JEFFERSON TWP — Knoch boys basketball coach Ron McNabb was curious how his team would respond to a different kind of challenge.

For weeks, the Knights had played high-pressure section games, including one Friday against Valley. Knoch also had to take care of business against Deer Lakes just 24 hours before stepping onto the court again to play East Allegheny Wednesday night.

McNabb was mostly pleased with what he saw against the Wildcats.

Knoch led by 10 at the half against East Allegheny, which was playing without three of its starters, and cruised to a 56-44 home win.

“One of our concerns was are we going to come out flat tonight and not ready,” McNabb said. “I wouldn't say we weren't ready, but we were a little flat. We're used to bigger crowds here at Knoch. But the bottom line is after two big wins for us, we came out in a non-section game and pulled out a win. So, I'm real happy about that.”

McNabb was also real happy about the play of his point guard, Aiden Albert, who scored 16 points — including a 5-for-6 night from 3-point range.

Albert assumed the point guard role several weeks ago after sophomore Austin Hannes went down with a season-ending knee injury.

Albert is no stranger to the position, however. He squared off in practice against Hannes and Austin Miller while also seeing minutes in games as an off-guard.

“He played a lot last year for us and I don't think the atmosphere of a big game or crunch time bothers him,” McNabb said of Albert. “He's made big shots for us and handled the ball well for us and hasn't made mistakes.”

East Allegheny (3-15) didn't make things easy for Albert or Knoch.

The Wildcats trailed by 12 late in the first half, but stormed back to cut the Knoch lead to three early in the third quarter.

The Knights (11-7) were able to stretch that advantage back to double digits, but East Allegheny made another run that fell short.

The Wildcats were without freshman T.J. Banks, who coach Vern Benson called one of his best players.

“He's pretty good,” Benson said. “We missed him down low, but our guys came out and competed and I'm not disappointed in their effort. Not at all.”

It's been a rough season for Benson. But with three freshmen in the starting lineup when healthy, he's looking for big things in the future.

“We've taken our lumps and bruises,” Benson said. “Hopefully these guys work in the offseason and do the things they're supposed to do to get better and stronger and hopefully we can do better next season.”

Adam Bannister led East Allegheny with 15 points.

Matt Zanella added 15 points for Knoch, which has another key game on tap Friday at Burrell.

The Knights are currently third in Section 1-AAA behind Mars and Hampton and two games ahead of Highlands, which is in fourth place.

“We can't stress how big that game is for us,” McNabb said.

Knoch also has games against Mars and Freeport next week.

“They're all big,” McNabb said. “We control our destiny.”

EAST ALLEGHENY 44

Eddi Gibbs 3-9 0-0 6, Duane Bender 5-13 1-3 12, Cedric Blackmon 1-7 0-2 2, Adam Bannister 6-15 1-2 15, Lamar Jones 2-4 0-0 5, Marcus McCollough 2-4 0-0 4, Quany Bowles 0-1 0-0 0, Wes Watson 0-1 0-0 0, Tejohn Jones 0-3 0-0 0. Totals: 19-57 2-7 44.

KNOCH 56

Troy Hixson 1-2 0-0 3, Matt Zanella 7-17 1-3 15, Josh Knochel 2-3 0-0 5, Devin Campbell 1-2 0-0 3, PJ Gourley 1-5 0-0 2, Aiden Albert 5-9 1-2 16, Mac Christy 2-5 0-0 4, Jackson McKee 3-12 1-2 8. Totals: 22-55 3-7 56.

East Allegheny 13 9 14 8 — 44

Knoch17 15 11 13 — 56

3-point goals: East Allegheny 4 (Bender, Bannister 2, L. Jones); Knoch 9 (Hixson, Knochel, Campbell, Albert 5, McKee)

JV: Knoch 43-29

Friday: Knoch at Burrell