by Cory Houser
A suffocating and effective execution on the defensive side of the ball helped Knoxville’s basketball teams come away with “W’s” down in Centerville on Friday night, in a doubleheader heard live on FM 95.3 KNIA.
For the lady Panthers, in a game that had major conference championship implications riding on it, they took down the previously unbeaten Lady Redettes, 43 – 37. Neither team held a lead of more than seven points, and the two teams were mostly within four points of one another. Up by six late in the third quarter, Knoxville had to overcome a 9 – 0 Centerville run at the end of the period, and did so in emphatic fashion by stifling their opponents in a 13 – 4 blowout in the final eight minutes, thanks to great defense and clutch free-throw shooting. Coach Jim Uitermarkt says despite a late Centerville push, his team knows nothing else this season but to fight.
“There’s been so many times this year we’ve been down, and it doesn’t change how they go out and play,” Uitermarkt proudly stated. “I think they sometimes just get more determined. We’re not going to get rattled. Boy, as a coach, to know that that’s the case, that’s huge. Because you don’t have to beg and plead, you just get in there and say, ‘Guys, we’ve got this,’ and they start talking and tell each other that they do.”
Maggie Wilkins finished with a game-high 29 points as the Panthers surge to 11 – 3 overall and 8 – 1 in the South Central Conference, tied with Centerville with three games left to go in the league slate.
Centerville’s boys came out red hot from the field, and even went into halftime with the lead, but Knoxville shut down the Big Red in the last 16 minutes, allowing seven points in the third quarter and just one point in the fourth to win going away, 56 – 40. Coach Matt Ritchhart gave the credit for the win to the defensive adjustments in the second half and the strong offensive surge from senior Spencer Hixson, who scored a game-high 23 points, including ten in the third period alone. The Panther boys improve to 8 – 4 overall and 7 – 1 in league play. Knoxville’s boys play again this afternoon at 2:00 PM at Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, while the girls are off until Monday when they play at Clarke.