DUBLIN — West Bladen’s Knights put a trio of players in double figures Friday en route to an 80-57 non-conference win over visiting West Columbus.
The win moved West Bladen to 5-1 overall and served as a tune-up for the fourth annual Woodmen Life Christmas Tournament.
West Bladen opened the game with runs of 9-3 and 6-4 to establish a 15-7 edge, then finished the first quarter trading points with the Vikings and took a 22-14 lead into the second stanza.
The next 8 minutes were nearly a mirror image of the first, as the Knights went on an 8-3 burst. Down the stretch, Stfan McDonald canned a three-pointer and helped give West Bladen a 42-28 advantage at intermission.
The Knights and Vikings battled almost evenly through the third quarter, but West Bladen managed to extend the lead by one to 58-43 going into the final quarter.
West Bladen opened the final frame with a 13-5 run highlighted by a three-pointer from Keshawn Lewis. Down the stretch, Shaquiille Johnson scored eight points with a layup, two free throws and bucket while sitting on the floor — but his last two points brought the crowd’s reaction to new decibels when he stole the ball and raced to the other end for a thunderous dunk.
Sayaun Dent led West Bladen with 22 points and added 10 rebounds, while Johnson scored 18 points with two blocks and McDonald had 15 points, nine rebounds and five steals.