JEFFERSON TWP — Knoch received a respite from Section 1-4A play Thursday night, hosting Class 3A's Deer Lakes.

More accurately, the rest of the section got a break from the Knights.

Knoch shot a blistering 63 percent (31 of 49) from the floor and never trailed in a 78-58 victory over the Lancers.

It is the 15th straight win for the Knights (15-1).

The Lancers left Knoch's outside shooters open early in the game and the hosts took advantage, making eight of 12 attempts from beyond the arc in the first two quarters.

Adam Bajuszik's trey with 6:10 left in the second period put Knoch up 31-11.

“Jake Scheidt (point guard) did a great job of finding the open guy. He found the gaps in the defense,” said sophomore guard Ryan Lang, who drained five 3-pointers on the night and finished with a game-high 25 points. “There's no selfishness on this team and we are very good at sharing the ball.”

And the Knights excelled at it Thursday. By halftime, the lead had swelled to 46-22 and four players had at least eight points.

Compounding problems for the Lancers was a 21-6 deficit on the boards over the first two periods.

Knoch's outside shooters also have the ability to make plays by putting the ball on the floor.

“It's something we work on extensively in practice,” said Knoch coach Ron McNabb. “We don't want our guys to just stand still out there, we want them to get to the paint. Once they do, they have very good vision. There's a lot of driving and kicking out.”

The Lancers managed 18 points in both the third and fourth quarter. When A.J. Fletcher sank one of his four treys with 5:48 left in the game, Knoch's lead was trimmed to 61-48, but that was as close as Deer Lakes would come.

“Defensively, we lost some of our intensity and let Deer Lakes hang around,” said McNabb. “I thought we played really well on one end of the court tonight and not so much on the other.

“I think there was some looking ahead to section games against Yough (Friday) and Highlands (Tuesday).”

Scott Fraser, Brady McKee and Scheidt all chipped in with 11 points in the win.

Jack Hollibaugh led the Lancers (8-7) with 13 points, Fletcher contributed 12 and Aris Hasley had 11.

The Knights are an undefeated 6-0 in section play, one game ahead of Highlands. Knoch's final four section contests will be played consecutively over the next 12 days.

DEER LAKES 58

Zach Herbinko 2 0-0 5, Bryce Robson 2 0-0 5, Aris Hasley 5 0-0 11, Jack Hollibaugh 5 3-3 13, Ryan Butler 2 4-6 8, Armend Karpuzzi 2 0-0 4, A.J. Fletcher 4 0-0 12, Alex Rogers 0 0-0 0, Josh Darsie 0 0-0 0. Totals: 22 7-9 58.

KNOCH 78

Scott Fraser 5 1-2 11, Jared Schrecengost 3 0-0 8, Jake Scheidt 4 2-2 11, Ryan Lang 10 0-0 25, Brady McKee 5 1-2 11, Adam Bajuszik 3 0-0 8, Keagan Fraser 0 2-4 2, Zach McMillen 1 0-0 2, Tyler Buterbaugh 0 0-0 0. Totals: 31 6-10 78.

Deer Lakes 11 11 18 18 — 58

Knoch21 25 15 17 — 78

3-point goals: Deer Lakes 7 (Fletcher 4, Herbinko, Robson, Hasley); Knoch

Friday: Yough at Knoch