25-6 run to begin the game leads West Bladen (18-1) over St. Paul's in conference play.

ST. PAULS, NC – Junior guard Jackson Pait blistered the nets with five of his six 3-point baskets in the 1st quarter as West Bladen raced to a 25-6 lead enroute to a 69-15 Southeastern Athletic Conference basketball victory Friday night over St. Pauls.

Coach Travis Pait’s Knights remained unbeaten in the SAC with a 6-0 record and are 18-1 overall. After a long week on the road that produced 3 victories, the Knights return to ‘The Castle’ Tuesday night to battle Clinton.

St. Pauls, now 2-4 and 4-14, will host Red Springs Tuesday. 

Pait connected on 6 of 12 3-point shots to finish with 20 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals. Senior center Chase Williams led the Knights with 22 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocked shots, 3 deflections, a steal and an assist. The 6-8 Citadel signee connected on 9 of his 12 shots from the field and slammed in 2 dunks.

Senior Hezekiah Adams shot 6 of 8 from the field and tallied 12 points. Adams also delivered 5 assists and had 2 steals, a blocked shot and a dunk.

Junior Jamari Adams-Peterson rang up 7 points off the bench and had an assist. Junior Tylik McCall contributed 3 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 deflections and a steal.

Sophomore Kendell Lesane grabbed 4 rebounds and had 1 assist. Junior Keonta Hill dished out 5 assists and had 2 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and a deflection.

Junior Demarion Bryant racked up 3 assists, 2 points and a steal. Senior Conner Monroe finished with 3 rebounds and 2 points, and senior Ty’Leak Ballard totaled 3 rebounds, a blocked shot and 2 deflections.

“We did some good things tonight,” said Coach Pait. “We moved the ball well. The energy was good, and we guarded well. It was a great team effort. Everybody contributed. Hezi was really good tonight.”

Pait buried a 3-pointer from the left wing to start the game, and Adams pumped in a basket. Williams drained a 16-footer from the key then netted a lay-up off a Pait assist. McCall stole the ball and pitched ahead to Pait for a lay-up and an 11-0 lead.

Then the long-range barrage picked up. Pait nailed 3-pointers from the right wing, left of the key, the left wing and a long bomb from the right of the key as the lead swelled to 23-2. Adams raced to the rim for a lay-in and a 25-6 lead at the break.

Pait opened the 2nd period with a 3-ball from the top of the key. Williams slammed in a dunk off an Adams assist, hit a free throw then hammered in a dunk off a Pait assist. Williams spun to the basket for a 3-point play that upped the count to 36-6.

Adams and Hill combined to force a steal that resulted in an Adams lay-up. Williams banged in a rebound basket then cashed in 2 free throws for a 42-6 lead as the West defense held St Pauls scoreless in the period.

Williams began the 2nd half with a pair of lay-ups – one off a Pait assist. Adams stuffed in his dunk then sent an assist to Williams for a lay-in. Pait assisted on another Adams lay-in as the lead reached 52-7.

Adams-Peterson bombed in a corner 3-ball, and Adams dropped in a lay-up off a Williams assist as the lead grew to 57-15 at the quarter break.

West senior Hunter Hester popped in a rebound basket to begin the final period. Hill banked in a runner, and Demarion Bryant turned an Adams-Peterson assist into a lay-up.

Adams-Peterson and Monroe drove for lay-ups, and Adams-Peterson closed out the scoring with a turn-around from the baseline.

The Knights shot 61 percent from the field (29 of 47), while holding St Pauls to 18 percent shooting (6 of 32). West held a 30-13 advantage in rebounds, and the Knights were credited with 24 assists.

West Bladen (69) - Jackson Pait 20, Hezekiah Adams 12, Demarion Bryant 2, Tylik McCall, Kendell Lesane, Keonta Hill 2, Conner Monroe 2, Jamari Adams-Peterson 7, Ty’Leak Ballard, Chase Williams 22, Justin Spaulding, Hunter Hester 2.

St. Pauls (15) – Jakhi Purcell, Tykeem Oxendine 2, Antonio Arnold, Devin Suggs 2, Jaden Bethea, Tayvion Bethea 4, Brandon Baldwin, Jakari Henry, Jamir Marzett 3, Yoshua McBryde, Donel Thomas 2, Antwan McKoy 2.