February 21, 2013

Knox County Spoils SCR-I Courtwarming With 56-41 Defeat

Jacob Blessing splits the Knox County defense for an open shot.

Friday was Courtwarming at Scotland County R-I High School, but the Tigers couldn't have gotten off to much colder of a start versus Knox County.

The Eagles soared to a 10-2 in the game's opening minutes, forcing a timeout at the 6:19 mark. A bucket by Lucas Howard slowed the onslaught, but only momentarily, as Knox County closed out the first quarter on a 13-2 run to lead 23-6 after just eight minutes of play.

The deficit grew to 27-6 before Howard converted a three-point play with 6:02 to play in the second quarter.

Chris Jackson hit a three-pointer and Howard added a couple more baskets as the Tigers trimmed the margin. A hoop by Brice Cowell made it 34-24 with less than a minute to play in the first half.

That would be as close as the Tigers would get. Knox County led 37-24 at halftime and outscored the Tigers 16-12 in the third period to lead 53-36. The two teams combined for just eight points in the fourth period as Knox County closed out the 56-41 victory.

Scotland County closed out the regular season with a 10-14 record and finished 4-6 in the Tri-Rivers Conference. Jacob Blessing led the Tigers in scoring with 13 points. Howard finished with 11 points.

Royce Poore led Knox County in scoring with 15 points. Donovan Edwards and Andrew Hunolt each added 11 points.