JEFFERSON TWP - It could have been a letdown game. It could have been trouble.

But it wasn't. Far from it.

With section foe Highlands on its schedule just 24 hours later, the Knoch boys basketball team could have been caught looking ahead and not squarely at visiting Leechburg Thursday night.

As it turned out, the Knights used a big third quarter to put the game out of reach and emerge with a relatively easy 75-50 win over the Blue Devils.

Knoch coach Les Shoop said he felt some trepidation before the game, however.

"Leechburg is a very good team," Shoop said. "I was concerned. Very concerned."

Those concerns were quickly laid to rest as Knoch scored the first six points of the game. Leechburg cut the lead to 10-9 midway through the first quarter, but that was the only serious challenge the Blue Devils mounted.

Instead, Knoch (15-4) took the initiative the entire game, spreading the basketball and the scoring around.

All five starters scored in double digits, with Jordan Shoop leading the way with 16 points.

"He shot the ball well," said Coach Shoop of his son and point guard. "He is a leader. He's the quarterback on the football team and also on the basketball team."

Leechburg coach Damian Davies, who grew up close to the Shoop family and said he always called his coaching counterpart "Uncle Les," set out to try to contain Jordan Shoop.

Davies main problem was he couldn't contain everyone.

Knoch's Ryan Hollihan finished with 12 points and had 13 rebounds by halftime, while Scott Muska, Eric Czech and Ryan Ziacik finished with 11 points each.

"Jordan is so strong and talented," Davies said. "We focused on him. But Ziacik is a good shooter. We wanted to find him. There's not too many guys you can leave."

Poor shooting further doomed the Blue Devils (12-6) as they shot just 33 percent from the floor.

Knoch, though, missed rarely, and when it did miss, someone always seemed to be there for a rebound.

The third quarter was a showcase of what the Knights can do when their offense and defense is clicking.

That's a scary thought for the rest of their opponents.

"We played very well," Shoop said. "I hope we can see some of that (tonight) against Highlands."

The third quarter not only put the game safely in Knoch's control, but it also allowed Shoop to sit his starters.

But Shoop downplayed the desire to rest his players.

"I think sometimes people overemphasize playing two games in a row," Shoop said. "We only played 32 minutes. If we wouldn't have played (Thursday), we would have practiced for two hours."

Ziacik hit three more 3-pointers to bring his total to 69 this season. He already has eclipsed the single-season 3-point record at Knoch, which was held by Jason Rezak, who hit 60 during the 1998-99 season.

LEECHBURG 50

Nate Whittinger 2-11 1-2 3, Andy Tressler 4-12 0-0 10, Nick Matuiko 7-16 4-6 20, Steve Predebow 4-11 3-4 11, Pat Mitch 1-3 0-2 2, Jean Condaredo 0-1 2-4 2, Mike Strapec 0-0 0-0 0, Jon Takosky 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 18-54 10-18 50

KNOCH 75

Scott Muska 4-9 2-2 11, Jordan Shoop 4-10 6-7 16, Joel Berger 0-0 2-2 0, Tim Hickey 1-2 0-0 2, Curtis Compton 0-1 0-0 0, Bill Elliott 3-5 0-0 6, Ryan Ziacik 4-6 0-0 11, Eric Czech 5-10 1-1 11, Ryan Hollihan 6-11 0-3 12, Rob Briggs 0-1 0-0 0, Alex Whisler 1-3 2-5 4, Dave Rickard 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 28-58 13-20 75

3-point goals: Tressler 2, Matuiko 2, Ziacik 3, Shoop 2, Muska

JV: Knoch 63-15

Tonight: Knoch @ Highlands