A slow night on the scoreboard proved to go Knoxville’s way as the Panthers knocked off Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont last night, 49 – 42, in a rescheduled game from Tuesday. The Panthers held a slim two-point lead going into the locker room, and even trailed as the fourth quarter began. Knoxville found the determination to outscore E-B-F in the final eight minutes, 15 – 6 to notch their tenth win of the season. Maggie Wilkins dumped in 27 points to lead the way for the Panthers, as they head into a match-up that will pit the top two girls’ teams in the South Central Conference against one another for the second time this season when Knoxville’s girls pay a visit to Centerville this evening.

The first time these two teams faced off in early January, the Panthers battled back from an 18 – 5 first-quarter deficit only to see their slim fourth-quarter lead evaporate in a 60 – 52 loss to the Big Reds. The undefeated Centerville girls have not won back-to-back games over Knoxville since 2010-11, and look to basically wrap-up a conference title with a triumph tonight. Knoxville would pull into a tie atop the league standings with a win.

On the boys’ side, both teams have won two straight, and the Big Reds are looking to avenge a 55 – 41 loss to the Panthers from earlier this season. Knoxville looked dominant in a 79 – 33 win over Chariton on Saturday, but Coach Matt Ritchart wants to see more variety to his team’s game, particularly inside the paint tonight against Centerville.

“When we’re in conference, we have to get inside play, we just have to,” Ritchart said. “When we go play Bondurant, Pella, and Grinnell later on we have to. You have to work the ball inside-out. It’s not necessarily that you have to get the ball inside to score, but you’ve got to get the ball inside so the defense collapses and then move it.”

The doubleheader in Centerville can be heard live on FM 95.3 KNIA, KNIAKRLS.com, and via our free 95.3 KNIA mobile app with Cory Houser and Tyler Vaske on the play-by-play. Pregame coverage will begin at 6:15 with tip-off slated for 6:30.