Eagles Take Fifth Straight Victory From Brookfield
Eagles Take Fifth Straight Victory From Brookfield
By David Sharp
Knox County sprang to a 14-2 lead and went on to a February 6, 64-38 conference win over Brookfield. The red hot Eagles (14-5, 4-1) won their tenth game in 11 tries.
Dennis Dent buried a three off Keenan Gillaspy’s assist for a 26-6 lead with 5:08 remaining in the second period. The Eagles outscored Brookfield (4-15, 1-3) 16-6 in the second quarter and led 30-12 at intermission.
The Bulldogs trimmed the KCHS lead to 36-24 in the third quarter. Knox County responded with ten unanswered points. Keenan Gillaspy finished a drive to the hoop for a 46-24 advantage with 2:24 showing on the third quarter clock.
Knox County made liberal use of their bench in the second half. Brookfield closed the quarter with a 4-2 spurt to a 48-28 Knox County lead. Brett Bryant canned two KCHS free throws for a 56-35 score with 2:16 remaining in the game.
Parker Dixson sank four straight free throws with seven seconds to go, closing out the 64-38 final. One of the Brookfield JV players was assessed a technical foul setting up the four shot chance.
“We came out and established a 20 point lead. We may have relaxed too much at times,” said Knox County coach Jesse Crawford. “We are on the right track. We are still winning games. We want to come as close as we can to that 20 win plateau in the regular season and have a shot at winning our district.”
“Mitchel Penn played great tonight,” said the reigning KHQA Boys’ Coach of the Year. “He penetrated the lane. I thought Dennis Dent played well. As a team collectively, I thought we had a good game.”
“There was a time in the second and third quarter where we got stagnant on offense,” said Jesse Crawford. “We dominated on the glass. We did the little things needed to be successful.”
Mitchel Penn tossed in a game high 19 Knox County points with seven rebounds and four steals. Dennis Dent scored 14 points with seven boards and two rejections. Keenan Gillaspy was the third Eagle in double figures with ten points, and four assists.
Listed point totals are official. Stats included in this account are unofficial.
Lucas Hudson sank nine points with five assists. Hudson received an award prior to the contest, emblematic of his 2008-09 single game school records for steals and assists. Head boy’s basketball coach Jesse Crawford made the presentation on behalf of the Knox County R-I school district.
Parker Dixson scored five KCHS points. Brett Bryant put in three points. Justin Reeves scored two points and led the Eagles with nine rebounds. Joseph Rice added two Knox County points.
Ryan Falconer led Brookfield with ten points. Blake Williams scored nine points and pulled down a game high 12 Bulldog rebounds.
Knox County held a 31-23 advantage in team rebounds. Brookfield turned the ball over 19 times to 16 for the home team. The Eagles held a 14-6 assist edge. Knox County had an 11-6 advantage in team steals. Brookfield blocked four shots to three for the Eagles.
