[LAUREL, MS] The Laurel Knighthawks opened up their regular season this week by going 1-1. Both of these contest were lopsided non-conference games. Needless to say, this week was the tale of two different games for the Knighthawks.
Laurel started their regular season by traveling to Louisville, Mississippi to take on the Grace Christian Eagles. Laurel knows that Grace Christian is a fast team that pressures the ball. This meant that the Knighthawks were going to have to rely on their point guard, Caleb Blankenship, to be the floor general and take control of the offense. However, on the morning of game day, Laurel was notified that Blankenship was not available due to illness.
This unfortunate news led to a 59-41 loss for Laurel. The Knighthawks played well, but the offense was lacking it’s starting point guard and leader of the offense. This was not the case on Thursday night.
On Thursday night, the Knighthawks opened up their home season by taking on the Central Baptist Raiders in Salem “The Nest” Heights. The Raiders are a very scrappy ball club, so Laurel knew that they had to take care of the ball on offense and not give Central Baptist second chance points on defense.
The Knighthawks executed their game plan beautifully, scoring 31 points in the first half and 26 in the second. Laurel scored 57 points even though their starters played minimal minutes. The Knighthawks defense though, stole the show by holding Central Baptist to just 42 points. Laurel walked away with the win by the score of 57-42.
Laurel had three separate players score 13 points. Headlining those players was Caleb Blankenship who played exceptionally well. Kai Welch also had 13, and Cooper Goodwin accomplished his 13 while coming off the bench. Aaron Smith also played good team ball and great defense.
Laurel will have a long time off before their next contest. In the meantime, the Knighthawks can dwell on a feel good win until called back into action.
