JEFFERSON TWP — David Gallagher always maintains his short-term memory on the basketball floor.

Gallagher kept firing away, even after a slow first half Friday night against Indiana. The senior guard for the Knoch boys basketball team delivered a performance to remember.

Gallager finished with a game-high 20 points and drained five 3-pointers that spurred the Knights student section to spill onto the court to celebrate a 52-37 Section 1-AAA win.

It was Knoch’s first win over the Little Indians in section play since the 2006-07 season.

“When I was younger I was always taught shooters have a short-term memory,” Gallagher said. “That first half, mine weren’t going down and I wasn’t open enough. I was told to keep shooting, that’s what a shooter does.”

Keeping that mentality was important. Gallagher had only made four 3-pointers in his last three games before Friday.

Knoch coach Ron McNabb felt Gallagher was due.

“He hasn’t been shooting well the past couple games,” McNabb. “He’s been working extra in practice and it’s just a matter of time with him. He looked confident in practice yesterday.”

Knoch’s defense carried the Knights (6-0, 3-0) in the first half. Neither team found its rhythm and it resulted in a 17-17 deadlock at halftime.

“We felt very good where we were at halftime,” Indiana coach Greg Lezanic said. “We had like butterfingers, the ball was bouncing right to them. It’s not like we weren’t hustling, but the loose balls were ending up in a white jersey’s hands.”

Indiana (6-1, 1-1) never found its shooting stride. The Little Indians shot 0-for-19 from the 3-point line.

“We have been working tremendously hard on the defensive end of the floor,” McNabb said. “If we keep hunkering down like that, it’s going to keep us in games. We don’t always shoot the ball well.”

That left the window open the for the Knights. Gallagher put Knoch ahead for good, making a 3-pointer with 4:37 left in the third to put the Knights ahead 28-25. Matt Zanella, who scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, followed with a layup to extend the lead to five points.

Knoch point guard Austin Miller knew if the defense held up, the offense would catch up.

“Somebody was going to get hot,” said Miller, who finished with 13 points. “I couldn’t hit the bright side of the water. Dave kept shooting and once we find somebody, we go to them. He carried us. Honestly, he carried us through this.”

Indiana cut the lead to 31-29 on a layup from Kevin Jack before Knoch landed the knockout blow.

The Knights went on an 8-0 run, capped by a layup from Troy Hixon to take a 41-31 lead.

“We didn’t even play well,” Miller said. “We never put our heads down. We stayed together and relied on our defense.”

Kevin Jack, who finished with 11 points, was the only Indiana player to finish in double figures. The Little Indians entering the game averaging 63.3 points per game.

“They are starting to believe in themselves defensively,” McNabb said. “Tonight, we needed 32 minutes of defense and we got that tonight.”

INDIANA 37

Darrious Carter 1 0-0 2, Blake Shields 2 1-2 5, Riley Stapleton 3 3-5 9, Kevin Jack 5 1-2 11, Derek Stapleton 2 0-2 4, Jacob Zilinskas 2 0-0 4, Dylan Stapleton 0 0-0 0, Chris McConnell 1 0-0 2, Jordan Hudzicki 0 0-0, Mike Supinka 0 0-0. Totals: 16 5-12 37.

KNOCH 52

Austin Miller 3 4-11 13, David Gallagher 5 3-7 20, Stephen Oblich 0 0-0, Matt Zanella 6 0-1, Chris Kier 0 1-2 1, Jim Larrimer 2 0-0 4, Troy Hixson 0 0-0. Totals: 16 7-21 52.

Indiana 7 10 12 8—37

Knoch 5 12 19 16—52

3-point goals: Knoch 8 (Gallagher 5, Miller 3).

Monday: Hampton at Knoch