Varsity Boys Basketball: West Bladen 47, Fairmont 26.

FAIRMONT – Senior center and Citadel signee Chase Williams dropped in 10 of his 15 points as West Bladen’s Knights shook off a Fairmont rally and shut out the Tornadoes 14-0 in the final period to move into 1st place in the Southeastern Athletic Conference with a 47-26 basketball victory Monday night.

Coach Travis Pait’s Knights improved to 4-0 in SAC play and 16-1 overall. The Knights will travel to Red Springs Tuesday night. Fairmont, now 3-1 in SAC play and 10-6 overall, will visit Clinton Tuesday night.

Pait opened the scoring with a reverse lay-up, and Lesane hooked in a 4-footer then raced for a lay-up after a Tornado turnover for a 6-2 lead. McCall banged in a lay-up against the press then tacked on a free throw for a 9-6 West lead.

Hill was awarded a basket on goaltending, before Pait banked in an 8-foot runner to keep the Knights up 13-8 at the quarter break.

Williams netted a free throw, spun to the rim for a lay-in then banked in a 4-footer that grew the lead to 18-8. Pait connected from 16 feet, and Lesane pounded the boards for a pair of rebound baskets.

Williams cashed in 2 free throws then delivered an assist to a cutting Hill for a lay-up as the lead grew to 28-12.

The Knights led 28-14 at halftime, but a pair of 3-point plays by Fairmont’s Landon Cummings keyed a 10-2 Tornado run that sliced the margin to 30-24. Junior Jackson Pait popped in an 8-footer for the Knight bucket.

Pait sank a free throw, and junior Keonta Hill flipped in a runner to keep West up 33-26 at the quarter break.

Pait drained a 16-footer to begin the final quarter, before Williams spun thru the lane and tossed in a 6-footer. Williams and sophomore Kendell Lesane powered in follow shots, and Williams banked in a turn-around over Fairmont’s 6-9 Josiah Billings.

A pair of assists by junior Tylik McCall resulted in a pair of Williams lay-ups that pushed the lead to 47-26.

“This is a great group of guys,” said Coach Pait. “People need to realize how unselfish and special they are. They don’t care who scores, and they are able to get on each other for correction when it's needed.”

Williams just missed a double-double with 15 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocked shots and 3 deflections. Pait wasn’t far from a double-double either with 11 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 assist and 2 deflections.

Lesane finished with 10 points, 7 rebounds and 1 assist. Hill tallied 6 points, 1 assist and 2 deflections. McCall contributed 5 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 1 assist. Senior Ty’Leak Ballard grabbed 3 rebounds, and senior Hezekiah Adams had 3 steals.

“Biggie’ (Ballard) and Keonta were unbelievable off the bench for us tonight,” noted Coach Pait. “Kendell played really well and was big for us.”

Pait continued, “Neither team had touched a basketball for 8 days before today because of the snow. They also played more deliberate than we expected so we had to adjust for that.”

Landon Cummings led the Tornadoes with 12 points, and Xavier Johnson added 8.

The Knights shot 42% from the field (21 of 50), while limiting Fairmont to 24% shooting (11 of 45). West Bladen held a 33-23 advantage on the boards, and the Knight defense was credited with 8 steals and 8 deflections.

Photos by: Ken Arm Photo

Fairmont (26) – Ayden Cummings 2, Xavier Johnson 8, Landon Cummings 12, Kaiden Filmore, Calvin Johnson, Xavion Pittman, Tarique Leggette, Josiah Billings 4.

West Bladen (47) - Jackson Pait 11, Hezekiah Adams, Tylik McCall 5, Kendell Lesane 10, Keonta Hill 6, Conner Monroe, Ty’Leak Ballard, Chase Williams 15.