But we were getting shots and they just weren’t dropping. I knew once they started dropping, we’d be in pretty good shape.”

Knoch (4-1, 1-0) did not commit a personal foul during the second and third periods.

“We were still competing and not backing off,” McNabb said. “We put a great emphasis on this in practice, being able to guard and not get beat without grabbing and fouling.”

Mt. Pleasant (4-3, 0-1) scored the game’s first four points, only to see the Knights reel off 14 consecutive points to end the first quarter.

“This was a very tough one,” said Vikings coach Allan Bilinsky. “They started hitting a lot of threes, and that’s out Achillies’ heel, playing in that zone. We’re not very good at man-to-man just yet. It wasn’t our best game, and they’re a very solid team.”

Knoch collected nine 3-point field goals.

Senior guard Jake Schiedt hit a pair of 3-pointers as Knoch built a 35-16 halftime advantage before Fraser heated up in the third period.

“We tell them to just keep shooting,” McNabb said of Fraser’s early misfires. “These kids have worked extremely hard since the end of last season. It’s very unusual when all our guys aren’t shooting well.”

Knoch built its lead to 30 for the first time when Lang’s free throws made it 61-33 with two minutes left in the game.

Senior guard Jacob Johnson led Mt. Pleasant with 16 points, including 6 of 6 from the free throw line.

Another bright spot for the Vikings was 6-foot-6 sophomore Luke Brandner, who scored nine points and pulled down 10 rebounds — including two first half slams.

But it was the Knights defense that took center stage, holding Mt. Pleasant to 13 points under its average.

Said McNabb: ”I was really happy with us, defensively, holding a team like that to 35. They’ve got a lot of weapons. It was a great team effort.”

The Knights will play in the Freeport Tournament at 5 p.m. Friday against Mercyhurst Prep.

Mt. Pleasant has dropped a pair of games after starting out with a 4-1 mark.

“Woodland Hills shot close to 50% from the 3-point line, and Knoch might have been close to that tonight,” Bilinsky said. “We’ll get back at it and work hard and adjust some things.”

Mt. Pleasant will play in the Greensburg Salem tournament next weekend.

Tags: Knoch, Mt. Pleasant