JEFFERSON TWP — The only number that mattered to Knoch boys basketball coach Chris Andreassi was five — as in the number of section wins.

As Andreassi said, "5-2 feels pretty good."

Knoch (11-5, 5-2) got its latest section victory by outlasting a much- improved Kittanning club 51-38 Friday night.

It didn't matter how the win happened, just as long as it did. And Andreassi is very happy he won't have to face the Wildcats again.

"This is a totally different team than the one we played earlier in the season," Andreassi said. "I watched them against Leechburg and said, 'Wow.'"

The team may be different, but the results were all too familiar for Kittanning coach Doug Flanders.

He watched his team fall behind 9-0 before the pep band's instruments had cooled from the pre-game tunes, then observed his team roar back on a 12-0 run of its own.

But as often as Kittanning launched rallies — it cut a 16-point deficit in the second half to eight — it couldn't put a bigger scare into the Knights.

"We have come a long, long way," Flanders said. "I only wish we could start the season over again right now."

Alas, Flanders doesn't have the power to alter the space-time continuum.

The Wildcats (3-13, 0-7) didn't have the power to slow Briggs much, either, although they tried everything they could.

Briggs started slowly, but his 3-pointer at the second-quarter buzzer sent the Knights into the locker room with a double-digit lead.

"That was the dagger right there," Flanders said.

Briggs ended up with 18 points and 13 rebounds for Knoch, despite being double teamed by Kittanning.

"That was absolutely our plan," Flanders said. "We wanted to get someone in his face at all times because he is the best, if not the best, player in the section."

When Briggs was struggling a bit in the first half, Kyle Reiser was there to pick up the slack.

Reiser scored all 11 of his points in the first half to keep Knoch afloat.

"Whenever our offense gets into a little bit of a lull, (Reiser) seems to always be there to pull us out of it," Andreassi said.

Alex Whisler fouled out for Knoch, but he was a thorn in the side of Kittanning before he did.

He had eight rebounds and sucked up virtually every loose ball that bounded his way.

"Alex Whisler," Andreassi said, pausing, "I just love him."

Andreassi will be even more infatuated with his forward if he can continue his strong play during a very challenging week ahead.

Knoch will travel to Indiana on Tuesday, host Pittsburgh City League school Perry Wednesday and then hit the road to play Greensburg Salem next Friday.

"All I'm thinking about is Indiana," Andreassi said. "That is a very important one for us."

KITTANNING 38Nick DeLuca 2-2 0-0 5, Cody Metro 3-11 2-2 8, Andrew Snyder 5-19 0-0 10, Dylan Klingensmith 1-2 0-0 2, Austin Abranovic 0-2 0-0 0, Jared Bowser 3-10 3-5 9, RyanRisch 2-2 0-1 4.

Totals: 16-46 5-8 38

KNOCH 51Shawn Samek 1-4 2-2 3, Michael Gallagher 4-7 0-0 10, Andrew Wirtz 1-1 0-0 3, Kyle Reiser 5-9 0-2 11, Jacob McTighe 0-2 0-1 0, Rob Briggs 6-14 4-6 18, Alex Whisler 2-5 0-2 4.

Totals: 19-42 6-13 51

Kittanning 12 6 7 13—38Knoch 11 17 11 12—513-point goals: Kittanning (DeLuca); Knoch (Briggs 2, Gallagher 2, Reiser, Wirtz, Samek)

JV: Knoch 59-35

Tuesday: Knoch at Indiana