1/30/07

Dominion and Cumberland
by Aaron Nix

This past Friday, the Knights played their last game in "the Castle." This game was an important game, not only for the team but for the team's senior captains-Andrew Smith and Nathan Atalla. With former Knights, Patrick Hunter and Joey Mc Laughlin, this was a game close to the hearts of a conglomerate of loyal fans. With a large showing in a fan-wide "white-out," the Knights played up their crowd from jump ball. On the first play, the Knights began to break CCA's Patriots down with a quick offense and great hustle. At jump-ball the Knights went from the backdoor to a pop out to Jr. PG Bo Wright for the three-ball.

The Knights played exceptionally well on the defensive side as well. Altogether, the Knights added up 20 steals, scoring +24 points on fastbreaks. The three seniors racked up a combined effort of 9 steals out of the 20, connecting on numerous occasion on backcourt plays.

At halftime, the Knights were leading the Patriots by 11. The Knights, proving time and time again, promised a very entertaining second half. To break the game, the Knights would have to play a much better defense. That was exactly what they set out to do.

With the 20 steals the Knights recorded the Knights held CCA to 10 points, instead of the previous 22, meanwhile scoring 40 points of their own. This was a moment where the seniors of the Dominion Knights shined impressively. Atalla, Williams, and Smith combined for 27 points, almost a quarter of the Knights total.

Knights fans have nothing to fear as far as the future is concerned. The Junior Knights combined for an even 46 points by the end of the game, with a last second buzzer-beater by Jonathan Welch and plenty of hustle plays by the 2nd-string Knights. In the end, there was nothing to be taken from the Knights team. Good hustle, smart playing, and team chemistry were all employed in Dominion's homecoming game, preparing the Knights for the upcoming region game against George Walton the following Tuesday.