OLNEY - The Blue Knights found themselves in a dog fight Wednesday night on Gene Duke Court in The Dungeon against a scrappy Lake Land team. The Blue Knights held off Lake Land's second half run to come out on top 85-78. The Blue Knights move to 10-0 overall and 3-0 in GRAC play.
The Blue Knights held a 40-32 advantage going into half time that came on a 3-pointer by 6'8 freshman forward Elijah Farr. The Kansas City, MO native led all scorers with 23 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. Farr connected on (3) 3-pointers that all came in the first half.
Rounding out the scoring for the Blue Knights was 5'10 sophomore point guard Jalen Moore (22), 6'4 sophomore forward Nick Walker (14), 6'3 freshman guard CE Talton (9), 6'5 freshman forward JJ Kalakon (8), 6'1 freshman guard Cayman Hayes (4), 6'6 freshman forward Jordan Tchuente (3), and 6'5 freshman forward Cobie Montgomery (2).
Olney Central held their biggest lead at 62-44 after an 8-0 run which saw Kalakon going 2-for-2 from the line, Moore hitting a 3-pointer, and Walker connecting on a 3-pointer on a pass from Kalakon.
After that, Lake Land went on a run as they outscored the Blue Knights 17-8 to get the score to 70-61 Blue Knights. Farr hit (2) two free throws and fed Walker for a transition layup to end the run.
Lake Land got as close as (5) five late in the game (79-74) after Hunter White hit (2) free throws.
The Blue Knights made 9 out of their last 10 free throws to come out with a 85-78 win. Moore went 7-for-8, while Walker made 2-of-2.
Lake Land had (3) players lead the way with (13) points a piece including Hunter White, Maurice Walfare-Harris, Jacarius Burks, after that Adam Price followed with (10), Jevon Morris (9), Isaiah May (7), Kyran Gaines (7), and Ty Waller (6).
Lake Land outrebounded the Blue Knights 42-39.
Farr lead the way for the Blue Knights on the glass with (8), Kalakon (7), Walker (5), Talton (5), Moore (5), Tchuente (5), C. Hayes (3), and Wheeler (1).
Overall the Blue Knights shot 25-57 overall from the field for 44% and shot 8-22 from deep for 36%. They were 27-34 from the free throw line for 79%.
Lake Land shot 28-69 from the field for 41% and 4-12 from deep for 33%. They were 18-24 from deep for 75%.
Head Coach Mike Burris on the win - "We found a way to get a win and improve to 10-0 overall. This was our third game in five days. We got a little tired down the stretch and that's when Lake Land made their run. Give them credit - they made some shots and shot well from the line. They got into us and took us out of what we were trying to do on the offensive end."
Next Game - Saturday, December 7 at 3:00pm vs Southwestern Illinois.