The game was a tale of two halves as both teams went back and forth with the lead early and the first quarter ended with the Knights leading 11-10.

The second quarter was just as tight. Wyatt Lookenhouse hit two free throws just before the half to put the Knights up 17-16 at the break.

Eisenhower began to put pressure on Union City, which led to turnovers and breakaway baskets.

“Our guards put a lot of pressure on them in the second half,” Knights coach Ryan Mangini said. “I thought we did a great job of creating turnovers by them and controlling ours. I stress to the guys that if we can create a plus-five in the turnover battle — I think tonight they had 21 turnovers and we had nine — it puts us in a great position to win.”

Times Observer Photo by Steve Younger The Knights’ Kyler Black scores two of his 11 points.

In the fourth quarter, Eisenhower opened up their lead to 28 points and both coaches began to put their younger players in. Mangini was quick to rest his starters as the Knights go on the road today to Kane.

“I thought Kael Hunt played a smart game once again,” Mangini said. “He has gotten so good at controlling the tempo of our opponent’s offense. I thought all of our guards played a great game.”

Lookenhouse took game scoring honors with 14 points, while Hunt added 12. The Bears were led by Bryce Drayer and Josh James with 9 points each.

In a closely played junior varsity contest that wasn’t decided until the final seconds, the Knights sealed the win when Derek Guiher’s shot dropped in to put the Knights up 34-32 with 15 seconds remaining. Guiher led Eisenhower with 12 points, while the Bears were led by Austin Sherwood’s 11 points.

Mangini had nothing but praise for the Eisenhower knights cheering section and the crowd.

“They were incredibly loud,” he said. “I think that was our biggest crowd so far this season and they get the team so pumped up. I hope they continue to come out. We have some big games coming up at home in the next couple of weeks and we can certainly use their support.”

UNION CITY (39)

Magee 0 0 0, Post 3 2 8, Drayer 4 1 9, Eliason 1 0 3, Blakelee 0 2 2, Sherwood 1 0 3, Wingard 0 1 1, Parkhurst 1 0 3, Vantassel 1 0 2, McCaslin 0 0 0, James 3 1 9, Totals 14 5 39.

EISENHOWER (61)

Sobkowski 0 0 0, Black 5 0 11, Wonderling 0 0 0, Lookenhouse 4 5 14, Palmieri 3 3 10, Bunk 4 0 8, Seymour 1 0 2, Hunt 6 0 12, Fincher 0 0 0, Lindemuth 2 0 4, Totals 25 8 61.

3-point goals — Eliason, Sherwood, Parkhurst, James 2, Black, Lookenhouse, Palmieri.

Union City 10 6 11 12 — 39

Eisenhower 11 6 20 24 — 61

Jayvees: Eisenhower 34, Union City 32