East Knox imposed their slugfest style of play at Northmor in a 41-37 win over the Golden Knights in a key KMAC showdown.

 

Northmor (11-6, 8-3) needed a victory to keep pace with Centerburg at the top of the league standings, but came out flat to start the contest as the Bulldogs put together a 10-4 run in the opening quarter before the Knights battled back to within 21-18 by the half with Hunter Mariotti scoring nine of his game-best 17 points in the stanza.

 

East Knox (10-6, 7-4) continued to dictate the tempo in the third, maintaining the upper hand on the scoreboard at 31-27 entering the final eight minutes of play. Missed Bulldogs free throws allowed Northmor to hang around within striking distance but East Knox would ride their stingy defense to a hard-fought win on the road.

 

Weston Melick scored a dozen points to pace the Bulldogs offensive attack while Chase Reynolds poured in nine and Carson Steinmetz added seven. Blake Miller joined Mariotti in double-figure scoring for the Knights with 13 pts while only Kooper Keen also made it into the scoring column with seven pts in the game.